Headphones Sounding Bass-Light? Skip the Upgrade and Check Your Fit and EQ Settings First

When bass sounds thin and weak, most people's instinct is to blame the headphones and go shopping for a new pair. But this Engadget roundup offers a different take: the problem usually isn't the drivers themselves, but rather fit and the messy overlap of software settings.

Let's start with the most overlooked factor: seal. Sealed over-ear headphones and well-fitted earbuds tend to deliver the most consistent bass performance, while open-back headphones, however natural they sound, aren't built for stacking low end. Even open-fit earbuds like the AirPods 4, or open-ear designs like the Shokz OpenFit Pro, have improved their bass noticeably over previous generations—but they're still not the starting point if you're chasing thumping low frequencies. If your earbuds come with swappable tips, it's worth trying several sizes, since tips that are too big or too small will thin out the bass. Foam tips also tend to create a tighter seal than silicone ones. Apple's fit test software for AirPods Pro can also help you check how well they're sealing. If you're wearing over-ear headphones, watch out for glasses, hair, or worn-out ear cushions—all of which can quietly sap your bass.

Once you've confirmed fit isn't the issue, it's time to look at EQ. The article flags a common mistake: cranking up the bass in both Spotify and your headphone brand's app (say, Sony's Sound Connect) at the same time. Stack those adjustments and you'll likely end up with muddy, distorted sound. The safer approach is to reset all your EQ settings to zero first, then start fine-tuning from your headphone app's curve. Only switch to your music app's built-in EQ if your headphones don't have a dedicated EQ, or if you want the adjustment to apply to just that one app. Spotify's EQ lives under Settings and Privacy > Playback > Equalizer (on Android, this might redirect you straight to your phone's system sound settings). Apple Music's is under Settings > Apps > Music > EQ, though it's labeled by genre rather than showing an actual curve. YouTube Music on Android still relies on your phone's system-level EQ, and the iOS version still has no in-app option at all. Tidal, meanwhile, offers no EQ on either platform.

Once you're in your headphone app, the article suggests skipping one-tap options like "bass boost" and working directly with the EQ curve instead. The far-left end of the curve (roughly 20 to 60Hz) governs the deepest, rumbling bass, while the range just to the right of that—60 to 150Hz—shapes the punch and weight of the low end. Beyond that, you're already out of bass territory and into low-mids. Worth noting: not every app offers a detailed, multi-point curve. Apple's new EQ interface for H2 chip AirPods, for instance, only gives you three control points—low, mid, and high—rather than a full curve graph.

The guiding principle when adjusting is simple: don't max out the entire left side of the curve at once. A small boost to a specific frequency band almost always sounds better than piling it on across the board. Test at your normal listening volume with a few different genres of music—if the bass starts drowning out vocals or muddying the overall sound, dial it back. The article also notes that switching between active noise cancellation, transparency mode, or spatial audio (on headphones like AirPods or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra that support it) can produce subtle differences in bass response, so it's worth testing in whichever mode you actually use most often—and trusting your impression after extended listening rather than the first few seconds.

If you've dialed in the fit, tried tweaking the EQ, and you're still not satisfied, only then does the article suggest considering a new pair—naming the Sony WH-1000XM6, Sennheiser HDB 630, Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd gen), and AirPods Max 2 as current standouts for bass performance.