Headphones

Music production software often opts for skeuomorphic interfaces, with onscreen dials and buttons simulating physical controls, and that's the case for Apogee's Control 2 [bottom left] and especially the ECS Channel Strip plugin [right]. It's not an ideal approach, as turning a virtual dial with a mouse pointer or touchpad can be fiddly. Handy, then, that you can double-click on dials and enter a numerical value. Once you've familiarised yourself with the controls, the first task is to engage the Stereo Link, creating a joined volume control and stereo output (with 'Analog Level' set to +4dBu). Then you can open Apogee's Channel FX screen, by 'pressing' the purple FX key, to access the EQ controls.

Ignore the High Pass dial, and use 'Lo Shelf' to increase (or reduce) bass extension, while High Shelf works similarly for presence. Adjustment is achieved by turning two dials: the top one adjusts the ±dB level of the shelf (keep it subtle, below 5dB), while the bottom dial determines the frequency at which the adjustment starts. Mid Peak acts similarly, but introduces a peak rather than shelf, with a toggle to flip between low and high Q. Compression controls are offered if you want to experiment with dynamics, and although the 'Drive' dial is less relevant to hi-fi listening, a slight nudge can fatten up the sound.