How do I lower the bass in VLC?

What is VLC Media Player?

VLC media player is an open source, cross-platform multimedia player developed by the VideoLAN project. It supports many audio and video formats and is highly customizable with plugins and extensions.

Some key features of VLC media player include:

• Open source – VLC is free to download and use. The source code is publicly available under GPL and LGPL licenses.
• Cross-platform – It runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and more.
• Plays most multimedia files – Supports a wide range of audio and video formats including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, avi, wmv, flv and QuickTime.
• Highly customizable – Many skins and extensions allow customizing the look and adding new features.
• Media library – Manage and organize a collection of media files.
• Streaming media – Can play streams and save streams to file.

Overall, VLC is a feature-rich, flexible and user-friendly media player suitable for playing music, videos and more on desktop and mobile devices.

Why Lower the Bass in VLC?

There are a few key reasons why you may want to lower the bass in VLC Media Player:

Bass can overpower other frequencies – Having too much bass boost can drown out the mids and highs, making vocals, guitars, and other instruments sound muddy. Reducing the bass allows the entire frequency spectrum to shine through.

Reduce boominess from small speakers – Smaller speakers, laptops, and TV speakers often exaggerate bass due to their limited low frequency response. Lowering the bass prevents uncontrolled, booming bass.

Compensate for rooms with exaggerated bass – Hard surfaces in rooms can amplify bass through reverberation. Lowering the bass helps compensate for this effect.

By adjusting the bass levels in VLC, you can achieve a more balanced sound that brings out the best in your media files and audio equipment.

Access the VLC Audio Effects

To access the controls for adjusting the bass in VLC Media Player, you first need to open the Audio Effects window.

Open VLC and go to Tools > Effects and Filters, or use the Ctrl+E keyboard shortcut. This opens the Audio Effects window which contains the Equalizer, Compressor, Spatializer, and other effects.

The Audio Effects window is where you can find the tools to lower or adjust the bass response in your audio playback through VLC. This includes options like the Equalizer sliders to reduce specific frequency bands, as well as Compressor settings to tackle peaks.

With the Audio Effects panel open, you can start applying changes to soften the bass and prevent muddy or booming audio in VLC. Just be careful not to overdo the reductions, or you may lose too much low-end body and impact from your media files.

Lower Bass with the Equalizer

The Equalizer allows adjusting bass, mid, and treble frequencies in VLC. To reduce bass, you can drag the leftmost dot on the Equalizer downwards. This will lower the decibel level of the lower frequencies and reduce the bass.

It’s best to start small, like reducing the bass by -3dB initially. Large reductions can cause distortion or an unnatural sound. Listen and adjust the bass dot gradually until you reach the desired bass level.

As noted on Reddit, the Equalizer gives you precision control over the frequency response ^[1]. Don’t overdo the bass reduction or you may lose the impact and immersion intended for movies and music.

Reduce the Bass Boost

VLC has a Bass Boost effect enabled by default to enhance the lower frequencies and add punch to the audio. However, for some tracks or preferences, this extra bass may sound boomy or overbearing. You can reduce the intensity of the bass boost in VLC by following these steps:

Go to Audio > Audio Effects > Bass Boost. VLC will open the Bass Boost window. Here you will see a Gain slider, representing the amount of boost applied to the bass frequencies.

By default, this Gain slider is set to a value of 110%, which provides a moderate boost. To reduce the intensity, drag the slider to the left. Setting it to 100% will turn off the bass boost completely. Values below 100% will invert the effect, reducing the bass instead of boosting it.

Adjust the Gain slider while your audio is playing to preview the changes in real-time. Reduce it until you reach the desired punch and balance of low frequencies. Just a small reduction like 105% or 100% may tame booming bass while still retaining some boost and weight.

When finished adjusting, click the close button to save your new bass boost reduction setting in VLC. This will now persist for other audio tracks until changed. Consider the source audio itself as well, which may have been mixed with excessive bass already.

Use Compression to Tame Peaks

A compressor acts like an automatic volume control, reducing the loudest parts of the audio to help even out the volume levels. This is useful for taming peaks in the bass frequencies that may be overpowering the mix. By setting a low threshold and high ratio on the compressor, the loudest bass notes can be attenuated, preventing them from dominating the overall sound.

As an example, a threshold of -20dB with a 4:1 ratio means that any bass signal that exceeds -20dB will be reduced by a factor of 4. So a bass note hitting -10dB will be compressed down to -15dB instead. This prevents dramatic jumps in volume that can make the bass sound boomy and uncontrolled.

However, too much compression can make the bass sound overly squashed and lifeless. It’s best to use moderate compressor settings and listen carefully as you increase the amount of gain reduction. The goal is to tighten up the bass peaks without completely flattening the dynamics.[1]

Adjust Bass in Your Media Files

One way to reduce bass across any media player is to edit the audio files themselves to lower the bass frequencies. There are a number of free audio editing software options that allow you to adjust the bass levels:

Audacity is a popular open source, cross-platform audio editor that includes a customizable equalizer to boost or attenuate frequencies [1]. You can open an audio file in Audacity, then use the Bass Boost filter to reduce the gain on lower frequencies.

Ocenaudio is another free editor with an equalizer to shape the frequency spectrum. Enable the Equalization filter to access bass, mid and treble controls [2].

Reaper offers a 60-day free trial and provides a parametric equalizer to fine tune any frequency band. Use the EQ to turn down bass ranges specifically [3].

The advantage of editing source files is the bass reduction applies to any media player. Just be sure to export the files after adjusting the EQ to bake in your changes. Now the bass will be lowered when listening on VLC, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc.

Set System-Wide Bass Reduction

OS sound settings can reduce bass system-wide, but this method is less flexible than adjusting settings in VLC or the media files themselves.

However, system-wide bass reduction works well if you want to turn down bass on all audio playback. This approach lets you set bass lower globally across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android without having to tweak each individual app or file.

On Windows 10, go to Settings > System > Sound and scroll down to Graphic EQ. Drag the left sliders down to decrease bass (eqMac). On Mac, use the EQ feature in Audio MIDI Setup. For iOS, try an EQ app like Boom.

Just keep in mind that system-wide EQs impact all audio playback. Adjusting bass in specific files or VLC gives you more granular control.

Try Different Audio Setups

The room acoustics and speakers you use can greatly impact the perceived bass levels. Hard, reflective surfaces tend to amplify bass frequencies and create a booming effect. Using sound dampening materials like curtains and carpet can help absorb some of these reflections and provide a more balanced sound.

Additionally, the type of speakers or headphones you use impacts bass reproduction. Open-back headphones generally have less exaggerated bass compared to closed-back models [1]. Small speakers may benefit from adding a subwoofer to help fill out the low end frequencies the main speakers can’t reproduce.

Experiment with positioning, room treatments, and equipment upgrades to find an optimal audio setup that provides clear, balanced sound with bass that complements the mix.

Conclusion

VLC Media Player offers several ways to adjust the bass levels in your audio playback. Using the equalizer to reduce lower frequencies is an easy option directly in VLC. Turning down the bass boost effect will also decrease the emphasis on low-end sound. For more advanced users, the compressor can help tame peaks and inconsistences in the bass.

Lowering the bass can help improve the clarity and balance of your audio, especially on systems that tend to overemphasize low frequencies. With boomy bass out of the way, midrange details can shine through. Reducing bass may also prevent the audio from sounding muddy or distorted at high volumes.

If adjusting VLC’s settings doesn’t sufficiently lower the bass, try configuring system-wide audio options for your OS. On Windows, the Enhancements tab includes a slider for bass management. On Mac, the utility app Boom provides system-wide EQ. As a last resort, edit the audio files themselves to reduce bass levels. Consider testing different audio equipment as well if possible.

Getting the right bass balance for your listening preferences may require some experimentation. The goal is to make adjustments so the bass complements the rest of the audio instead of drowning it out. With VLC’s effects and system tools, you can fine tune the low end for cleaner, clearer sound.