User manual
WZ Audio is a gaming audio app built for Call of Duty: Warzone on Windows. It calibrates your headphones so they sound «flat» for your ears, applies gamer-style EQ presets (Bass Boost, Cinema, Competitive…) with an engine that finds and boosts footsteps on top of any of them, helps with spatial audio, can send a copy of your audio to a virtual cable for your stream and includes its own voice party chat.
How it works (and why its latency is imperceptible)
WZ Audio does not put a virtual audio device in your listening path. It uses Equalizer APO, a free open-source audio processor that runs inside Windows audio, directly on your headphone output.
- The game keeps playing through your usual headphones; Equalizer APO applies the filters in the same step where Windows mixes audio.
- The filters are biquad equalizers: they process every sample immediately, with no extra buffer. WZ Dynamics' safety limiter looks 1.5 ms ahead: added latency ≈ 1.5 ms, imperceptible (sound travels half a meter in that time).
- WZ Audio writes its own file (
wzaudio.txt) in the Equalizer APO folder and adds a single line toconfig.txt:Include: wzaudio.txt. Before the first change it keeps a copy of yourconfig.txt. - If you close WZ Audio, your profile stays applied. To remove it completely use History & restore → Initial state.
Getting started
Installation (once)
- Unzip the
WZAudiofolder anywhere (for exampleC:\WZAudio). - Double-click
Instalar.bat. It asks for administrator permission and creates the shortcuts. Nothing else to install: since version 2.0 WZ Audio is a single program (wzaudio.exe) and no longer uses Python. - If you don't have Equalizer APO, its official page opens. Install it and, when the device list appears, tick your headphones, accept and restart the PC.
- Open WZ Audio from the Desktop or Start menu shortcut (it always runs as administrator, because it writes to the Equalizer APO folder).
Getting started (1 minute)
- On Home, choose your headphones.
- Tap a preset: «Balanced» is the recommended one to start. That turns WZ Audio on and WZ Dynamics already boosts footsteps.
- Done. 3D audio (WZ Spatial, Humano D1 head, dry) comes on by default. For it to work, your Windows output must be in 7.1 (or choose «Windows 3D» with USB headphones) and Warzone set as shown in Settings → 3D audio → Set up Warzone.
Calibrating is optional: without it, your headphones use a flat profile. To adapt it to your headphones and your ear, Home suggests Calibrate (recommended).
Instructions don't take up the screen: each section has a ? button that shows them.
System tray
- WZ Audio sits next to the clock. Double-click opens the window; right-click shows the menu.
- Closing the window with X doesn't quit the app (your audio, hotkeys and the audio copy keep working). Use Quit to exit.
- While in a party, keep the window open (you can minimize it): the party lives in the window.
Header
- Tabs: Home, Party, ⚙ Settings and Help.
- Version next to the name (major.minor.build).
- WITH WZ AUDIO / WITHOUT WZ AUDIO (A/B): instantly compare with and without WZ Audio. Not saved in the history. If it says WZ AUDIO OFF, choose a preset on Home to turn it on.
- ES / EN: language of the whole app, including this manual.
- Quit: closes WZ Audio completely.
Home: daily control
- Top: your headphones, the 3D audio status (with Adjust), your headphone profile (flat or calibrated, with Calibrate) and extra volume (0 to +24 dB, for outputs that sound quiet; with extra volume a limiter keeps it from clipping).
- Preset: tap one to switch instantly. Below the list you see what the current one is for. The ones you modified say «modified»; your own presets have ⭐ and an ✕ to delete them (tap twice). History & restore keeps every change with its date; you can go back to any point or to the Initial state (your
config.txtas it was before WZ Audio). - WZ Dynamics · footstep engine: on/off, Footstep boost and Your floor ↔ other floors (see below).
- Fine tuning (expands): preset intensity (0–150 %), calibration strength, the sound curve (calibration in blue, preset plus your EQ in orange, total in green), My equalizer (a graph with the chosen preset's curve and one point for each of its 10 bands: drag them up or down, ±12 dB; double-click sets a band back to 0; once modified, the dashed line shows the factory preset and ↺ Reset preset returns it to how it came) and Save as my own preset.
- If something is missing for WZ Audio to work (Equalizer APO, choosing a preset or the 7.1 output), a notice appears at the top with a button to fix it.
Calibration strength
On Home, Calibration strength (60 % by default) sets how much of your calibrated profile is applied. If it sounds boomy or «like your ears are blocked», lower it: matching each band's loudness to 1 kHz tends to ask for too much bass and remove presence at 3 kHz, because the ear is less sensitive to bass at moderate volume.
Presets: the flavor of the sound
Presets work like the ones in gaming headset apps (Sonar, G HUB, iCUE, Synapse): they change the flavor of the sound. Footsteps are boosted by WZ Dynamics on top of any of them, so you can play with Bass Boost or Cinema and still hear footsteps. Presets add to your calibrated profile: first your headphones sound flat, then the preset goes on top.
| Preset | What it's for |
|---|---|
| ⚖️ Balanced | The game's sound as it comes, just a bit clearer and with a little body. The recommended starting point. |
| 🔊 Bass Boost | Deep bass: explosions, vehicles and gunshots with more weight. Cleans up the 250 Hz boom so it doesn't sound boxy. |
| 🎬 Cinema | Wide, movie-like sound: bass and treble up, relaxed mids. For the campaign, cutscenes or casual play. |
| 💥 Impact | Gunshots with punch and «crack», explosions that rumble. For those who enjoy the roar. |
| 🎯 Competitive (FPS) | To hunt footsteps: less explosion rumble and more detail where footsteps and reloads sound. |
| 🗣️ Clear voices | Your squad and dialogue are easier to understand (party, Discord, in-game chat) without losing footsteps. |
| ✨ Detail | More brightness and air: reloads, shell casings and footsteps more defined. If it feels harsh, lower the intensity. |
| 🎚️ Flat | No EQ: just your calibration (if you calibrated) and whatever you move in My equalizer. If you don't even want your profile, set Calibration strength to 0 %. |
| 🧪 My footsteps (measured) | Shows up when you record your footstep fingerprint (see below). It's the only preset measured from your game's real sound. |
None of them cuts 300–500 Hz broadly (that's where the footstep impact that crosses floors lives) or removes the «air» above 9 kHz (everything would sound boxed in). Presets are EQ only (fixed filters): they don't compress or change the volume depending on what plays. So a boost doesn't distort, WZ Audio lowers the input just enough (automatic preamp; Fine tuning shows how much). If it sounds quiet, raise the Windows volume: nothing is lost.
Modify a preset: when you choose a preset, Fine tuning → My equalizer takes its shape in the 10 bands (with Bass Boost, the bass shows up raised) and you adjust from there. The change is saved for that preset (if you change Bass Boost and switch to Cinema, each keeps its own), the list shows «modified» and the intensity scales it. ↺ Reset preset returns it to factory.
Create your own preset: with the preset and EQ the way you like them, type a name in Save as my own preset and press ⭐ Save. It shows up at the end of the list with ⭐ and remembers its intensity. To delete it, tap its ✕ twice. You can have up to 12.
If you were using a preset that no longer exists, WZ Audio switched it to the closest one: Footsteps only → Competitive (FPS); Footsteps + friends' voices → Clear voices; Gunshots & explosions → Impact. Your EQ and your footstep boost are kept.
WZ Dynamics: the footstep engine
Since 1.12.53 WZ Dynamics is back to the 1.12.45 engine, the one with which footsteps did stand out in the game, but without the explosion and gunshot control: those sounds come through as they are.
- Footstep boost: raises quiet sounds that stand out from the ambience the moment they appear: footsteps, and also reloads or doors. Loud sounds aren't boosted.
- Your floor ↔ other floors: footsteps have an impact (≈ 150–700 Hz, the only thing that goes through floors and walls) and a scuff (≈ 2.5 kHz and up, the footstep on your floor). To the right the impact is boosted more; to the left, the scuff.
- In the treble the boost is limited to 6 dB so it doesn't erase the front/back and up/down cues.
- Very subtle safety limiter: the game almost never clips, so it only acts if a peak would really go over the maximum. Up to 1 dB over, it lowers only half and lets go in 30 ms (120 ms if the excess is sustained), so it never sounds dull or hollow. The output never goes above 0 dBFS. It looks 1.5 ms ahead.
The gain is the same in both ears, so it doesn't move the direction WZ Spatial or Windows 3D computes. It works on the final headphone sound (WZ Spatial or stereo / Windows 3D output).
Audio sample: in Settings → Footstep fingerprint you can record 60 s of the game's audio (Record 60 s sample). It's saved in data\muestras. Since 1.12.52 recordings come out right even if Warzone has several processes.
Settings → Calibrate: your «flat» profile
Every headphone model and every ear is different. Calibration compares noise bands with a 1 kHz reference and compensates the differences so everything sounds equally loud for you.
Before you start:
- Do it somewhere quiet and at the volume you play at.
- Press Test sound and set the Windows volume until it's clear without discomfort. Nothing plays louder than that sound.
- During calibration WZ Audio turns itself off (A/B) to measure your headphones as they are.
- Test sounds play on the selected headphones, even if they are not the Windows default device. If Windows doesn't allow it, the app tells you: in that case set your headphones as default in Sound settings. The first time, a microphone prompt appears at the top of the window: press Allow. It's asked only once; it lets the app pick your headphones as the output (and use the party). WZ Audio records nothing.
Quick mode (≈ 2 min)
- Choose what your headphones are like (gaming headset with strong bass, bright in-ears, studio, earbuds or «not sure»). It's only the starting point.
- The reference and then the test sound play in a loop. Rate the test: much / a bit louder, equal, a bit / much quieter. WZ Audio adjusts and plays again until you choose Equally loud (up to 4 tries per band).
- There are 5 bands: 80 Hz, 250 Hz, 3 kHz, 6 kHz and 10 kHz.
Precise mode (5–7 min)
For 10 bands (63 Hz to 12 kHz) you move a slider until the test sounds equally loud as the reference and press They match → next. You can pause or go back a band.
Left / right balance
At the end of calibration (or with the Left / right balance only button) a noise plays in your left ear, then the right, then both; the box that lights up tells you which one is playing. Move the slider until left and right sound equally loud and the one in both sounds right in the center. It corrects up to 10 dB. If «left» plays in your right ear, your headphones are on backwards.
Result
The chart shows the correction. Compare with A/B. You can recalibrate any time; the previous one stays in the history. Corrections are limited to ±9 dB per band so your headphones aren't pushed too hard.
Outside the measured bands nothing is corrected (since 1.12.53 the lowest band no longer keeps rising below 63 Hz, which used to force the whole volume down).
Important: calibration matches what you heard in the test, and the ear changes with volume (louder = more bass perceived). If something sounds too strong after calibrating (for example, the treble), repeat it at the exact volume you play at or lower Calibration strength.
Settings → Spatial audio & Warzone
WZ Spatial
Warzone sends 7.1 and WZ Spatial turns it into headphone sound using real head measurements (HRIRs, head-related impulse responses): each of the 7 channels is convolved with the measured response of a speaker in that direction, to both ears, and the bass channel (LFE) is added to both ears. It's the same technique professional virtualizers use. It runs inside Equalizer APO, so it adds no latency, and your calibration, preset and equalizer are applied afterwards, on the result.
It needs your Windows output set to 7.1 and to 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 or 192 kHz (recommended: 48 kHz). If the output is stereo, the app tells you and shows how to change it. If your headphones are USB or stereo-only, use Windows 3D (below).
Settings
- On: turns WZ Spatial on or off. The A/B button at the top leaves WZ Spatial on and only removes the equalizer, so you can compare without losing direction.
- Measured head: everyone hears direction differently depending on the shape of their head and ears, so there are three to choose from. Humano D1 (a real person, SADIE II) · KU100 (Neumann studio dummy head) · FABIAN (dummy head with torso, TU Berlin). Keep the one that, in the location test, sounds most «outside» your head with the clearest back.
- Virtual room: «Dry» (the default and recommended: measured heads only, maximum direction precision; the sound feels more «inside your head»), «Small room» (short, soft reflections that open up the sound without losing direction) or «Medium room» (more space). The room is generated once on your PC and adds no latency.
- Virtual speaker angles: Sides 90° · rear 150° (recommended for gaming: separates front from back more) or Sides 110° · rear 135° (standard cinema layout).
- Front / back contrast (extra) (0–200 %): optional boost on top of the measurements (front brighter, back duller). Leave it at 0 % at first and raise it only if you still mix up front and back.
Windows
- Output in 7.1: Sound panel → Playback tab → click your headphones → Configure button (bottom left) → 7.1 Surround → Next until Finish. The Spatial sound tab in Properties is not for this.
- Spatial sound (Windows Sonic / Dolby Atmos / DTS): Off.
- Audio enhancements: leave them on Device Default Effects. Do not choose «Off»: that also turns off Equalizer APO and WZ Audio would stop working.
- Sound card software (Realtek, Nahimic, Sonic Studio…): loudness, virtual surround, virtual 7.1 and its equalizer off.
- Headset software (G HUB, iCUE, Synapse, Sonar…): surround / 7.1 / spatial audio off and equalizer flat.
- Format (Advanced tab): 48000 Hz, 24 bit.
Warzone · Settings → Audio
| Option | What to set |
|---|---|
| Speakers/Headphones Game Sound Device | Your headphones (the same ones you chose in WZ Audio) |
| Speaker Output | 7.1 (if it's not listed, «Windows Default», which is already 7.1) |
| Enhanced Headphone Mode | Off (WZ Spatial does the 3D, so it isn't processed twice) |
| Audio Mix | Home Theater (the mix that sends all 8 channels) |
| Mono Audio | Off |
Effects at 100 and Gameplay Music and Dialogue at 0 or very low help you hear footsteps.
Windows 3D: USB, wireless or controller-connected headphones
If your headphones don't accept 7.1 (typical of USB, wireless and controller-connected headsets), choose Windows 3D under «3D audio mode». Windows spatial audio does the 3D and WZ Audio works after it, on what reaches your ears: your calibrated profile, the preset, your equalizer, extra volume and WZ Dynamics apply to all the sound already in 3D, including footsteps behind you. No virtual cable needed.
Formats (the «Formats on your PC» card shows which you have):
- Windows Sonic for Headphones: free, comes with Windows.
- Dolby Atmos for Headphones: enabled with the Dolby Access app (paid, with a free trial).
- DTS Headphone:X: enabled with the DTS Sound Unbound app (paid).
Steps
- Windows Settings → System → Sound → your headphones → Spatial audio: choose Windows Sonic (or Dolby Atmos / DTS if you have them). The app shows ✓ as soon as it detects it's on; it checks by itself when you come back to the app and every 3 seconds while it's missing.
- Audio enhancements: leave them on Device default effects (choosing «Off» stops Equalizer APO).
- Headset software (G HUB, iCUE, Synapse, Sonar…): surround / 7.1 / spatial audio off and a flat equalizer.
- In Warzone: Game Sound Device = your headphones, Speaker Output Spatial Surround (it shows up when your headphones have Windows spatial audio on: it sends the full sound, overhead included; if it's not listed, 7.1), Enhanced Headphone Mode Off (Windows does the 3D, so it isn't processed twice) and Audio Mix Home Theater.
- Calibrate your headphones (Settings → Calibrate): these formats assume neutral headphones and your profile gets them closer to that; the 3D feels more precise.
- Check it with the location test → Spin near and far.
Measured heads, virtual room and angles belong to WZ Spatial, so they're hidden in this mode. WZ Spatial (direct 7.1 mode) is still the most precise: if your headphones can plug into the PC's sound card, that's the best option.
If your headphones accept 7.1 (for example, plugged into the sound card, or USB with a 7.1 driver), WZ Audio detects it and suggests direct 7.1 mode on Home and in 3D Audio with a Use 7.1 direct button: it's more precise and adds no latency.
Latency (estimated): WZ Audio adds ≈ 1.5 ms (WZ Dynamics' limiter; it works inside Windows audio). What adds up is outside the app: the Windows spatial format, a few milliseconds (Windows Sonic ≈ 5–10 ms; Dolby Atmos somewhat more), and your headphones' connection (USB ≈ 5–15 ms more than the sound card output; 2.4 GHz wireless ≈ 15–40 ms; Bluetooth 100 ms or more, not recommended for gaming). With USB headphones it usually ends up about 10–25 ms above direct 7.1.
Warnings: WZ Audio warns if Windows spatial audio is off on your headphones (no 3D without it) and, in direct 7.1 mode, if it's on together with WZ Spatial (the 3D would be done twice). It doesn't check any game's settings: WZ Audio works with any game or program that plays through your headphones.
Location test
A sphere that plays wherever you put it. Choose the sound, always continuous with no gaps so you can follow it while moving it (noise, the easiest to locate; hum; or rain, softer) and the duration (10, 20 or 30 seconds, or no limit) and press Start. While it plays, drag it (or click anywhere) around you: the sound moves with it, also nearer or farther. Spin around makes it circle on its own. Spin near and far keeps circling while it moves closer and farther away continuously (one cycle every 24 s), to check direction and distance. Stop ends it at any time.
- Headphones on correctly (L on the left ear), a quiet room and volume like in the game.
- With a 7.1 output the test sends the sound to the 8 real channels, so it goes through WZ Spatial just like Warzone. To compare heads: leave the sphere spinning and switch heads above.
- With Windows 3D the test also sends the 8 channels, so it goes through Windows Sonic / Dolby Atmos just like Warzone.
- In stereo without spatial audio the test uses the browser's head model, not WZ Spatial.
- Left, right and the sides should be clear. Front and back are harder on headphones: that's normal; the right head improves it a lot.
Measurement credits
WZ Spatial uses public measurements: SADIE II (subject D1 and Neumann KU100, University of York; Apache License 2.0, via OpenAL Soft and Resonance Audio) and FABIAN (Audio Communication Group, TU Berlin; CC BY 4.0, via pyfar). They were trimmed to the 7.1 directions, compensated, normalized and resampled. Details and license texts are in the hrir folder (file LEEME_HRIR.txt). None of these authors is associated with WZ Audio.
Settings → Footstep fingerprint
Nobody publishes exactly how Warzone's footsteps sound, and it changes with every season and every integrated game. The footstep fingerprint measures them in your game:
- Join a private match with a friend, stand in a 3-story building and stay still, without shooting. Use your usual volume and «Audio Mix».
- Record each stage (30 s, with 5 s to get back to the game):
- Background: nobody moves.
- Same floor: your friend walks and runs around you.
- Floor above and Floor below: the same, above and below you.
- Press Analyze.
WZ Audio records only Warzone's audio (not your mic or Discord). It finds the footsteps by their walking rhythm, compares their spectrum with the background band by band and creates the My footsteps (measured) preset. It also sets the WZ Dynamics crossovers to where your game's footsteps live. The chart shows how much footsteps on your floor and above/below stand out, plus the measurement quality; if it's low, repeat it with your friend closer. Recordings are stored in data\huella and never leave your PC. It's worth repeating after a big Warzone update.
Settings → Hotkeys
They work in game: Next preset and A/B. Type the combination, e.g. Ctrl+Alt+P, and press Save hotkeys. A red box means Windows didn't accept that combination (another app uses it).
Settings → Headphones: start with Windows and audio copy
Start with Windows
Check Open WZ Audio when Windows starts (it's also in the tray icon menu). WZ Audio opens by itself when you sign in, in the tray with no window, and applies the preset you have selected, and your 3D audio. If your headphones aren't ready yet when Windows starts, it retries by itself for 2 minutes. It uses a Windows scheduled task with administrator rights, so the «Allow changes?» prompt doesn't show up at every startup.
Audio copy
Sends a copy of everything playing on your PC (game, Discord, music…) to a virtual device, for example VB-CABLE's «CABLE Input». You keep hearing everything directly, with no extra latency.
- Check Send a copy of everything playing to: and pick the cable.
- In your streaming app add that cable's recording as an audio input: in OBS / Streamlabs, Sources → + → Audio Input Capture → «CABLE Output»; in TikTok LIVE Studio, Add source → Microphone / Audio input → «CABLE Output».
- Requires Windows 10 version 2004 or newer.
Party chat
Voice chat for your squad, no accounts: a name and a code.
- Create party: type your name and press Create party. Share the 6-letter code with your squad (Copy code).
- Join: type the code and press Join. Up to 8 people.
- Mode: voice activation (set the sensitivity with the slider; the meter shows your level) or push to talk (e.g.
Mouse4,VorCapsLock; works in game). - Party volume: the overall volume of all voices, up to 200 %.
- Each member has their own volume, up to 300 % (in case someone speaks very softly), their ping and lights up green when talking. WZ Audio remembers each person's volume by name. The host (👑) can kick someone; if the host leaves, another member takes over.
- Mute my mic, Deafen and Leave party.
- Voice is end-to-end encrypted (WebRTC, Opus codec) and goes directly between PCs when the network allows. The WZ Audio server only introduces members to each other; it doesn't listen to or store voice. Typical latency is your ping to each friend + 20–40 ms.
- Keep the WZ Audio window open while in a party (you can minimize it).
In-game overlay
Shows on top of the game who's in the party and lights up in green who's talking, like Discord. It's information only: it can't be clicked and never takes focus, so it doesn't interfere with the game. You choose position, size, opacity and whether to show only who's talking. It appears only while you're in a party. It shows with Warzone in «Borderless fullscreen» or windowed; in «Exclusive fullscreen» Windows doesn't allow drawing on top.
Help
- Updates: WZ Audio checks for new versions when it opens (once a day) and shows a green bar. Updates are digitally signed: the app only installs files published by the WZ Audio author. During a party the update waits until you leave.
- Manual and Download PDF manual.
- Buy me a coffee: WZ Audio is free; if it helped you, you can support the author.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| «Equalizer APO is missing» | Download it with the button, install it, tick your headphones and restart. Then press I installed it. |
| «Not active on your headphones» | Open the Equalizer APO device selector, tick your headphones, accept and restart. If you changed USB ports, Windows sees it as another device: tick it again. |
| I don't notice changes | Check you're on WITH WZ AUDIO, that the selected device is the one playing, and that your headset software doesn't have its own equalizer on. |
| It sounds distorted | Lower the preset intensity. The automatic preamp prevents digital clipping, but some headsets distort with strong bass boosts. |
| WZ Audio changes nothing even though it's on | In Windows, your headphones' Audio enhancements must be on «Device Default Effects», not «Off» (that turns off Equalizer APO). |
| I want to remove everything | History & restore → Back to the initial state. |
| The audio copy shows an error | Check the cable is installed and Windows is 10 version 2004 or newer. |
| The party can't connect to someone | Some networks block direct connections. Try again or from another network; if the site's publication has TURN configured, it's used automatically. |
Privacy
WZ Audio runs on your PC. It doesn't send your audio anywhere, except party voice (encrypted and direct to your friends). To check for updates it only downloads the version file from the site.