EasyEffects vs EqLume

EasyEffects is free, open-source Linux software for applying audio effects to applications managed by the PipeWire audio server. It can process application output and microphone audio sent to recording applications. Available effects include equalizer, compressor, convolver, limiter, noise reduction, reverberation, pitch shift and stereo tools, with control over their processing order. Users can process input or output streams and exclude selected applications. Processed audio can be exposed through Easy Effects Source for recording and communication applications. Configurations can be saved, imported, reused on another system and set to load automatically for selected devices. A PipeWire tab reports version, quantum values, sample rate, installed modules and loaded clients. Most current Linux distributions package the application, and a sandboxed Flatpak includes available plugins. Some distribution packages may omit plugins needed for certain effects. EasyEffects is licensed under GNU GPL version 3 or later, and PipeWire must be installed.

EqLume is a free system-wide equalizer for Apple silicon Macs running macOS 26.0 or later. It detects the genre of the current track and applies a matching EQ preset, with 21 presets that include hip-hop, EDM, rock, jazz, classical and ambient. The menu bar app shows a live spectrum analyzer and an EQ response curve. EqLume reads now-playing details from Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music and supported browsers, and offers transport controls for Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. It uses a Core Audio process tap to capture system audio without a virtual audio driver or kernel extension. Audio is processed in memory, not recorded to disk or uploaded. Track and artist names may be sent to MusicBrainz and Apple iTunes Search for lookups. The built-in 3.5 mm headphone output uses tuned correction; other outputs can be enabled per device, while built-in speakers are unprocessed. The Mac App Store version omits the optional on-device classifier.