Windows 11 Sound Equalizer ? ? ?

I'm using Windows 11 Pro; 24H2; 26100.4652. Intel based laptop; 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900HX (2.20 GHz); 64.0 GB.
I purchased Sony Bluetooth head phones (WH1000XM5B-ER).

I'm hard of hearing in one ear so I like to adjust right/left balance to center the stereo sound.
When I plug in the this pair of headphones I can adjust the right/left balance. Control→Sound→Speaker→Properties→Levels→Balance then I can adjust the left / right channels independently. Perfect sound.
However, when I connect via Bluetooth, the the "Balance" adjustment is NOT left / right independent. They are tied together and not independent. Increase the left the right also increases the same amount. (I've disconnected / disabled the "Hand-free" driver as shown in the Device Manager...made no difference.)

Would appreciate some help / suggestions / and wisdom with getting right/left channel volumes independently adjustable with a Bluetooth connection for my headphones.

Many thanks.

Hi @fwshaw

If it was an equalizer app would you be looking a for a free solution or are you happy to pay? There is one well known free equalizer app Equalizer APO which is very good, but it is probably too complex for what your specific needs are.

Also, please tell us what the brand name and model number of your laptop?

There is Voicemeeter Standard and Voicemeeter Banana, both have left/right channel adjustment. Banana is a bit better, neither are free.

This is the simplest way to do this.

• Windows Sound Settings
• Control Panel > Sound > Playback > Properties > Levels > Balance
• This setup allows you basic control but isn't as precise as the equalizer apps and doesn't allow the adjustment of individual frequencies.

Many BT devices won't let you adjust the Balance independently from within Windows,
you probably have to do so from within the Sony App.

Edwin said:

Many BT devices won't let you adjust the Balance independently...

View attachment 140362

Click to expand...

Good point, some do work and some don't. A suitable equalizer app is probably the best solution.

I used the registry fix HERE. Worked for me.

Marcus Vinicus said:

There is one well known free equalizer app Equalizer APO which is very good, but it is probably too complex for what your specific needs are.

Click to expand...

Can also be used as a VST host for VST plugins (except VST3). There's tons of Free VST plugins which are quite easy to use - but also paid/professional (Studio mixing grade). That's what i use it for:




Also a list with some of the best Free EQ VST Plugins:

Windows doesn't come with much. It always needs third party help for video playback, same with other programs, except for programs that have their own equalization.

Also, for when I use headphones, I don't use Bluetooth anymore. I use analog out.

Connect to a smartphone and set up in the proprietary app ?

Many thanks for the recommendations. I've got a workable solution. I'm using Miccus RTX for Bluetooth to the Headphones...wire from laptop to the Miccus Transmitter. With this set up I've have good left / right balance for my hearing.

And, Marcus Vinivcus - I have two year laptop. It was made by and purchased from PC Laptops LLC. It is company located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is based on Clevo Model: NP50SNC mother board. CPU: i9-13900HX, GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050; SSDs: WD Black SN850x NVMe 1TB & MSI M450 2TB

Again, really appreciate the thoughtful input I received.

This thread should be closed.

Regards,
F Shaw