DeskFX Audio Enhancer vs SotF

DeskFX Audio Enhancer changes sound played through computer speakers or headphones in real time. It runs on Windows and macOS and works with music services, streaming TV and movies, games and other computer audio. Effects include equalization, amplification, reverb, chorus, wahwah, vibrato and tremolo. Users can layer an unlimited number of effects and choose from more than 30 presets. Equalizer options are visual, graphic and parametric, with a system-wide equalizer of up to 20 bands. NCH also describes uses in gyms, foyers, retail locations and waiting rooms, including pink-noise masking for privacy; low latency and CPU use are listed as suitable for live-stream applications. The free version is for non-commercial use. A commercial quarterly license is $9.99 a month, billed quarterly and renewing automatically. Annual licenses are $34.99 a year for personal use and $39.95 a year for commercial use; both note +VAT/year. System requirements list Windows 7 through 11 and macOS 10.9 or above.

SotF is a free, open-source audio player and optimizer for room and headphone sound, available for Linux, macOS and Windows. It plays FLAC, MP3, AAC, ALAC and Vorbis files, and lists more than 40 audio plugins for equalization, compression, limiting, upmixing, binaural processing, convolution and denoising. Room EQ analyzes room response and calculates correction filters for a plugin chain; using it requires a measurement microphone, its calibration file and connected speakers. Headphone EQ calculates parametric filters targeting the Harman curve for hundreds of measured headphone models. Spinorama EQ provides correction for thousands of speakers without a microphone. SotF can export settings for CamillaDSP, Equalizer APO, EasyEffects, Wavelet, PipeWire and Roon. On macOS, a CoreAudio HAL virtual device can route audio from other apps through a configured plugin chain. The app runs on the user’s machine and says it does not collect user data or listening history. Speaker EQ queries the public Spinorama API for the selected model. SotF is GPL-3.0 licensed and has no subscription.