We can all agree that customization of sound plays an essential role in getting the most out of your headphones, as the default sound they produce won’t precisely deliver the best result in every situation, whether due to differences in the genre of the music or simply preference.
That being said, the customization process can be slightly tricky if you aren’t already familiar with it, as finding the correct section that allows you to perform these changes and transferring what’s on your mind to the interface isn’t always the most straightforward task.
Today, we will be talking about customizing the sound you’re hearing by increasing the bass output, in particular, specifically for AirPods, which is something many users are interested in, as a deeper bass can, without a doubt, make a big difference for the listening experience.
So, how to increase the bass on your AirPods?
While there is no direct way to increase the bass on your AirPods due to the iPhone not featuring a traditional equalizer, there are a few methods you can employ to achieve the same effect indirectly:
- Activate the Bass Booster preset from the EQ.
- Improve the fit of your AirPods.
- Adjust the Headphone Accommodations section.
- Use the Custom Audio Setup feature.
- Utilize the Audiogram trick to access EQ.
Moving forward, we will dive deeper into the methods that we have mentioned above for increasing the bass on your AirPods and discuss the factors that can contribute to your AirPods’ bass being low.
How to Increase Bass on AirPods & AirPods Pro?
Even though it may not seem to be the case at first glance with no equalizer access on the iPhone, there are some approaches you can take to get your AirPods to produce a more bass-heavy sound.
Below, you can find sub-sections for all the different methods we recommend utilizing to increase the bass output of your AirPods, in which we will go through the steps you will need to take to use each method and explain how it can be helpful to give your AirPods a deeper bass.
Activate the Bass Booster Preset
Activating the built-in bass preset is the most straightforward to increase the bass output of your AirPods, as this preset is specifically created to tune the frequency levels of the equalizer in a way that will prompt the sound that is produced to be bass-heavy.
Below are the steps you can follow to activate the bass booster preset on iOS:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Navigate to the Music section in Settings.
- Navigate to the EQ section in Music.
- Choose the “Bass Booster” (or Increase Bass) preset in the EQ section.
Please note that the solution we have mentioned above will only have an impact when you’re using Apple Music, as the EQ where you find the bass booster preset is not universal.
That being said, as popular music applications, such as Spotify, come with their own EQ sections, it’s usually possible to apply a similar solution through the application you use to listen to music, which remedies the situation.
As an example, let’s go through the steps that you would need to take to increase the bass output of your AirPods when listening to Spotify:
- Open the Spotify app on your iPhone.
- Navigate to the Home section in Spotify.
- Press the cog icon located at the top-right of the corner.
- Navigate to the Playback section.
- Navigate to the Equalizer section in Playback.
- Activate the equalizer by pressing the switch.
- Choose the Bass Booster option from the list, or manually configure the audio frequencies yourself.
Improve the Fit of Your AirPods
Improving the fit of your AirPods is another quick and effective solution that can increase the bass output and the overall sound quality you hear, as it’s vital for the earbuds to fit tightly in your ear and create a seal for the best experience.
Our primary recommendation to improve the fit of your AirPods is to utilize correctly-sized silicone ear tips that will allow the AirPods to fit tightly in your ear.
When the fit is optimal, your ear shouldn’t be pushing the AirPods out due to the tips being too big, but the AirPods shouldn’t be falling out of your ear either due to the tips being too small.
While it’s not exactly a revelation, even something as simple as slightly pushing your AirPods further into your ear can drastically improve the sound quality (and the bass, as a result), as it will most likely provide a better fit.
As every person has a distinct ear shape, having success with this solution primarily comes to experimentation and finding out what works best for you, which makes it a good idea to listen to an audio sample with different fits and compare the results.
Adjust the Headphone Accommodations Section
While not a direct way to increase the bass of your AirPods, the Headphone Accommodations section on your iPhone allows you to tune the sound signature through a few presets, which can make it possible to produce a more bass-heavy sound through experimentation.
Below, you can find a step-by-step guide to access the Headphone Accommodations section and modify the sound of your AirPods:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Navigate to the Accessibility section in Settings.
- Navigate to the Audio/Visual section in Accessibility.
- Navigate to the Headphone Accommodations section.
- Activate the Headphone Accommodations feature by pressing the slider.
- Utilize the presets in the “Tune Audio For” section and the slider located below it to adjust the sound.
While we have found the Brightness preset on the Slight setting to produce the best results when it comes to bass, we highly recommend running your own experiments to find out the combination that sounds the best to you.
Use the Custom Audio Setup Feature
Another indirect method that can potentially get your AirPods to produce a more bass-heavy sound is to utilize the Custom Audio Setup feature on your iPhone, which is an interactive guide that allows you to tailor the sound you’re hearing to be more in line with your preferences.
Here is a step-by-step guide you can follow to activate the Custom Audio Setup feature:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Navigate to the Accessibility section in Settings.
- Navigate to the Audio/Visual section in Accessibility.
- Navigate to the Headphone Accommodations section.
- Activate the Headphone Accommodations feature by pressing the slider.
- Press the Custom Audio Setup button.
- Press the Continue button.
- Press the Don’t Use Audiogram button.
- Follow the instructions on the screen to go through the interactive tuning process.
Please note that using the Custom Audio Setup feature will have the same effect as manually adjusting the Headphone Accommodations section, but in an automated way that can allow you to find the most optimal configuration more conveniently and reliably.
Utilize the Audiogram Trick to Access EQ
Last but not least, you can use the Audiogram trick to have access to a universal equalizer where you can modify the audio frequencies that your AirPods are producing, which will allow you to boost the bass or practically tune the sound in any way of your choice.
Here is a step-by-step guide that you can follow to access the equalizer section by using the Audiogram trick:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Navigate to the Accessibility section.
- Navigate to the Audio/Visual section.
- Navigate to the Headphone Accommodations section.
- Activate the Headphone Accommodations feature.
- Press the Custom Audio Setup button.
- Press the Continue button.
- Press the Add Audiogram button.
- Press the Continue button, and choose Camera.
- Take a random picture, press Keep Scan, and then press Save.
- Press the “Add Values Manually” button once the Unable to Import Audiogram screen comes up.
Once you reach the equalizer section by following the steps above, you will be able to manually input the volume levels of your choice for the different bands of frequency you see on the screen, which you can leverage to improve bass.
After you save the Audiogram, you will be able to choose it from the “Tune Audio For” section in Headphone Accommodations, which will load your settings and configure your AirPods accordingly.
Please note that the intended purpose of uploading an Audiogram or manually configuring the frequencies in this section is to compensate for hearing difficulties rather than tuning the sound to your preferences, which is why we are calling it a “trick”.
What Can Cause Bass to Be Low on AirPods & AirPods Pro?
While the AirPods aren’t exactly known for having the most bass-heavy sound ever, some factors can cause the bass to be even lower than intended, creating a poor listening experience as a result.
Here are some of the most common factors that can cause the bass of your AirPods to be low:
- The EQ setting is not configured correctly. Some equalizer presets can further reduce the bass levels, and make your AirPods sound like they have no bass.
- The AirPods don’t fit your ears tightly. AirPods that are loosely resting in your ear will considerably reduce sound quality and can lead to you hearing the bass less than it actually is.
- The sound check feature is on. The sound check feature aims to equalize the volume of the content you’re listening to, which can sometimes end up with bass being lost.
- The Headphone Accommodations section is misconfigured. The Headphone Accommodations section allows the tuning of the sound you hear, which, when misconfigured incorrectly, can reduce the bass even further.
- The firmware of your AirPods is outdated. While the firmware of your AirPods should automatically be updated whenever they’re connected to your iPhone, software bugs can sometimes prevent the update from occurring.
Fortunately, the decrease in bass output created by these factors can often be easily counteracted by utilizing the methods we have discussed earlier, allowing you to restore the bass levels of your AirPods to desirable levels.
Conclusion
There is no denying that the addition of a universal equalizer to the iPhone would be very welcome, as the way that playback equalization currently works is quite limited, making it a challenge to get the AirPods to output the desired levels of bass.
Here is a quick summary of the techniques we recommend employing to increase the bass on your AirPods:
- Utilize the Bass Booster preset from the EQ to load your iPhone’s default bass-focused equalizer setting.
- Improve the fit of your AirPods to ensure that it fits tightly and creates a perfect seal in your ear.
- Adjust the Headphone Accommodations section to tune the sound signature of your AirPods in a way that can make them more bass-heavy.
- Use the Custom Audio Setup feature to tune the sound signature of your AirPods interactively.
- Utilize the Audiogram trick to obtain access to a universal equalizer that you can configure to fine-tune the sound of your AirPods and increase the bass through it.
While these methods are definitely no match for a full-fledged equalizer that makes it possible to configure precisely how deep the bass will be, they should allow you to increase the bass of your AirPods to an acceptable level in most cases.
Mark’s first real encounter with tech was when he had to format his computer with Windows 98 around the age of 6 to quickly get back to playing Heroes of Might and Magic III without having to send the computer in for a repair, which he strangely found to be rather enjoyable since it was a new challenge for him at the time.
While he has always been particularly interested in the software side of things, which eventually led to him becoming a software developer, he enjoys keeping up with the advancements in consumer electronics and smart home technology when he’s not busy coding.