Help / Troubleshooting
Boosting the EQ causes distortion
If turning up an EQ band makes the sound crackle or break up, the boost is pushing the audio past its ceiling - here's how to keep it clean.
The short answer
Every EQ boost adds level. Push a band up far enough - a big bass boost is the usual culprit - and the loudest peaks run past the maximum the audio can hold. That comes out as harsh, gritty distortion. Tellingly, it sounds the same at every volume, because the overload happens before your volume control gets to turn things down.
The most reliable fix is to cut instead of boost: rather than raising the band you want more of, lower the others and turn your volume up. You get the same balance with room to spare, and cuts can never distort.
Get a clean, punchy sound
- Cut instead of boost. Want more bass? Instead of raising the bass, lower the mids and highs a little, then bring your volume up. Same tonal balance, no risk of overload - only boosts add level.
- Keep boosts moderate. Small, gentle moves usually sound better than one big spike. If you're reaching for +10 or +12, a cut elsewhere will often do the same job more cleanly.
- Watch the level meter. The output meter in DSP Rack shows how hot your signal is running. If it slams to the very top and sits there - or pins and stops moving - that's your warning sign. Ease your boosts back until the meter is dancing below the ceiling rather than jammed against it.
Why cutting works better
When you boost a band, you make part of the signal louder, and the peaks are what run out of room first. When you cut instead, everything stays comfortably below the ceiling and you simply turn the whole thing up afterward with your volume control. Same shape, same balance, no risk of running out of headroom. It's the move most audio engineers reach for first.
Still hearing distortion?
If your boosts are moderate, the meter isn't pinned, and you're on the latest version but still hear distortion, that may be a genuine bug rather than a settings issue. Please send it our way: open the settings and use Report a problem, describe what you were hearing and which bands you'd boosted, and submit. That gives us exactly what we need to look into it.