Headphone EQ

Apple AirPods Max EQ settings for Mac

Last updated: October 2, 2026

Apple AirPods Max has 4 published AutoEQ corrections, from 3 measurement rigs across 2 variants of the model, and this page carries every one of them. macOS has no system-wide equalizer of its own, so applying a correction to everything your Mac plays, rather than inside a single player, needs an app that sits on the system audio path.

• Who it is for: anyone listening to the Apple AirPods Max on a Mac who wants its measured tonal balance pulled toward a neutral target.
• What a correction is: a set of equalizer filters that the open-source AutoEQ project computes by comparing a published measurement of the headphone with a target curve.
• What this page holds: for every measurement, the curve, its parametric filters, the same filters as copy-paste text, a ten-band version and a one-click EQBase preset.
• Which variant is yours: the 2 variants in the measurement picker are different versions of the Apple AirPods Max, so pick the one that describes your own pair before choosing a measurement of it. Standard means the measurement was published without a revision or condition noted.
• What it cannot do: it changes frequency response only. It will not make up for worn pads or for distortion, and it was measured on someone else's pair, not yours.
• What you need: any parametric equalizer takes the filters, on any platform. The preset needs EQBase, free on macOS 14.4 or later.

Worth knowing: Apple's Custom EQ in iOS 27 needs an H2 chip, which the first AirPods Max does not have, so this correction is not duplicating a setting you already own. The three measurements of the stock headphone track each other closely through the midrange and part company by about 4 dB at both extremes, at 31 Hz and again at 8 kHz, which is where sealed over-ear rigs usually disagree. The fourth curve is the same model wearing third-party pleather pads, and it is not a small variation: it asks for about 10 dB less at 1 kHz than any stock reading does. Changing the pads moves this headphone further than the rigs disagree about it.

What the Apple AirPods Max correction changes

These figures come from the measurement by oratory1990, the one the picker below opens with. The largest boost is +4.5 dB at treble (8 kHz), and the largest cut is −4.8 dB at top octave (16 kHz). Total swing across the ten bands is 9.2 dB. Averaged over its bands the bass is pulled back by 1.7 dB, more than the other two, which is where most of the audible change lands.

The 4 published measurements on this page, from 3 rigs, do not agree with each other, and the size of the disagreement is worth knowing before picking one. They differ most at midrange (1 kHz), where the ten-band figures span 9.2 dB, and least at bass (62 Hz), where they span 0.9 dB. Most of that gap is between the variants rather than between the rigs: measurements of any one variant stay within 1.6 dB of each other at that band. Match the variant to your own pair first, and treat the choice of rig as the smaller decision.

The Apple AirPods Max corrections, measurement by measurement

Pick a measurement to see its correction curve, its parametric filters, the same filters as copy-paste text in AutoEQ's format (which Equalizer APO and Peace, REW and most desktop parametric equalizers import, and which EQBase's own Expert EQ reads and writes), and EQBase's ten-band version, which is what the downloadable preset applies.

Preamp: -4.7 dB
Filter 1: ON LSC Fc 105 Hz Gain -3.0 dB Q 0.70
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 7273 Hz Gain 3.6 dB Q 2.41
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 218 Hz Gain -2.9 dB Q 1.41
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1031 Hz Gain -3.2 dB Q 0.99
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3185 Hz Gain 3.1 dB Q 0.56
Filter 6: ON HSC Fc 10000 Hz Gain -5.5 dB Q 0.70
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 9508 Hz Gain 2.7 dB Q 2.20
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 66 Hz Gain 0.6 dB Q 1.65
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 4045 Hz Gain 2.1 dB Q 5.82
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 4834 Hz Gain -1.8 dB Q 6.00

Preamp: -5.0 dB
Filter 1: ON LSC Fc 105 Hz Gain 1.2 dB Q 0.70
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 4633 Hz Gain 4.2 dB Q 0.59
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 190 Hz Gain -2.7 dB Q 0.67
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 973 Hz Gain -2.9 dB Q 1.47
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 28 Hz Gain -7.4 dB Q 0.75
Filter 6: ON HSC Fc 10000 Hz Gain -5.1 dB Q 0.70
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 2973 Hz Gain -1.5 dB Q 3.34
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 2039 Hz Gain 1.1 dB Q 3.25
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 7594 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 5.82
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 4104 Hz Gain 1.2 dB Q 5.23

Preamp: -5.6 dB
Filter 1: ON LSC Fc 105 Hz Gain -2.1 dB Q 0.70
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 5092 Hz Gain 5.9 dB Q 1.63
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 414 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 0.23
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 9875 Hz Gain -3.4 dB Q 2.73
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 1895 Hz Gain 2.9 dB Q 2.72
Filter 6: ON HSC Fc 10000 Hz Gain -0.0 dB Q 0.70
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 207 Hz Gain -1.3 dB Q 1.30
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 365 Hz Gain 1.2 dB Q 2.60
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 91 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 1.98
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 621 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 2.98

Preamp: -5.7 dB
Filter 1: ON LSC Fc 105 Hz Gain -3.2 dB Q 0.70
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 3614 Hz Gain 5.7 dB Q 0.96
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 1103 Hz Gain -12.1 dB Q 1.91
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1844 Hz Gain 3.8 dB Q 1.95
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 217 Hz Gain -2.2 dB Q 2.44
Filter 6: ON HSC Fc 10000 Hz Gain -5.2 dB Q 0.70
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 7555 Hz Gain 3.3 dB Q 2.49
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 84 Hz Gain 1.3 dB Q 1.87
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 6020 Hz Gain -3.8 dB Q 5.98
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 9505 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 3.31

Ten-band or parametric EQ for the Apple AirPods Max?

A parametric equalizer lets every filter take any frequency, gain and width, where width is written as Q and a higher Q means a narrower filter, so it can reproduce AutoEQ's filters exactly. A ten-band graphic equalizer has ten fixed bands an octave apart, from 31 Hz to 16 kHz, all the same width, so it can only approximate them. EQBase's ten-band version sets those ten gains to match the parametric curve at the band centers, allowing for how the bands overlap, rather than reading the curve off at each center.

On oratory1990's measurement, the ten-band version stays within 2.5 dB of the parametric curve between 40 Hz and 10 kHz. Across all 8,666 corrections in EQBase's catalog the median for that range is 3.3 dB, which makes the Apple AirPods Max a typical fit for ten bands. The largest of those gaps sits around 5 kHz, where a boosting filter at 4.04 kHz with a Q of 5.8 is far narrower than a one-octave band can follow.

Use the parametric filters if your equalizer accepts them: they are the correction exactly as published. The ten-band version is for equalizers with fixed sliders, EQBase's free tier among them, and it is what the downloadable preset applies. On EQBase Pro, applying the Apple AirPods Max from the Headphones pane uses the parametric filters directly, and the preset carries them as well, one switch to Expert EQ away. AutoEQ publishes its own ten-band file on the same grid, fitted to the raw measurement rather than to these filters, so the two agree closely through the midrange and can differ at the extremes.

How to use the Apple AirPods Max correction on a Mac

To use the Apple AirPods Max correction on a Mac, apply it with an equalizer that runs on system audio, so it reaches every app at once. In EQBase the fastest route skips this page: open the Headphones pane, search for the Apple AirPods Max, which is in the built-in catalog of 6,033 models, and click the measurement you want. The preset above does the same from a file, for anyone who wants to see the numbers first or a specific measurement rather than the default one.

Either way the free tier carries it with no time limit. The Apple AirPods Max preset above sets the ten-band curve, which is what the free tier applies, so nothing on this page is behind a purchase.

The Apple AirPods Max is worn around the ear, where the pads decide a good deal of what the measurement rig saw. Worn or replaced pads move the response, which is why several models here carry separate curves for exactly that. If yours are old, expect the correction to be a near miss rather than an exact one.

Most of the measurements behind this page were made with the headphone in its normal listening mode, and active noise cancelling changes the response it is correcting. Switching ANC or transparency on and off is not a small tone change, so a correction that sounds right in one mode may not in another.

Common questions about Apple AirPods Max EQ

Do these EQ settings work on any Mac app?

Yes, if the equalizer runs on system audio rather than inside one player. EQBase processes everything the Mac plays, so the same correction applies to Spotify, Safari, YouTube, games and calls. The Music app's own equalizer only affects Music.

Where do the Apple AirPods Max numbers come from?

From 4 published AutoEQ measurements of the Apple AirPods Max, made by oratory1990, crinacle and Rtings. Each one is a real frequency-response measurement compared against a target curve, and each produces its own set of filters. They are all on this page rather than averaged together, because a measurement belongs to the person who made it. The 2 variants (Standard; Third-party pleather earpads) are measured separately and corrected separately.

Why is the Apple AirPods Max preamp negative?

The Apple AirPods Max correction needs −4.7 dB of headroom on its default measurement, so the preset pulls the signal down by that much before the boosts are applied. Boosting a signal that is already near full scale would clip it, and the negative preamp is what buys the room. Skip it and loud passages distort.

Can I use these filters in a different equalizer?

Yes. The filter table is a standard parametric list: type, frequency, gain and Q. Any parametric equalizer that accepts those four values per band will take them, on any platform. The one-click preset is only a shortcut for EQBase users.

Other headphones with published corrections

• Apple AirPods Pro EQ settings for Mac, 4 published measurements
• Apple EarPods EQ settings for Mac, 4 published measurements
• Apple AirPods (1st generation) EQ settings for Mac, 2 published measurements
• Beats Studio Pro EQ settings for Mac, 1 published measurement
• Sony WH-1000XM5 EQ settings for Mac, 3 published measurements

More Apple headphones: Apple AirPods Pro 2 · Apple AirPods 4 · Apple AirPods 2 · Apple AirPods 3

Credits

Correction data from the AutoEQ project by Jaakko Pasanen, used under the MIT licence. The measurements themselves are the work of the people credited on each curve above. EQBase ships the same catalog in the app, with the same attribution.

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