Spectra vs SoundSource
Written by the Spectra Audio team, so read it that way. The other column is written as SoundSource’s own fans would write it, and every row where SoundSource wins says so.
What it is
SoundSource is the best-built audio utility on the Mac. It is a per-app router and volume mixer first, and its EQ is not an afterthought: a 10-band graphic EQ, AutoEq headphone profiles for thousands of models, custom parametric profiles up to 32 filters from a text file, and Audio Unit hosting on every app. If you want different apps on different outputs at different volumes, nothing else comes close.
Price: $49 one time; $25 upgrade from earlier versions
What it is
A system-wide parametric EQ for macOS that measures your room with the iPhone you already own and fits a correction to it. No measurement microphone, no virtual driver, and every output keeps its own calibration, Bluetooth included. The measurement is the product; the EQ is the part everyone else also has.
Price: Free tier with an account; Base $59 one time; Pro $11.99/month, $99/year, or $179 one time. The $59 from Base counts toward Pro one time.
Pick SoundSource if
- You want per-app routing and volume. That is what SoundSource is, and Spectra cannot do it with a device-scoped tap.
- You already have a parametric profile from AutoEq or oratory1990 as a text file. SoundSource loads it; Spectra has no importer yet.
- You want to host Audio Units on individual apps.
- You need macOS 15. Spectra needs 26.2.
Pick Spectra if
- You want the room measured, not a preset applied. SoundSource applies curves; it does not measure anything.
- You listen on speakers. Headphone curves do not fix a room mode at 80 Hz. A measurement does.
- You want one measured correction per output that follows the device automatically, then your own EQ layered on top of it.
The table
| Feature | Spectra | SoundSource |
|---|---|---|
| Audio path | Yes Core Audio process tap in a private aggregate device, one clock. No driver, nothing added to Sound settings. | Yes Rogue Amoeba's ARK backend. On recent macOS it appears to use the same modern capture path; no kernel extension. |
| Parametric bands | Partly Free: 10-band graphic. Base: 5 parametric bands, three Q widths. Pro: unlimited bands, Q 0.1 to 10. | Yes 10-band graphic, plus custom parametric profiles of up to 32 filters via a text file. |
| Per-app control | No The tap is device-scoped by design. One EQ per output, not per app. | Yes Per-app volume, output routing, EQ and effects. The core of the product. |
| AutoEQ import | No No AutoEq or Equalizer APO file import yet. The headphone library is curated. | Yes Loads AutoEq parametric files with a preamp. |
| Headphone library | Partly Curated headphone calibrations, applied in one click. Small next to the AutoEq databases. | Yes Thousands of models via AutoEq. |
| Room measurement | Yes Pink-noise measurement through your iPhone over Continuity, correction fitted to your room. About 90 seconds. | No None. |
| Microphone needed | Yes The iPhone you already own. No calibrated microphone to buy. | No Not applicable. |
| Per-output profiles | Yes Every output keeps its own calibration and switches with the device, Bluetooth included. | Not confirmed Whether a custom headphone profile recalls per output device was not confirmed. |
| Effects | Yes Dynamic EQ, Sub Bass Extension and Prism:X Stage at Base; deep settings at Pro. | Yes Hosts any Audio Unit per app. No dynamic EQ of its own. |
| macOS required | Partly macOS 26.2 or later. The strictest requirement in this category. | Yes 15.0 or later. |
| Distribution | Yes Developer ID signed, notarized, Sparkle updates. Not on the App Store because the tap needs entitlements the store does not grant. | Yes Direct download, Paddle licensing. 6.1.2 shipped August 2026. |
The free ones
In 2026 six free, open-source system EQs shipped on the same Core Audio process-tap API Spectra uses. None of them measure a room, and several of them beat Spectra on bands per dollar and on file import. If a static curve is what you want, start here and keep your money.
- FineTune. Per-app volume, routing and EQ, with AutoEq profiles per output device. Edge: Per-app everything, a Homebrew cask, and the largest user base of the group. Caveat: Graphic EQ capped at 10 filters per profile; open Bluetooth desync reports without a maintainer reply as of September 2026.
- OnlyEQ. Unlimited parametric bands and the widest AutoEq and peqdb import support in the field. Edge: If you have a parametric file from anywhere, OnlyEQ loads it, for nothing. Caveat: Installed with a curl-to-bash script, not notarized, and its update signing key was reported lost.
- CoreEQ. 16 free parametric bands plus a fixed ladder, in a deliberately small app. Edge: Sixteen parametric bands and per-output profiles for free. Caveat: No headphone library and no file import yet; unsigned build.
- GlassEQ. A process-tap EQ that imports AutoEq, REW and impulse-response files. Edge: REW and IR import, which almost nothing else on the Mac does. Caveat: Alpha, ad-hoc signed and not notarized; a paid version is planned.
- Radioform. A notarized, GPL-licensed 10-band EQ with genre presets. Edge: Notarized and simple. Caveat: Uses a virtual driver rather than the tap; last release March 2026.
- SoundRouter Dore. Pay-what-you-want EQ with a browser hearing test and an ambience mode. Edge: Free, and the hearing-test idea is genuinely different. Caveat: Unsigned and unnotarized; its capture method is not documented.
Caveats
- Whether a 32-filter custom profile applies to the system output as well as per app, and whether it recalls per device, was not confirmed. If it does, the per-output row above is a tie.
- SoundSource's exact capture mechanism is not documented publicly; the row says what its macOS requirement and behaviour suggest.
- Spectra is in public beta. External audio interfaces are the least-tested path. If a row above is wrong about SoundSource, email general@spectraaudio.tech and it will be corrected.
Measure your room once and decide
The free tier is a real system-wide 10-band EQ. The measurement is in Base, $59 one time. The first 25 beta testers get Pro free through the founders program.
Other comparisons: eqMac, SoundSource, Boom 3D, Sonarworks, and every eqMac alternative in one list.