EQBaseImport and export EQ presets on a Mac
Last updated: October 3, 2026 · Other products' details checked October 1, 2026
AutoEQ's ParametricEQ.txt, Equalizer APO presets and REW filter exports are one text format, and on a Mac EQBase, OnlyEQ and MacEQ import it. GraphicEQ.txt, the curve format Wavelet and Squig use, is AutoEQ's second dialect, and PEQdb has its own. Going the other way, EQBase exports your sound as a preset file for another Mac, or as filter text for any other equalizer.
Which Mac equalizers can import AutoEQ text files?
Of the Mac apps checked for this page, EQBase, OnlyEQ, MacEQ and SoundMaxx import AutoEQ's ParametricEQ.txt directly, and all but MacEQ also read GraphicEQ.txt. The apQualizr 2 plugin imports it too, but only inside a host app. eqMac, SoundSource, Sound Control and Boom 3D ship built-in headphone lists instead, and none documents importing an AutoEQ file. EQBase, OnlyEQ, MacEQ and apQualizr 2 also read REW filter exports.
- EQBase: ParametricEQ.txt, GraphicEQ.txt, REW and Equalizer APO exports. The free tier fits the file to ten bands; Pro imports it exactly into the 24-band parametric EQ, and per-ear files into Per-Channel EQ. It exports both formats too.
- OnlyEQ: free; AutoEQ, Equalizer APO, GraphicEQ, REW, peqdb and more.
- MacEQ: free; the Equalizer APO format AutoEQ and REW write. It refuses GraphicEQ rather than approximating it.
- SoundMaxx: free; both AutoEQ formats, but it needs the BlackHole virtual driver and microphone permission.
- apQualizr 2: a $79.90 plugin; AutoEQ and REW text by drag and drop.
A ten-band equalizer can only approximate a parametric file; the headphone EQ hub measures by how much.
Can I import EQ presets in PEQdb or Equalizer APO formats into a Mac equalizer?
Equalizer APO presets, yes: Equalizer APO's filter text is the same format as AutoEQ's ParametricEQ.txt and REW's exports, and EQBase, OnlyEQ and MacEQ import it. PEQdb is narrower: OnlyEQ reads PEQdb presets directly and can search the PEQdb database from inside the app, while EQBase has no PEQdb importer and takes a preset once it is in Equalizer APO or AutoEQ text.
How to import a correction file into EQBase
- Get the file: a ParametricEQ.txt or GraphicEQ.txt from autoeq.app, a REW filter export, an Equalizer APO preset, or the filters on one of our headphone model pages.
- In EQBase, choose Import… (⌘I) from the equalizer's Import/Export menu, or drop the file on the window. For a headphone correction, Have your own correction file? at the bottom of the Headphones pane does the same.
- The free tier fits the filters to its ten bands; Pro imports up to 24 filters exactly into the parametric Expert EQ. Importing turns the EQ on, and can be undone in one step.
- Read the import summary. Lines EQBase does not recognise are skipped and counted there rather than guessed at.
One file per ear. In the Per-Channel EQ pane (Pro), a file with
Channel: L and Channel: R sections, the way Equalizer APO scopes filters
to one ear, puts each ear's filters on its own side.
How do built-in headphone corrections compare with importing AutoEQ filters manually?
A built-in correction is quicker; an imported AutoEQ file reaches what the built-in list doesn't. In EQBase you search the Headphones pane for your model and apply a correction in one click, from 8,666 corrections for 6,033 models, each credited to whoever measured it. Importing means downloading AutoEQ's ParametricEQ.txt or GraphicEQ.txt and dropping it in, which takes a minute longer and works for any model, measurement or target that has a file.
| EQBase, built in | EQBase, imported file | eqMac | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you apply it | search, one click | download, drop in | pick from its list |
| Models covered | 6,033 | any with a file | 4,600+ |
| A model, target or measurement the list lacks | no | ✓ | no documented import |
| Free tier | ten-band fit | ten-band fit | ✓ |
| Sits under your own EQ curve | ✓ opt-in | no, loads into the EQ | – |
Built in is the better fit when your model is on the list: there is no file to find, every published measurement of that model is a row you can switch between, and Apply as Correction Layer keeps the correction under your own EQ curve instead of replacing it. Replace Equalizer, the default, loads it into the equalizer.
Importing is the better fit when the list falls short. The built-in catalog is a snapshot that ships with the app, so a model AutoEQ added since needs the file, and so does a correction AutoEQ computed against a different target or with a bass boost, a curve from Squig, or a REW export. The file loads into the equalizer itself. Either way the free tier applies a ten-band fit and Pro applies the exact parametric filters.
eqMac ships its own AutoEQ-based list of 4,600+ headphones, free, and documents no file import, so a model it lacks would have to be entered by hand in its parametric EQ, a Pro feature there.
How do I export a custom headphone EQ for reuse on another Mac?
Save it as a preset in the Presets pane and move the file. A preset made there captures the whole sound, the correction layer and your equalizer included, and exports as one .eqbasepreset file. On the other Mac, double-click the file and EQBase imports it. There is no account and no sync service in between.
- Open the Presets pane and click New Preset…. Name it after the headphones. It saves the correction layer, the equalizer and the other effects as they are now, plus the volume and balance values.
- Right-click the preset, or use the ⋯ button on its row, and choose Export…. Dragging the row to the Finder, Mail or Messages exports it too, and Share in the same menu sends it by AirDrop. To move every preset at once, use Export All… in the ⋯ menu at the top of the pane.
- On the other Mac, double-click the file, drop it on the Presets pane, or click Import…. An imported preset is added alongside the ones already there; it never overwrites one.
- Apply it, and pick it under Preset for this device on the Devices pane if it should load whenever those headphones connect.
Two things to check. Save Equalizer as Preset…, the shortcut on the equalizer page, saves the equalizer only, so a correction sitting in the correction layer is not in it; use the Presets pane for a headphone setup. And a preset carries settings, not a license: anything in it that needs Pro, such as Expert EQ's parametric bands, plays only on a Mac where Pro is active (pricing says how many Macs one license covers).
Export filters for another equalizer
For a different equalizer, or another platform, export the filters as text instead: Import/Export › Export… on the equalizer writes ParametricEQ.txt (AutoEQ, REW, Equalizer APO) or GraphicEQ.txt (Wavelet, Squig), chosen in the save panel. That file holds the equalizer's own bands and not the correction layer, so load the correction with Replace Equalizer first if the text file should include it.
Related
Headphone correction on a Mac · Headphone EQ settings for Mac · Parametric EQ on a Mac · EQBase vs eqMac