Earware is a preset-based corrective EQ that flattens your headphones toward an uncolored target using linear-phase FIR convolution. It was born out of frustration with bad gain staging and invasive DRM software in big-box corrective plugins, as well as my fatigue from manually inputting EQ values in every DAW I use on every system I use.
Throw it on your master and pick your cans from a searchable library of 6033 Headphone Models! (6034 list entries including "No Model Selected"). No correction is applied until you choose your headphones.
EQ data is sourced from AutoEq's recommended results — the highest-accuracy correction measurement available for each headphone. Earware uses linear-phase FIR convolution so all frequencies are delayed equally — no phase distortion. The tradeoff is ~23 ms of latency. A preamp matching the correction gain keeps your listening volume consistent, and bypass lets you A/B against the uncorrected signal.
This project was built with some amazing open-source software, most notably Noizefield's awesome audio-plugin-coder repository, an extensive skillset and context management system for building JUCE plugins. It was utilized in combination with OpenCode and DeepSeek's highly efficient v4 flash model.
I need help!!!! The macOS VST3/AU build is new and not yet field-tested. Similarly, no DAWS have been tested extensively besides Reaper on any platform. Please try it in your DAW and open an issue, including which DAW/OS you're using.
Download the build for your platform from the Releases page:
| Platform | Formats | Files |
|---|---|---|
| Linux x64 | VST3 | Earware_Linux_x64_VST3.zip |
| Windows x64 | VST3 | Earware_Windows_x64_VST3.zip |
| macOS (Universal) | VST3, AU | Earware_macOS_Universal_VST3.zip, Earware_macOS_Universal_AU.zip |
To install, unzip and copy the plugin folder into your audio plugin directory:
- VST3 —
~/.vst3/(Linux),C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\(Windows),~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/(macOS) - AU (macOS) —
~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/
See the user manual for full usage.
Building from source requires CMake ≥ 3.22, a C++20 compiler, and the JUCE 8.0.12 git submodule (a vendored JSON-length fix is applied at configure time — see patches/). Platform tooling: WebKitGTK/GTK3/Jack/ALSA on Linux, Visual Studio 2022 + the WebView2 SDK (resolved via NuGet) on Windows, and the system WKWebView on macOS.
git clone https://github.com/AilaScott/Earware.git
cd Earware
git submodule update --init --recursive
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --config ReleaseTargets: Earware_VST3 (all platforms), Earware_AU (macOS), earware_rendertest (Linux only — render test suite: magnitude accuracy, output level match, DC gain, IR symmetry, group delay, phase linearity, latency).
Details: Windows build notes and build/CI reference.
GPL-3.0. Uses JUCE (GPL-3.0) and headphone data from jaakkopasanen/AutoEq's recommended results.