Sound/Main Output very Trebly/Bassy...in OSX but not XP!?

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processor93

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something seems to have changed lately in my main output on my mac (see my sig below for my specs).

i realize that a stereo mini to RCA cable plugged into a home stereo amp isn't going to deliver pristine sound, but it never sounded this awful before. most noticeable is the extreme high end or treble. then there is boomier bass. and not a lot in between.

the interesting thing is, i use windows XP via bootcamp, and when i listen to anything that way, it sounds fine. basically as i expect. yes, the same exact file will sound more full-range when booted up in windows XP.

the only thing i can think it might be is, i did install a demo of a 3rd-party plugin called Hear which is supposed to allow greater control of the audio output of the mac OS. i got it to tweak the sound of things playing off the web or out of VLC. however, when i checked on the app, i found that it seemed to be having no effect...different EQ settings made no change in sound. so i deleted the program. but this problem still persists.

the program was a simple install, just a drag+drop off the .dmg mounted disk to the applications folder. it's gone, but i'm wondering if opening it created some kind of preference file that's affecting the overall sound.

any ideas? anyone?
 
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processor93 said:
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the only thing i can think it might be is, i did install a demo of a 3rd-party plugin called Hear which is supposed to allow greater control of the audio output of the mac OS. i got it to tweak the sound of things playing off the web or out of VLC. however, when i checked on the app, i found that it seemed to be having no effect...different EQ settings made no change in sound. so i deleted the program. but this problem still persists.

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Click to expand...
If Hear screwed-up your audio, then uninstall it! Geesh. If you have problem with VLC you need to look to VLC to fix it. The thing is that VLC has about 15,000 different settings with no documentation about how to chose them for your system. For the longest time, my installation of VLC made my Logitech 5.1 sound system sound like it was a 3-inch speaker made of Reynolds Wrap. I found instructions for a setting on the Internet somewhere that seemed like a good idea. It was. When I changed to the suggested setting, my audio dramatically improved.
 
It's simple, Hear starts up whenever you start the computer. If you don't know exactly what you are doing with Hear, then theres no reason to use it because it will screw up all of your sound. Just simply delete it from your start up programs...

No reason to use vulgar by the way.
 
hi, thanks for the replies, but perhaps you guys missed the phrase "so i deleted the program". there is no "uninstall" because as i said, the "install" was simply "drag the app into your applications folder".

there is nothing in my startup items folder, and nothing anywhere on my drive with the name "hear" or the company that made it.

i'm aware hear starts on reboot, and i'm familiar with how equalizers and compressors work.

my initial problem was not just with VLC, but anything streaming off the web that doesn't go through itunes so i could EQ it there.

the bad sound i hear now is present not just through a program, but even if i select an audio file sitting on my desktop and hit spacebar, which plays it straight in a preview window.



p.s. my casual vulgarity has been deleted, no intention to offend.
 
The link is to a thread of other Mac users who had problems with Hear. Like the OP, they could not solve the problem with a simple drag-to-the-Trash uninstall. They needed an uninstaller utility like AppDelete or AppZapper.
 
yes, thanks, i read the thread. as it turns out, the problem DOES go away if you go to Hear's menu and say "uninstall".

as i suspected, even though the installation is a drag-and-drop, upon restarting the computer the app itself creates/installs two other small files buried deep in the computer so you can't even find them in a search. the problem file was most likely the Hear Daemon.

after reading the thread, i reinstalled Hear, did the uninstall and now everything mac side sounds fine.

i think those people resorted to those utilities because it didn't occur to them to reinstall the app in order to uninstall it. the uninstall option is not an immediately obvious option.
 
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