Equalizers / measured

CORE EQ

KIT Plugins · VST3

10.0/10 Measured score · Measured fidelity · how scored

Flatness

10.0/10

±0.00 dB · scored

Transparency (THD)

10.0/10

0.000% · scored

Noise

10.0/10

< floor · scored

Linearity

10.0/10

-153 dB · scored

Latency

0 smp

factual · not scored

On the bench

48 kHz · 512-block · offline · same procedure for every plugin
Magnitude responsestepped sine, −12 dBFS
2026-07-17T18:06:40.098541 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.10.9, https://matplotlib.org/

Output level vs. frequency.

It barely touches your tone — the level holds within ±0.00 dB right across the hearing range, so what goes in comes out sounding the same.

Distortion vs level1 kHz, THD / THD+N
2026-07-17T18:06:40.177926 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.10.9, https://matplotlib.org/

THD   THD+N. THD is the trustworthy figure; THD+N is method-floor-limited at low levels.

It adds almost none of its own edge (at or below 0.000%), so it keeps the sound clean.

Latency, reported
0 smp
Latency, measured
0 smp (matches)
Onset
0 smp
Noise floor
below measurement floor
Linearity residual
-152.7 dB (1000 Hz, -12/-18 dBFS)
Processing cost
not measured

Its own background hiss is below what the bench can even measure, so it adds no noise you would hear.

It treats quiet and loud the same (within -153 dB), so it behaves identically however hard you push it.

It adds no delay to your audio.


What these measurements mean

read from the numbers above · transparent / clean design

On the bench it behaves like a clean tool, scoring 10.0/10 on staying flat, low distortion, low noise, and steady behavior at any level. It barely touches your tone — the level holds within ±0.00 dB right across the hearing range, so what goes in comes out sounding the same. It adds almost none of its own edge (at or below 0.000%), so it keeps the sound clean. Its own background hiss is below what the bench can even measure, so it adds no noise you would hear. It treats quiet and loud the same (within -153 dB), so it behaves identically however hard you push it. It adds no delay to your audio.

Measured score 10.0/10 — flatness, low THD, low noise and linearity, evenly weighted toward a clean pass-through. How scoring works.


What people report

sourced sentiment · in our words, not a bench measurement
7.6/10 press & editorial sentiment, 4 sources · a separate figure from the measured score

Consistently praised

  • Reviewers found it quick to dial in musical results on drums, with one noting it kept a kick's weight while firming up the low end and used the low-mid and high-mid bands at 500Hz and 1kHz to pull a buried snare back out from under guitars.
  • The high- and low-pass filters were praised for tidying low-end harmonics and plosives on vocals before brightening the top.
  • It draws very little CPU, letting you stack several instances across a mix, and ships with a resizable high-definition interface at a $29 price point.
  • The deliberate omission of a frequency analyzer was welcomed as a push toward mixing by ear rather than by sight.

Common criticism

  • Its band-and-filter feature set is close to what many stock DAW EQs already offer, and the missing analyzer is a convenience some reviewers expected.
  • The generous +/-20dB range can be misleading in practice, with one reviewer finding they had to work within surprisingly small movements and take time to attune their ears to its strength.
  • Reviewers wished the fixed-Q high and low bands offered selectable bandwidth like the two parametric mids do.

A review score is shown only when at least two independent sources — published reviews or genuine user discussion — return usable text. Launch or announcement coverage alone does not qualify, so some plugins read N/A here while still carrying a full measured score above.


How it sits in equalizers

measured score + bench figures, then the sourced review score (separate, N/A if unscored) · alphabetical · not ranked
PluginMeasured /10Mag devMax THDLatencyNoiseReview /10
4020 Retro EQ9.2±1.4 dB0.000%0 smp<floor8.0
6020 Ultimate EQ9.5±0.9 dB0.000%0 smp<floorN/A
AE400 Active EQ10.0±0.0 dB0.000%0 smp<floor7.8
Bettermaker EQ232D10.0±0.0 dB0.000%32 smp<floor8.6
Bettermaker Passive Equalizer8.4±0.2 dB0.757%32 smp<floor8.2
BM MEqualizer10.0±0.0 dB0.000%0 smp<floorN/A
CORE EQ10.0±0.0 dB0.000%0 smp<floor7.6
EQ SITRAL-2958.4±1.5 dB0.031%32 smp<floor7.5
EQ-7310.0±1.8 dB5.037%34 smp<floor8.0
EQ-8110.0±0.4 dB0.017%34 smp<floor8.4
EQP-1A10.0±1.7 dB0.378%34 smp<floor7.5
EQual10.0±0.0 dB0.000%19 smp<floor8.2
FilterBank E6068.3±3.0 dB0.000%0 smp<floor8.0
Master EQ-4329.6±0.0 dB0.013%19 smp<floor8.7
Sie-Q10.0±2.1 dB10.054%36 smp−166N/A
Sponsored · not a measurement

This lane is separate from measured results

No promoted plugins here. Anything in this lane is labeled and never affects the bench numbers or the order plugins appear in.