Audio System EQ Tuner & RTA
Tune any sound system — car, home, or headphones — by ear and eye. Play pink noise or band tones, measure the room response with your mic, and get plain guidance on which bands to cut or boost against a flat or bass-tilted target. Define your own controls (deck, amp, EQ, receiver) so the advice maps to your exact setup.
How to Use
- Set your phone or laptop where your head normally sits, mic pointed toward the speakers, and play at a moderate, steady volume.
- Click "Play pink noise" to send a full-range test signal through your speakers (or click any band on the graph to play just that tone).
- Click "Start mic" and allow microphone access — the bars show how far each frequency band is from the target (red = too loud, blue = too quiet, green = on target).
- Pick your target: a flat response, or a bass-tilted "house curve" most people prefer.
- Add your own controls (Bass knob, Amp gain, 31 Hz slider, receiver mode…) and the tool tells you which of your controls to turn, and which way.
Your controls
How to tune by ear and eye
Tuning a system means getting its frequency balance right for where you listen. Play pink noise (equal energy per octave, so a flat system shows a flat line), measure what actually reaches your ears with the mic, and adjust your EQ until the measured shape matches your target. The bars here show how far each band is from that target — red bands are too loud (turn them down), blue bands are too quiet (turn them up), green bands are good.
Because the measured level is aligned to the target by overall loudness, what you're reading is the shape of your response, not an absolute level — which is exactly what you want for balancing, and which sidesteps the fact that consumer mics aren't calibrated. Spotting and fixing a big +8 dB bass hump or a sucked-out midrange is well within reach; chasing the last half-decibel is not.
Reference
About the Audio System EQ Tuner & RTA
Meet the Audio System EQ Tuner & RTA: a free, no-fuss tool for image, audio and file tasks with nothing to install and no sign-up. Tune any sound system — car, home, or headphones — by ear and eye. Play pink noise or band tones, measure the room response with your mic, and get plain guidance on which bands to cut or boost against a flat or bass-tilted target. Define your own controls (deck, amp, EQ, receiver) so the advice maps to your exact setup.
How it works
Enter what you have and read the result as it updates live. It all runs on your own device, so it is quick and private, with nothing to install.
Want the deeper story? The Knowledge Base explains the ideas behind the tools in more detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this as accurate as a real SPL meter?
No — and the tool says so up front. Phone and laptop mics aren't calibrated and roll off at the extremes, so treat this as a relative guide for balancing your system and spotting big peaks and dips, not a lab-grade measurement. It aligns your measured curve to the target by overall level, so it's the shape that matters, not the absolute number. Every car-audio RTA app has the same limitation.
What is pink noise and why use it?
Pink noise has equal energy per octave, so a perfectly flat system reproduces it as a flat line on an RTA. That makes it the standard test signal for tuning: play pink noise, look at the bars, and adjust your EQ until the shape matches your target. You can also click an individual band to play just that frequency.
Flat target or house curve — which should I use?
Flat is the studio/purist reference. The house curve adds a gentle bass lift and slight treble roll-off, which most people find more natural and lively — especially in cars and living rooms. Start with the house curve; switch to flat if you prefer a more neutral sound or you're tuning a reference system.
How do the custom controls work?
Because every setup is different — some cars have a 3-band deck and an amp gain, some have a 31-band EQ, some home receivers have room correction — you define your own controls. Name each control and pick which frequency bands it affects, and the tool aggregates the measured error across those bands into a single 'turn this up/down' instruction for that control. Your controls are saved in your browser.
Does any audio leave my device?
No. Everything — tone generation, microphone analysis, and the FFT — runs locally in your browser with the Web Audio API. Nothing is recorded or uploaded; the mic stream is used only for the live analyzer and never leaves your device.
How do I use the Audio System EQ Tuner & RTA?
Simply type your numbers and read the result, which refreshes the instant you change something. There is nothing to submit and nothing to wait for.
Do I need to install or sign up for anything?
Not at all — it runs in the browser with nothing to install and no account. After it loads once, it even works without an internet connection.
Is my information private?
Yes. Everything happens in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server or saved anywhere.
Common Use Cases
Tuning a car stereo
Balance the deck/amp/EQ in your car by sitting in the driver seat and matching the curve.
Dialing in home theater
Check your receiver and speaker balance against a house curve from the listening position.
Setting a graphic EQ
See exactly which sliders on your 10- or 31-band EQ are too hot or too low.
Comparing headphones
Get a rough idea of a headphone's tonal balance vs flat (with the usual mic caveats).
Finding room problems
Spot big peaks or nulls from room modes and speaker placement before you EQ.
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