System wide Equalizer and plugins for Mac

For a full featured solution, including plugins, read on.

[2020-03-14 update]: I have not used this approach for a long time, so I don't know if it's still free and valid. I recommend the BlackHole approach.

Install Sound Siphon. We will use the demo version, which is free and does what we need.

Install AU Labs from Apple. You may need a free Apple Developer Account. To tell you the truth, I can't figure out how to get this.

    • try here: https://developer.apple.com/download/more/#
    • search for AU Labs
    • The one found is version 2.2, but I have 2.3. Maybe once installed Software Update will update it. Not sure

Launch Sound Siphon

    • Open Sound Siphon prefs.
    • Select your output device
    • Select your desired sample rate. 44100.00 Hz is standard
    • Check Mute on.

We mute Sound Siphon so the sound doesn't play twice; once through AU Labs and once through Sound Siphon.

Launch AU Lab

  • Set the input to Sound Siphon
  • Set the output to your DAC
  • Create Document

Add the equalizer

Save the AU Labs document

Back up the document as AU Labs corrupts it often!