How to Use the Equalizer in AudioDirector
Clean up a dull, hard-to-follow voice-over so the words come through.
Updated Nov. 14, 2026 · 4 min read
In a hurry? Use the equalizer quick guide instead.
When a voice-over sounds muffled or boomy, AudioDirector's Equalizer helps make it clearer. It turns parts of the sound up or down, so you can lower the boomy low end and bring out the part of the voice that makes words easy to understand. Start from a preset, or set all 10 bands yourself.
- In the Edit room, select a clip and click Equalizer under Apply Effect.
- Choose a preset. Or choose Custom, click the gear button, and drag the 10 band sliders.
- Keep Applied result selected, preview the clip, and click Apply.
- Click Export, name the file, choose a format, and click Export.
Steps to Use the Equalizer in AudioDirector
Step 1: Open the Equalizer
In the Edit room, select your clip in the library at the top left. This example uses host_voice_muffled.wav, a 15-second voice-over that sounds muffled. Then, in the Editing Tools panel below the library, click Equalizer under Apply Effect.
Want to test first? Hover over Equalizer, click the (i) next to it, and choose Try with Sample.
In the Mix room, select the audio on a track first. To apply the effect to every track at once, select the Master Track.
Step 2: Pick a Preset or Set the Bands
The Equalizer panel opens below the library, set to Default. The whole clip is selected, so the effect applies to all of it. To change only part, drag across the waveform to select it first. In the Edit room, you can also change just one channel of a stereo clip.
Then pick one of these two ways to set the sound.
Use a Preset
Click the Presets list and choose the preset that fits your audio or its music genre. The list has 16 entries from Default to Custom, such as Classical, Bass, Soft, and Acoustic. Most are named for music styles, and none is made for voices. For a muffled voice-over like this one, choose Custom and set the bands as shown below.
Set Your Own Bands
Choose Custom in the Presets list, then click the gear button next to it. Its tooltip reads Advanced. The Equalizer dialog opens with 10 sliders, one for each frequency band, from <31 Hz on the left to >16K Hz on the right.
Drag a slider up to make that band louder or down to make it quieter, from -20 to +20 dB. The number under each slider shows its setting.
For this muffled voice-over, the low bands come down: <31, 63, and 500 to -5.94, and 250 to -8.12. The bands that carry the words go up: 2K to 5.94, 4K to 7.81, and 8K to 4.06. The 125, 1K, and >16K bands stay at 0.
| If the sound is | Change | What you'll hear |
|---|---|---|
| Boomy or muddy | Lower 250 and 500 a little | Less boom, so the voice sounds clearer. |
| Muffled or hard to understand | Raise 2K and 4K a little | The words come through more clearly. |
| Harsh | Lower 2K a little | A softer, less piercing sound. |
| Thin | Raise 125 a little | A fuller, warmer voice. |
| Dull | Raise 8K a little | Crisper, brighter speech. |
To use your settings on other clips, click Save as preset, the disk button next to Presets. Type a name and click OK, and your preset appears in the Presets list. To keep a preset handy, click Add preset to favorites, the star button. You'll then find it under My Created > Favorite Presets in Apply Effect.
To step back, click Undo at the top left of the dialog. Back to default, at the top right next to the close button, sets the sliders back.
Step 3: Preview and Click Apply
Under Preview, keep Applied result selected. It's already on when the Equalizer opens, so you hear the change. Select Original audio to compare with the clip as it was.
In the Equalizer dialog, click Preview to listen. It turns into Pause while the clip plays. If you chose a preset in the panel, click the play button below the waveform instead.
When it sounds right, click Apply in the dialog or the panel. AudioDirector adds the changed clip to the library as a new item marked with an asterisk, here *host_voice_muffled.wav. The asterisk marks an edited version that isn't exported yet. Your original file doesn't change.
Step 4: Export the Clip
With the changed clip selected in the library, click Export at the top of the window. In Export Audio, type a File name and click the ... button next to Location to choose a folder.
Choose a Format: WAV, WMA, MP3, M4A, FLAC, or APE. M4A is the default. Then click Export. This example exports eq_after.wav at 48000 Hz and 16 bits, and AudioDirector adds it to the library too.
The other settings in the dialog can stay as they are:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Bitrate | Sets the bitrate for compressed formats such as MP3 and M4A. FLAC and APE use a compression level instead: a higher level makes a smaller file but takes longer. |
| Sample rate, Bit depth, Channels | Set the quality and channels of the file. WAV and FLAC can have 5.1 or 7.1 channels. |
| CyberLink TrueTheater Surround | Improves the sound when you raise the number of channels. Choose Living Room, Theater, or Stadium. |
| Upload a copy to CyberLink Cloud | Also uploads the file to your CyberLink Cloud storage, if you have a subscription. |
We tested these steps in AudioDirector 365 version 17.0.6908 on Windows.
Don't have AudioDirector yet? Make a muffled voice-over clearer with your own 10-band curve, then export it as a new file.
Download AudioDirector Free →FAQ About the Equalizer
Yes. In the Edit room, drag across the waveform to select a range before you click Apply. The Equalizer changes only that range. Without a range, it changes the whole clip.
In the Equalizer dialog, click Save as preset, the disk button next to Presets, and give it a name. Your preset then appears in the Presets list for the next clip you open.
No. Clicking Apply adds an edited version to the library, marked with an asterisk, and the file on your disk stays the same. To save the change as a file, click Export, which outputs your adjustments in a new file.
