Updated Edition (April 2026): I’ve since moved away from the LW EQ and have been using the spinorama-generated corrections instead; the 15-band and 31-band graphic EQ presets from spinorama.org. They’re gentler, preserve more of the treble air, and don’t leave the speakers sounding muffled the way the aggressive IIR corrections can. Original post preserved below, with the updated EQ recommendations added at the bottom.

Introduction

As a general rule of thumb, flat is good. But it’s also bad, flat is kind of like a raw footage from a camera. They’re good in essence, but bad if you’re serving it to clients.

In life, sometimes you need that spice’; Whether that be a midrange-y sound, boom-y, treble-y, each individual have their own preference. Some like bass, some hate bass.

I’d recommend watching @crinacle video on reading graph “You can SEE how headphones SOUND”

My overall experience and setup

For me, I like a little bit of flavor, that’s one of the primary reason I got the Mackie CR3X instead of the ERIS 3.5.

My setup overall is pretty basic, just your average “bedroom studio”, for me my main principle is if it sounds good, it sounds good. Basically it consists of me, my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen, Mackie CR3X.

Upon unboxing Mackie CR3X, the first thing that I noticed was, wow ’tis so boom-y. The bass is there'

Which is fine, it’s not a drawback for me, since my primary use was for listening, not producing. Anyhow, I have owned these for around a year now, and so far no complaints from my neighbors yet. They’re rock solid, perfect 5/7.

Then I remembered about adding some EQ to these speakers to make it sound better, more balance, more there. So I tried finding the forum, and I quickly found it; Audio Science Mackie CR3X Review

The EQ that I originally settled on was the LW EQ.

Score EQ LW: 4.7 still mediocre, with sub: 7.5 - Maiky76

Getting the EQ applied

I use Easy Effect to apply my EQ to pulsewire.

Limiter, compressor, convolver, equalizer and auto volume and many other plugins for PipeWire applications

If you are using KDE, you can find Easy Effect on Discover; I did get it that way, the UI looks like this

Inserting the LW EQ

To apply it, go to output -> effects -> Add Effects (Select Equalizer). Import the Preset APQ.

 1Mackie CR3-X APO EQ LW 96000Hz
 2May172021-171143
 3
 4Preamp: -0 dB
 5
 6Filter 1: ON HPQ Fc 50.5 Hz Gain 0 dB Q 1.25
 7Filter 2: ON PK Fc 95.5 Hz Gain -2.72 dB Q 3.34
 8Filter 3: ON PK Fc 118 Hz Gain -7.32 dB Q 0.9
 9Filter 4: ON PK Fc 2111 Hz Gain -4.16 dB Q 1.1
10Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3765 Hz Gain -3.58 dB Q 9.59
11Filter 6: ON PK Fc 9080 Hz Gain -1.45 dB Q 4.59
12Filter 7: ON PK Fc 11123 Hz Gain -4.15 dB Q 0.59
13Filter 8: ON PK Fc 17119 Hz Gain -5.18 dB Q 1.97

Or simply download it here: Mackie CR3-X APO EQ LW 96000Hz

What now?

Now that the EQ has been changed, it simply sounds “balanced” to my ear; the bass isn’t overwhelming, and I won’t be receiving noise complaints from my neighbors. :)

Now this EQ might not sound good to your ears, to each their own. An alternative EQ thats worth trying is No Audiophile EQ: NoAudiophile.com Mackie CR3 Correction

 1Dated: June 6, 2016 20:06:54 PM
 2
 3Notes: NoAudiophile.com Mackie CR3 Correction
 4
 5Equaliser: Generic
 6
 7Preamp: 0.0 dB
 8Filter 1: ON  PK    Fc  130 Hz  Gain  -10.0 dB Q 1.2
 9Filter 2: ON  PK    Fc  960 Hz  Gain  -3.2 dB Q 3.0
10Filter 3: ON  PK    Fc  1550 Hz  Gain  -4.6 dB Q 3.3
11Filter 4: ON  PK    Fc  2400 Hz  Gain  -2.0 dB Q 3.0
12Filter 5: ON  PK    Fc  4000 Hz  Gain   -5.8 dB Q 1.0
13Filter 6: ON  PK    Fc  5710 Hz  Gain   -5.5 dB Q 7.0
14Filter 7: ON  PK    Fc  10350 Hz  Gain   -5.7 dB Q 1.0
15Filter 8: ON  PK    Fc  16000 Hz  Gain   -3.8 dB Q 1.0
16Filter 9: ON  PK    Fc  19200 Hz  Gain   -5.9 dB Q 1.0

Update (April 2026): Switching to the Spinorama Corrections

After a long stretch with the LW EQ and a brief detour through the AutomaticEQ (IIR) from spinorama.org, I’ve landed on the spinorama graphic EQ presets as my daily drivers. Here’s the short version of why, and then the configs.

Why I switched

The LW EQ and the spinorama IIR both work, but they share a problem: they’re aggressive. The IIR in particular makes big moves a −6.29dB cut at 105Hz, −6.81dB cut at 15.6kHz, −2.62dB at 9kHz and on my setup it ended up sounding muffled and closed-in. All that phase rotation from stacked high-Q filters takes its toll, and gutting the 9–16kHz region kills the air that makes the CR3-X feel alive.

The spinorama 15-band and 31-band presets go the opposite direction: lots of small, gentle cuts (nothing bigger than −1dB) spread across the spectrum. You don’t get the theoretically-perfect Harman score, but you get a speaker that still sounds like a speaker open, present, and not over-processed.

Think of it like the difference between a surgeon and a masseuse. The IIR does surgery. The graphic EQs just gently relax the peaky spots.

Spinorama 15-band EQ (recommended)

This is what I use day to day. Preference score goes from 2.14 → ~5.05-ish territory, but more importantly, it feels right.

 1# Spinorama 15-band EQ for Mackie CR3-X
 2# Source: https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/Mackie%20CR3-X/ErinsAudioCorner/index_eac.html
 3
 4Preamp: -0.3 dB
 5
 6Filter 1:  ON PK Fc    25 Hz Gain  0.25 dB Q 2.14
 7Filter 2:  ON PK Fc    40 Hz Gain  0.25 dB Q 2.14
 8Filter 3:  ON PK Fc    63 Hz Gain  0.25 dB Q 2.14
 9Filter 4:  ON PK Fc   100 Hz Gain -0.75 dB Q 2.14
10Filter 5:  ON PK Fc   160 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 2.14
11Filter 6:  ON PK Fc   250 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 2.14
12Filter 7:  ON PK Fc   400 Hz Gain  0.25 dB Q 2.14
13Filter 8:  ON PK Fc   630 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 2.14
14Filter 9:  ON PK Fc  1000 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 2.14
15Filter 10: ON PK Fc  1600 Hz Gain -0.25 dB Q 2.14
16Filter 11: ON PK Fc  2500 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 2.14
17Filter 12: ON PK Fc  4000 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 2.14
18Filter 13: ON PK Fc  6300 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 2.14
19Filter 14: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -0.75 dB Q 2.14
20Filter 15: ON PK Fc 16000 Hz Gain -1.00 dB Q 2.14

Direct download from spinorama: 15-band raw txt

Spinorama 31-band EQ (for the completionists)

If your EQ plugin can handle 31 bands, this one is even smoother because it can place more filters across the spectrum with gentler individual cuts. Preamp doesn’t even need adjustment (−0.0dB).

 1# Spinorama 31-band EQ for Mackie CR3-X
 2# Source: https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/Mackie%20CR3-X/ErinsAudioCorner/index_eac.html
 3
 4Preamp: -0.0 dB
 5
 6Filter 1:  ON PK Fc    20 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
 7Filter 2:  ON PK Fc    25 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
 8Filter 3:  ON PK Fc    31 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
 9Filter 4:  ON PK Fc    40 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
10Filter 5:  ON PK Fc    50 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
11Filter 6:  ON PK Fc    63 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
12Filter 7:  ON PK Fc    80 Hz Gain -0.25 dB Q 4.32
13Filter 8:  ON PK Fc   100 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 4.32
14Filter 9:  ON PK Fc   125 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 4.32
15Filter 10: ON PK Fc   160 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 4.32
16Filter 11: ON PK Fc   200 Hz Gain -0.25 dB Q 4.32
17Filter 12: ON PK Fc   250 Hz Gain -0.25 dB Q 4.32
18Filter 13: ON PK Fc   315 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
19Filter 14: ON PK Fc   400 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
20Filter 15: ON PK Fc   500 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
21Filter 16: ON PK Fc   630 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
22Filter 17: ON PK Fc   800 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
23Filter 18: ON PK Fc  1000 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
24Filter 19: ON PK Fc  1250 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32
25Filter 20: ON PK Fc  1600 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 4.32
26Filter 21: ON PK Fc  2000 Hz Gain -0.75 dB Q 4.32
27Filter 22: ON PK Fc  2500 Hz Gain -0.75 dB Q 4.32
28Filter 23: ON PK Fc  3150 Hz Gain -0.75 dB Q 4.32
29Filter 24: ON PK Fc  4000 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 4.32
30Filter 25: ON PK Fc  5000 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 4.32
31Filter 26: ON PK Fc  6300 Hz Gain -0.50 dB Q 4.32
32Filter 27: ON PK Fc  8000 Hz Gain -0.75 dB Q 4.32
33Filter 28: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -0.75 dB Q 4.32
34Filter 29: ON PK Fc 12000 Hz Gain -0.75 dB Q 4.32
35Filter 30: ON PK Fc 16000 Hz Gain -0.75 dB Q 4.32
36Filter 31: ON PK Fc 20000 Hz Gain  0.00 dB Q 4.32

Direct download from spinorama: 31-band raw txt

My ranking, TL;DR

Spinorama 15-band my current daily driver. Balanced, open, natural.
Spinorama 31-band near identical to 15-band in feel; use if your plugin supports it.
LW EQ (Maiky76) still a solid choice if you want more aggressive correction and don’t mind a slightly tamer top end.
Spinorama AutomaticEQ (IIR) measurement-perfect but sounded muffled to me. Maybe great in a different room.
NoAudiophile EQ haven’t revisited recently, still worth trying.

As always, your room, your ears, your taste. If one of these doesn’t click, try another or halve every negative gain value in whichever one you pick for a gentler version.

If you like this post, you might like other content I post on my socials @ connect.darrennathanael.com

See you next time; if there’s anything I missed, please let me know in the comments

EQ'ing Mackie CR3X - Pulsewire - Fedora Linux