Equalizer vs HighStereo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Equalizer
This music player offers a powerful and accurate parametric equalizer with advanced playlist controls. Customize your audio experience with seven adjustable control points, separate left/right ear adjustments, and a spectrum analyzer. Share and import EQ presets for a personalized sound.
- Parametric equalizer with 7 control points
- Separate left/right ear EQ adjustment
- Customizable EQ presets
- Spectrum analyzer visualization
- Advanced playlist controls
- Background playback with remote control
- AirPlay and Bluetooth support
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"... the sound quality blew us away."- Gearburn.com Music player with the most powerful and acurate equalizer in the app store as well as the most advanced playlist controls. + Play music directly from your Music Library including podcasts and music video (audio only) + Adjust the powerful parametric equalizer by moving the seven control points or type in the values directly. + Adjust the EQ curve for your left and right ear separately (now extends from -30 to + 30 dB. Use the StereoEQ setting for that) + Select from over 10 presets or save your own. You can even share them via email and import presets from other people via email. + Full background support including remote control (from docks, headsets, car stereos) + Visualize the music with the spectrum analyzer. + Use AirPlay to listen on your AppleTV, or your Bluetooth headsets and even a dock. + Use the pre-amp slider to adjust the overall boost or cut. Make sure to turn the slider down if you experience distortion. Use the auto-normalizer function to prevent clipping automatically and have the best dynamic range possible with your eq curve. (on/off in settings) + Curve screen: curve redraws as controllers are dragged. Pinch to modify Q. Three stage clipping signal on preamp slider. Keyboard entry for pre-amp. Twitter/Facebook/Weibo integration to share your current EQ curve. Bypass. + Crossfade between songs. Make sure to stop the music before changing the crossfade time slider. + Now playing screen includes repeat (all, single no repeat) button and shuffles like the music app. Improved stability of on the fly modifications of the playlist. Add more songs to the playlist at any time. Sort playlist alphabetically. + Music selection is very similar to default music app. + Turn landscape to display the frequency analyzer. + Built in sleep timer to stop Equalizer after a certain period if time. + Crossfeed option to blend audio between channels + Apple Watch support for eq curve selection incl. complications KNOWN ISSUES: No known issues. please contact support if you have any problems. COPY-PROTECTED MUSIC: Equalizer will not play copy-protected (DRM). You need to convert DRM songs. Apple Music Streaming uses copy-protected songs. iCLOUD: Only the Apple Music app can manage songs in iCloud (iTunes Match). You will need to make sure the songs are downloaded to your device to listen and enhance them via Equalizer. If you want to stream and eq your music, you can try our other app: CloudEQ. It allows you to stream and eq music from SoundCloud and your Dropbox account without the need for storage on your device. From the reviews: EXCELLENT PROGRAM I connect my iphone 4 to a car audio system, with the application the music began to sound incomparably better .... A little clear interface, but to understand it and understand need no more than 5-10 minutes. -- P_S_B_ *** LOVE IT This is the EQ I have been looking for, and because of bad ratings I almost passed on it! I consider myself an aspiring audiophile and have the equipment -- Klipsch, Sunfire, Nottingham, Denon, Paradigim, etc. -- (and debt) to back it up. This EQ performs flawlessly and is very easy to use. It enhanced my music dramatically. Yes, dramatically! Just make sure you are running the recommended IOS, as the developer suggests. -- J. Paul DiMaggio *** PLEASE if you have concerns or encounter problems with the app: post on http://www.audioforge.ca and we will explain how things work, until you can use all the features of the app to the fullest. Thank you
HighStereo
This app is a versatile music player supporting numerous audio formats and internet radio. It offers advanced audio customization with a 10-band equalizer, bass, and treble controls, along with features like a sleep timer and music alarm. Enjoy high-quality sound and a classic audio interface for a luxurious listening experience.
- Supports MP3, FLAC, APE, Opus, Ogg audio formats
- 10-band equalizer with Bass and Treble controls
- 100K internet radio stations (Icecast, SHOUTcast)
- Music alarm and sleep timer
- Adjustable playback speed (0.3x to 4.0x)
- Playlist support for music and radio
- Folder management
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100K radio stations. mp3, flac, opus, ogg, ape file play. 10 bands/30 bands EQ, Bass, Treble. Music alarm, Sleep timer. Music is memories. Reminds of the old memories, and creates new memories. HighStereo will lead you to the beautiful memories. HighStereo looks like a classical audio components. It gives you the high quality sound as well as the beautiful interface. Enjoy the luxury high-end audio in your hands. - Support most of all audio formats, such as mp3,flac,ape,opus,ogg ... - Support internet streaming radio including Icecast and SHOUTcast - Support m3u and cue playlist files. - Support m3u, xspf, asx, wpl and pls playlist for Radio. - 10 bands equalizer - Bass - Treble - Sleep (Sleep with music) - Alarm (Wake up with music) - Mood sound mix (at the beach, in front of the fireplace, with birds singing, in the rain... ) - 0.3x ~ 4.0x play speed - Folder management. - Add, move and delete songs in real time, while you're playing them. ***************************************** In the case of Apple Music, Bass, Treble and the equalizer do not work. ***************************************** contact : insubae@neointro.com HighStereo Xcode Project : https://github.com/insubae/HighStereo
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HighStereo at 4.1 against Equalizer's 3.3. HighStereo also leads on price ($1.99 vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.0). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Equalizer costs $3.99 and HighStereo $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
HighStereo holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 140 and 133 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Equalizer's written reviews are positive against 66% of HighStereo's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Equalizer | HighStereo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.3 (140 ratings) | 4.1 (133 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.2% of reviews | 65.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 140 — better | 133 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 85 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Audioforge Labs Inc. | Neointro |
Customer experience
Equalizer
HighStereo
User reviews
Equalizer
From 140 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great Amazing Improved Sound
- 🎧 Best EQ for audiophile gear
- 🎚️ Awesome App!
- 🔊 Fabulous Audio EQ App!
- 🎶 Excellent app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Stability problems
- 🚫 Lies
- 🚫 Hobbles all DRM songs
- 🐛 Can't import music files
- 🚫 Doesn't work
HighStereo
From 133 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎵 Excellent equalizer with 10 and 30-band options
- 🎨 Beautiful retro design and aesthetic appeal
- 📻 Wide variety of radio stations available
- 🔊 Superior sound quality and audio enhancement
- ⚡ Lightweight and responsive application
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and app freezes
- 📁 Cannot access local MP3 files reliably
- 🍎 Apple Music integration broken or non-functional
- 📻 Radio stations frequently disconnect
- ❌ Limited radio station selection despite claims
Bugs and requests
Equalizer
Reported bugs
10 issues- Crashes after iOS 11 update
- Scroll bar progress stuck
- Buffering doesn't adjust properly
- App crashes significantly
- Playback may freeze at end of track
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- Songs not playing from Apple Music
- Playlists don't load
- Crashes immediately on iPhone 6
- Doesn't work with podcast
- Clipping issue causing distortion
Requested features
6 requests- Sort albums by date added
- Tidal integration
- Playlist support
- Dark mode
- Presets for different headphones/speakers
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- Ability to save EQ settings per song
HighStereo
Reported bugs
16 issues- App crashes when changing radio stations
- Apple Music library not displaying songs
- Local MP3 files not loading or showing blank screen
- Radio stations failing to connect
- Dropbox integration crashes immediately
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- Equalizer not functioning with file playback
- App freezes during long-term use
- Version number mismatch between App Store and installed app
- Shuffle and repeat buttons not working properly
- App closes unexpectedly after few seconds
- Drag-and-drop file management failing
- Playlist not saving changes
- Performance lag when selecting music
- Incompatibility with iOS 13+ for file access
- YouTube search functionality broken
- Headphone controls not responding
Requested features
16 requests- Volume control knob or gain adjustment
- Balance control for stereo
- Support for FLAC and high-resolution audio formats
- YouTube integration with working equalizer
- Ability to add custom radio stations
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- User account creation and cloud sync across devices
- More radio stations and international options
- Shuffle and repeat mode functionality
- Direct access to device file system and folders
- Album artwork display
- Recording radio functionality
- Wake-up timer with gradual volume increase
- Theme customization options
- Visualization spectrum analyzer improvements
- Support for network drives and NAS access
- Comprehensive in-app user guide
In-app purchases
Equalizer
No in-app purchases
HighStereo
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Equalizer free?
Is HighStereo free?
Which has better reviews, Equalizer or HighStereo?
Do Equalizer or HighStereo have ads?
Which is updated more often, Equalizer or HighStereo?
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