Music app equalizer not applied - unusable ! - on macOS Tahoe

Question

Music app equalizer not applied - unusable ! - on macOS Tahoe

HELLO, Folks -

even with the third update of Tahoe MAC OS 26, Apple has failed to restore the equalizer settings in the "Music" app to the state unchangedly described and claimed in the "Help" guide. The equalizer settings that I have maintained for over twenty years and that worked on all macOS versions up to and including Sequoia no longer work!

The equalizer settings for each individual track are no longer applied! I have written to Apple "support" about this multiple times, and there are countless complaints about it in all user forums. When will Apple finally acknowledge this? When will finally be ensured that "Music" can be used the way used to be? That the equalizer settings are actually applied? I have several Macs that I can't update to Tahoe because the equalizer settings are no longer applied, making Apple Music unusable. I've also had to postpone buying new Macs for months because they ship with Tahoe. Isn'tApple interested in any of this? Do they not care about users and their experiences? When will there finally be a Tahoe update that makes Apple Music usable again?

Sorry, but after several months of this I am totally annoyed.

Apple hasn't even listed Apple Music among their apps for support! They only offer Apple Music as a "service"! The fact that countless users are using the Apple Music app, which hasn't worked properly since Tahoe, seems to be completely lost at Apple. No wonder Apple "support can't take any notice of anything about an app - no "service" at all! -, which exists ON EVERY MAC, but does not exist in their "Product Feedback"!

Mac Studio (2023)

Posted on Feb 15, 2026 3:41 PM

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Answer 1

embee_HH

Level 1

116 points

Feb 18, 2026 11:58 AM in response to Heartworker08

The equaliser defiantly got a change at the last updates and gets a worse usability with this change.

The previously volume control at the left of the EQ-dialog is not a volume bias control anymore.

Today it changes to a control for the equalisation amount.

So, if you turn that volume control down, you do not turn the volume down, instead you disable the equalisation effect.

This is mostly useless.

Previously you could avoid clipping at harsh EQ-settings by lowering the volume bias, that was pretty useful for small speakers, i.e. Airbook. Today EQ settings result in a clipping sound anyhow if harsh EQ settings are toggled, if you like to set up a proper equalisation for small speakers.

Over all: Bad idea, less usability, worse sounding Apple products.

Who designs this software?

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Answer 2

brbo

Level 8

40,193 points

Feb 16, 2026 8:29 PM in response to Heartworker08

Re: Music app equalizer not applied - unusable ! - on macOS Tahoe

We are all Apple users, like yourself, here in the community dong what we can voluntarily, to try to assist each other,

Seems MacOS Tahoe was a major upgrade with various new features.

Sometimes such an upgrade may require new methods and new ways of working.

Wondering if Apple support's precise methods (outlined below) are what does not work for you.

If so, what happens when you try to follow the steps.

Adjust the sound quality in Music on Mac - Apple Support

Eg: Above article covers:

______________________

"Use the Music equaliser"

"The equaliser’s settings apply to all songs until you change the settings,

except for songs that have equaliser presets assigned to them. "

_______________________________

How to: "Create your own equaliser presets"

______________________________________________

How to: "Choose equaliser presets for specific songs:

(When chosen) The equaliser preset you chose applies to the song whenever you play it."

________________________

How to: "Adjust the Sound Enhancer: The Sound Enhancer increases the perceived “wideness” of the stereo effect by modifying bass and treble response."

_____________________________

If you haven't seen it: The Music Support website:provides info / support / contact options etc.

Music - Official Apple Support

___________

Re: Feedback

The way I understand it: Apple welcomes feedback, feature requests, and bug-reports, and provides that feedback website you mention just for us:

You can send feedback to directly reach those who work behind-the scenes at Apple Music.Although it won't help you immediately, and they will likely not reply, your feedback will be carefully read by those who can make changes if others are also requesting them.

If it is a widespread issue as you observe: The more feedback they receive on which of the many hardware models and software versions are affected, the more likely we will see an update addressing the issue.

From the bottom of the feedback website: Here’s a link to the web-form for Music feedback:

Feedback - Apple Music - Apple

There is usually a choice of "other" if you do not like the suggested topics etc.

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Answer 3

Feb 18, 2026 1:31 PM in response to embee_HH

Thank you, "embeeHH". - Actually, my local music retailer, where I've been buying from for years (NOT an "Apple Store"...), tells me that he's received an "unusually high number" of complaints and inquiries regarding the unsatisfactory quality and inexplicable changes/deteriorations in usability and user-friendliness of the Music app since Tahoe. But even he doesn't know where or how he could report this to someone truly responsible at Apple; (even) he also doesn't know of any contact person at Apple for this. He finds it "extremely strange": "Customers are supposed to buy files from Apple Music—but there's no support for the Music app itself...?!"

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Answer 4

Feb 23, 2026 3:31 PM in response to embee_HH

I suspect that many users are rather indifferent to music apps and don't bother to configure elaborate settings. However, this isn't the first user-unfriendly incident with "Music," and in general, the app has in previous years been redesigned in a very, very user-unfriendly way compared to its predecessors. For example, when I think about how easy it used to be to transfer playlists, including presets, from one Mac to another, and much more.

Above all, I know many people who have abandoned the "Music" app because of all these unsatisfactory settings, and no longer have to worry about them.

I've also tried several other apps, but ultimately none offer anything really better or are free of annoyances and shortcomings. Since I've been using this app for over twenty years—back when it was still called iTunes—and have built it up, switching with my current collection of nearly 700 GB of music files isn't so easy.

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Answer 5

brbo

Level 8

40,193 points

Feb 23, 2026 3:35 PM in response to embee_HH

Thank you for your reply, embee_ HH.

You are right in that the software can only work in the way it has been set up to work. The way I understand it, Apple welcomes feedback. All feedback is carefully read and logged. There are a great number of hardware models and software versions in use now. If Apple gets plenty of feedback on which hardware models and software versions are affected by a particular issue, there may be an update that addresses the issue.

____________________________________________________________

Re: So maybe I am the only one, who got issues with the UI or strange behaviour?

As Apple users, like yourself, no-one here has access to the feedback sent to Apple. So far, we only get to hear from the few people who have replied here.

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Answer 6

Feb 18, 2026 7:04 AM in response to brbo

My previous reply was removed because of being allegedly "not constructive". THAT´s TRUE !

The ONLY "constructive" thing would be: establishing a SUPPORT for the Apple Music APP. The APP !!!!

WHERE is any icon for a support for the APP ? For REPORTING BUGS of the Apple Music APP ?!? I must say that after 25 years being customer of Apple, leaving hundreds of thousands of bucks to them, to be treated this way, LEFT HELPLESS just because I want to have my RIGHT of using the Apple Music APP properly AS DESCRIBED in the "Help" section, is unbelievably ARROGANT, HURTING and DISGUSTING.

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Answer 7

scarmean

Level 1

10 points

Feb 20, 2026 10:48 AM in response to Heartworker08

As a LONG time user of iTunes and then Apple Music, I have an enormous collection of purchased music as well as CD downloads. If Apple does not fix this current issue of disabling the equalizer settings in Tahoe, I will have to find another software to play, tweak, purchase and enjoy music. It is extremely annoying to listen to a carefully curated playlist while working on a painting or any other activity to have the volume levels between songs drastically change up and down.

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Answer 8

Feb 20, 2026 11:10 AM in response to scarmean

Apple lets me/us know: << We removed your post "Music app equalizer not applied - unusable ! - on macOS Tahoe" because it was nontechnical or off-topic. We understand wanting to share experiences, but these forums are meant for technical questions that can be answered by the community. >>

NOW WE KNOW: if an app works or not as described by Apple itself, is << NO TECHNICAL QUESTION >>. If your MAC should break down one time, it is "NO TECHNICAL QUESTION". It´s just an "experience", for which you pay some thousand bucks, but don´t expect Help from Apple.

If a question > cannot be answered by the community <, then Apple doesn´t come up with letting us know, WHO at APPLE is destined to answer and solve the problem, it just leaves us alone. THANK YOU, APPLE, WE LOVE YOU.

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Answer 9

embee_HH

Level 1

116 points

Feb 23, 2026 6:08 AM in response to brbo

Hello brbo,

of cause this forum is not the best place for feature request or to address bugs to the Apple Product Management or the Apple Developers.

I used the Feedback website several times and had NOT the experience that this helped in any way. I looks like Apple has its strict UI guidelines. For almost - what has been set - is set, there is never a wrong decision.

So maybe I am the only one, who got issues with the UI or strange behaviour? For this, i thought this forum should be the best choice.

Maybe "anybody" loves the new curious EQ functions.

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Answer 10

embee_HH

Level 1

116 points

Feb 25, 2026 9:59 AM in response to Heartworker08

I gave this also to the Apple Feedback.

On my evaluation on Swinsian - that has also an equaliser, I made some more bad experiences in Apple Music.

The Apple Musik equaliser is clipping very early in most all settings.

Even if the bass is increased a little, a bass drum sounds clipping.

I did the same settings, or even more aggressive settings in Swinsian and were surprised, what my litte hardware is capable to.

It looks like not the hardware (Mac Book Air) is the limiting factor. It looks like the reason is inside the new audio stack in Apple Music 1.6. The dynamic range sounds like very limited.

This to: 'bad sounding Apple products'. The hardware does not sound bad. Its fine! It's the Apple software, that make it sound bad.

I left this as a performance issue feedback at https://www.apple.com/feedback/apple-music/

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Answer 11

Feb 25, 2026 10:24 AM in response to embee_HH

That is kind of true, but it more or less has always been the problem with "Music" and every other Music Player. That is the main reason for using equalizers: improving (low-class) sound just at least a little. You can a.o. not expect similar sound quality from an original 1970s file as from one produced in 2026. I have three different Sound Systems that I can use with Computers, and they all also have very different sound and quality, but you will always have that. Exactly that is the reason why you need Equalizers: enhancing/improving/adapting the sound quality because files, sound systems etc. all have their own priorities, standards, faults, and with equalizer pre-sets you can meet and improve the given pre-fabricated sounds. That´s why it´s completely not understandable why Apple seems not to take care of that, and why Apple wants to have customers buy files from Apple Music but doesn´t support them in getting the best out of what they sell and customers bought.

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Music app equalizer not applied - unusable ! - on macOS Tahoe

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