Improve your PC’s sound for free!
With improvements in audio quality over the years, music lovers and movie lovers can enjoy their favourite content from their PC or laptop and feel as though they were smack dab in the middle of it. But there are times when you just need an extra oomph to bring out that extra layer of fidelity and crispness that your current audio software can’t do. Trust me, I’ve been there. This is why I decided to try out FxSound enhancer.
FxSound Enhancer(previously DFX Audio Enhancer) brings a simple concept to the table. It will improve the existing audio on your PC or laptop, regardless of your existing hardware, without being too complicated. And it did just that. It offered an easy to use, colourful interface that allowed you to tweak a few settings and immediately make your audio sound significantly better. The interface looked sophisticated for the time and offered tweaks such as increasing audio fidelity (to bring out the crispiness of audio), dynamic boost (to increase loudness without distortion) and hyperbass (because it was all about that bass). The application also gave you a number of equalizer presets that you could use or you could go ahead and make your own EQs.
It also offered scenarios such as speech, game, and movie, where the app would optimize itself for each mode accordingly.
The only caveat was that DFX/ FxSound was a freeware software, so you had to buy the full version to unlock its full potential. If you were a bit on the tech savvy side, you could have found a torrent that had the cracked version of it, but this also had a downside. Apart from being illegal, cracked software can also contain malicious software, infecting your PC/laptop and making things a hassle. But again, if you’re tech savvy, you can find a working crack and use Fx Sound Enhancer.
But all of that changed a few weeks ago, when FxSound suddenly announced that FxSound Enhancer would be made free for all. Why? Well, according to their website, “Because our mission is to make high quality audio accessible to all, not just those who can afford our software or expensive speakers and sound systems.” This basically means that all of FxSound’s features such as the 9-band EQ, audio visualizer, effects and presets are all available to use, at no cost, whatsoever. I was over the moon and promptly updated to the new FxSound Enhancer.
In terms of UI, the app offers a significant upgrade with a simple black and pink/red colourtone. There’s no clutter of buttons but rather, everything is laid out nicely. There’s a dropdown list containing all the different modes such as General, Bass boost, Movies, Transcription, Gaming etc. if you have multiple audio output devices (such as speakers and headphones), you can select each device and select a mode for it. Unfortunately, you can’t set different modes to each device, but you can create custom presets if the existing modes require further tweaking. Additional presets can be downloaded from the FxSound website.
Speaking of tweaking, FxSound Enhancer gives you control over clarity, ambience, surround sound, dynamic boost and bass boost. Dynamic boost, for example, boosts the loudness of audio without causing distortion so you won’t hear any crackling from your speakers if you crank them up. Bass Boost does exactly that: boost the bass frequencies so your audio has a deep rich tone that you can actually feel. If you need even more tweaking, FxSound also gives you a 9-band equalizer. The EQ allows you to fine tune frequencies ranging from 80Hz, all the way up to 16kHz.
Does FxSound really work?
Short answer: yes. Long answer: definitely YES. The difference in audio clarity and bass response is immediately noticeable when running FxSound when watching movies or listening to music. Even gaming benefits from FxSound as it brings out all the booming explosions and gunfire so you will actually feel like you’re in the game, rather than playing it.
There’s quite literally no reason that everyone shouldn’t be using FxSound because it’s that simple to use and it just plain works. The beauty of it is that it works regardless of the hardware you have. You can have a budget audio setup or the very best in the market, and FxSound will add a bit of improvement to both ranges of the spectrum.
FxSound Enhancer is also light on your CPU, so you won’t find your pc or laptop getting slow because of it either. So really, it’s a win all around. But don’t just take my word for it. Download FxSound Enhancer and give it a go. If you don’t like it, you can simply uninstall it. If you like it and want to keep using it, you can consider a donation to FxSound. This gives the developers an incentive to keep improving the app and according to the FxSound website, FxSound Enhancer might even become available for Android and iOS devices as well.