Everything about Hushquay.
Down to the detail.

Hushquay is a native player for local music on your Mac. Pure Play keeps playback clear and focused. Studio Pro adds tools for comparing, analysing and deliberately shaping the monitoring signal. “Pro” names a workspace within the app, not a subscription.

Every launch starts in Pure Play. Both meter designs, Stereo/Mono, volume, balance, transport, Shuffle, Repeat, Crossfade, DIM, Mute, audio output and the library are available here. The three inserts appear exclusively in Studio Pro’s separate Effect Rack.

Switching to Studio Pro reveals six tool cards: Effect Rack, Reference, Spectrum, Spectral Balancer, Headphone monitor and Loudness Meter. A card opens its panel; tools that change the sound also have their own enable switch. Loudness Meter only measures and never processes the sound. Opening a panel does not enable processing. Closing an active sound processor’s panel can leave its processing running; the tool card continues to show its status.

Returning to Pure Play ends a reference comparison and restores the previous playback. The Rack, Balancer and headphone DSP are bypassed; the spectrum display and tool panels close, and learning, solos and pending plug-in loads are cancelled. Running Loudness file analyses and live captures are stopped. Parameters, targets and reference assignments are retained. Loaded Audio Units remain available within the same session, while their editors close. Reopening Studio Pro does not automatically enable processing.

Add music through the file picker or drag and drop. Hushquay reads files and folders, including subfolders. Known file paths are not imported twice, while the same tracks can still be added to further playlists. Original audio files remain in their existing location.

Title, artist, album, duration, format, sample rate and available resolution information make the collection readable and searchable. Search covers title, artist and album. “All tracks” shows the full library; a playlist shows its own selection. The sidebar width is adjustable.

Whether a particular file can be read depends on the macOS decoder and codec variant. Import also considers MP4, AU and SND; this does not guarantee every possible file variant. DSD, DoP and APE are outside the supported workflow described here.

The library and settings are stored centrally in the local user profile, separately from the app. Ratings, reference configuration and monitoring parameters have their own files. Updating the app therefore does not replace the collection. There is no automatic cloud sync or import from the Music app library. The player works with local files; a streaming catalogue is not integrated.

Smart Relink keeps your local originals connected when folders or files are renamed or moved on the same supported volume. Hushquay records existing originals in the background at launch and new files during import. Alongside the previous location, the Mac app stores a persistent file reference and verified file identity.

When an original is resolved at launch or next load, its location is updated without creating a second track. Track identifiers, custom titles, playlists, six-star ratings and reference assignments remain intact. The Smart Relink button at the foot of the library shows recording coverage and opens information and manual repair. The audio file is neither copied nor modified.

When manual relinking is needed.

1. Choose Relink music folder… for a missing file, from the track context menu or through Smart Relink.
2. Select the folder containing the actual relocated originals.
3. Review the list of matching files and confirm Relink.
4. Then start the intended track.

Manual checking considers only missing files with the same filename, duration, sample rate, channel count and bit depth. Available files remain unchanged, and a library backup is created before the update is applied atomically. This metadata comparison is not an audio-content fingerprint. Choose the folder containing the genuine originals; the preview intentionally requires confirmation.

Automatic resolution uses the stricter verified file identity, so an arbitrary same-named replacement is not accepted. Deleted originals, copies on other volumes, unsupported file systems, unavailable drives and missing access permissions can still require manual relinking. Files moved before their first recording need one initial manual assignment. Hushquay does not mount drives or search the entire disk. Local Mac references do not provide cloud sync or transferable media permissions.

Create and delete playlists. The context menu adds existing tracks or removes them from a playlist. Removing a track from the full library does not delete its audio file. You can reveal the original in Finder. Free drag reordering and renaming existing playlists are not available in the documented version.

Click the title or its play symbol to start a track directly, including while another track is playing. Activating the current playing track preserves its position; a paused track resumes. Other metadata areas select the row and also support double-click playback. The current track is highlighted in mint for Stereo and amber for Mono. A different working selection stays neutral so that selection and playback remain distinct.

Up to six stars record your personal judgement: 0 means unrated; 1 to 6 is the chosen score. Clicking a star sets the rating immediately; the small × clears it. Ratings are also available in the context menu. The stars are separate controls and do not start track playback.

In a wide window, ratings have their own column; in a narrower layout, they sit below the title. A rating belongs to the track and stays consistent across all playlists. It is stored separately against the existing track ID; audio tags are not modified. This is your assessment, not an automatic quality analysis or a detector of how a track was created.

Play/Pause, previous and next track, and the position slider form the core. After more than three seconds of playback, Previous first returns to the start of the current track. Keyboard shortcuts also allow ten-second jumps. The playback queue is created from the currently visible playlist or search results when a track starts.

Shuffle changes the playback order. Repeat has three states: off, the full list and one track. Track repeat does not create a transition into the next track.

Crossfade is enabled separately. Choose 2, 3, 4 or 5 seconds; the default duration is 3 seconds, initially disabled. Two genuinely running player branches overlap using complementary cosine curves. For short tracks, the duration is limited to half the length of the shorter track.

There is no crossfade at the end of a list without a successor. A manual seek, track, device or effect change can cancel a transition already in progress. Disabling Crossfade during a transition lets that transition finish and prevents new ones. The setting is saved. This is a controlled overlap feature, not a guarantee of gapless album playback.

The two views change the presentation while controlling the same audio engine. Track position, volume and balance survive the switch. Shared adaptive dimensions keep the sections below in place; a short crossfade connects the views. The macOS Reduce Motion setting is respected.

Digital: Separate left and right segmented bars show sample peak, with a thin lower bar for smoothed RMS. Both values are available numerically. The graphical scale runs from −60 to 0 dBFS. Peak Hold retains peaks for 1.2 seconds; clipping is indicated separately for each channel.

Vintage: Two illuminated, damped needle instruments show RMS with a dBFS scale and a VU reference. 0 VU corresponds to −18 dBFS RMS. Positive VU readings therefore do not automatically mean clipping. Separate sample-peak warnings complement the display.

Both designs measure the actual PCM output after effects, Stereo/Mono, balance and player volume, but before any additional device gain. These two output displays are not true-peak or LUFS meters and do not measure watts. Studio Pro provides a separate Loudness Meter for integrated loudness, loudness variation and interpolated peaks. The Vintage needles are a visual simulation rather than a certified mechanical VU measurement.

Player volume provides digital attenuation from silence to 0 dB. A reading of 0 dB means no attenuation from this control. It does not specify acoustic listening level or the level of the music file.

The large knob supports dragging, scrolling and finer adjustment with the Option key. Digital places its single dB entry inside the dial; Vintage places it below. There is no duplicate level field. Its dB field accepts −120 to 0 dB, a comma or decimal point and an optional dB suffix. −∞ or -inf sets silence. Enter or moving focus applies the value; Escape discards it. Double-clicking the volume knob resets it to 65 percent linear amplitude.

Balance attenuates only the opposite channel when moved away from centre. At centre, both channels remain unchanged; there is no boost or channel mixing. It snaps to centre within ±3.5 percent. Double-click, the Centre button or the menu resets it precisely. Haptics are available on supported hardware.

Stereo preserves left and right. Mono forms (L + R) / 2 and sends that sum to both channels, with a short smoothed transition. Adjusting balance afterwards can make the output levels unequal again. “Stereo” describes the selected processing mode, not an automatic analysis of the source.

DIM −20 dB temporarily applies additional attenuation. Mute silences the player. The two states are mutually exclusive and do not alter the saved base volume.

Reference comparison assigns two tracks from the local library to A and B. The picker is searchable; the current track or a track’s context menu can also populate either side. Each side has an independent start point. Enter a position in seconds and apply it, or capture the current track position.

The sides share an excerpt duration of 10, 20, 30, 60 or 120 seconds, adjusted to the common length actually available. Loop repeats the excerpt. A shared position slider, Pause/Play and Restart excerpt keep the controls together.

Listen to A or Listen to B automatically starts any missing analysis. Normal music continues while the comparison is prepared. You can also analyse beforehand or cancel an operation. A new selection or listening request replaces an outdated request. A/B switching keeps the relative position within the excerpt. Loading another file can briefly interrupt playback; sample-synchronous or guaranteed uninterrupted switching is not promised.

The waveforms are measured envelopes derived from the files. Both use the same −60…0 dBFS scale and reflect the attenuation applied by loudness matching. Original LUFS, original sample peak, attenuation and the common target loudness are shown separately.

How loudness matching works

It uses K-weighted, gated integrated LUFS for the selected excerpt. Analysis uses 400 ms blocks with 100 ms steps, an absolute gate at −70 LUFS and a relative gate of −10 LU. Readable mono and stereo files from 8 to 384 kHz can be analysed.

Matching works by attenuation only. The target ensures neither excerpt needs boosting and leaves at least 1 dB of margin below its measured sample peak. This A/B matching uses sample peak and has no limiter. Separate true-peak measurement is available in Loudness Meter. Matching reduces loudness bias in comparison without promising exactly equal perceived loudness for every listener.

A deliberately neutral comparison path

Comparison uses Stereo and centred balance. The Effect Rack, Spectral Balancer and automatic Crossfade are temporarily bypassed. Headphone monitoring remains available as a common monitoring correction for A and B. Volume, DIM, Mute, audio output and meters remain usable.

End comparison restores the previous track, position, queue, playback state, channel mode, balance and loaded Audio Units; the panel can stay open. Closing it ends and hides the comparison. Reference assignments, start points, duration, Loop and matching are saved. Analysis results are recalculated after restart and invalidated when files change. Silence or unreadable files produce an explanatory error instead of an invented value.

The Spectrum Analyzer displays the current player output. Bars and curves are available for left/right, with an optional second Mid/Side field. Mid is (L + R) / 2; Side is (L − R) / 2. The sum or difference is formed before the FFT.

A 16,384-point FFT with a four-term Blackman–Harris window is mapped to 192 logarithmic peak bands. The display covers 20 Hz to 20 kHz, limited by the source’s Nyquist frequency. Optional 1/3-octave display smoothing softens the curve. The visible range is either 72 or 96 dB.

The frequency inspector accepts a click, drag or numerical entry between 20 and 20,000 Hz. Short forms such as 1k work too. It shows L/R/M/S readings at the selected frequency. Local spectral peaks can be selected and marked. A peak is a measurement cue, not automatic proof of a problematic resonance.

Peak Hold retains peaks and can be reset. Freeze holds only the display while the music continues. The associated source name remains visible. Up to three session snapshots capture spectral output envelopes as coloured dashed overlays. Compare them across track changes, hide them individually or remove them.

Snapshots retain the captured output levels without loudness normalisation. They are neither whole-track averages nor simultaneous multitrack inputs, and last only for the app session. The analyzer does not change the sound. It measures after effects and player volume, before device gain. DAW relay, acoustic room measurement and automatic masking diagnosis are not part of this tool.

The × at the right of the Analyzer header closes the view, as do its tool card and the View menu command. Playback continues; closing the display does not change audio samples.

The sixth Studio tool combines full-file analysis with deliberately started live measurement in its own panel. Open Loudness Meter from the gold tool card, View menu or ⌥ ⌘ U. It does not change audio samples and requires no additional plug-in.

Two sources. Two clear jobs.

Original file: Choose any library track or the current track, then Analyse track. The complete decoded mono/stereo file is measured in the background, independently of playback, effects, headphone EQ and player volume. The report describes the file at its original level. Cancellation, track selection changes and files modified during analysis prevent stale results from being applied. The finished report remains available within the session.

Live · Monitor output: New measurement explicitly captures the player output after inserts, Balancer, Stereo/Mono, headphone monitoring, balance, volume, DIM and Mute, before any additional hardware gain. Pause holds measurement time. Seeking, track changes and signal-path changes restart an active measurement with a visible reason. Stop holds the readings; closing the panel or returning to Pure Play stops capture and any running file analysis. The source buttons remain stable during meter updates; only an explicit source choice switches the measurement.

Inspect the history. Return to the moment.

Momentary is turquoise and Short-term is gold. Click or drag in the history to inspect a time-related point; for file analysis, Listen here starts that track at the selected position. The M distribution summarises displayed history points. Long file histories are thinned to approximately 2,802 points at most; live history holds up to 3,000 points from the last five measured minutes. Global readings and maxima are calculated independently of drawing density, and live global values continue to cover the measurement from its start.

Streaming & delivery: 21 preset options.

A dedicated preset chooser provides categories, search and directly clickable entries. Each selected profile shows its reference, TP marker, scope and sources. Customise copies its values to a custom target. Choosing a preset never changes the measurement method, music, volume or dynamics. Profiles are session-based; the app starts with no target. The values below describe the built-in catalogue as reviewed on 25 October 2026.

Most profiles use a −1 dBTP marker; Amazon Music, Alexa and the film/TV profiles use −2 dBTP. Spotify uses −2 dBTP above −14 LUFS integrated, otherwise −1. Dialogue profiles show only their reference and TP marker: Hushquay measures programme loudness without a dialogue gate and therefore does not draw a full-mix target line or LU difference for these profiles. Observed music-service values are not claimed upload specifications; actual recipient requirements remain authoritative. The AES album profile does not automatically find an album’s loudest track. There is no codec simulation, automatic normalisation or Netflix/Disney/HBO delivery approval.

Reports and measurement scope.

Export a completed file analysis or stopped live measurement as JSON or CSV. Reports contain source type, track/measurement identifier, time, duration, sample rate, channels, readings, history and a preset snapshot including sources. Absolute file paths are not exported. Capture gaps are marked invalid and require a new live measurement. This is a data report, not a processed master file, PDF or persistent A/B measurement archive.

The MIT-licensed libebur128 core uses K-weighting, absolute and relative gates, and histogram classes. Decoded mono/stereo data from 8–384 kHz are supported. LUFS requires at least 400 ms; Short-term and LRA require at least 3 s. Silence is not assigned a fabricated reading. True Peak uses 4× interpolation below 96 kHz and 2× below 192 kHz; from 192 kHz, Sample Peak is used. No surround/Atmos, certification or true-peak-limiter capability is claimed. Digital/Vintage meters, A/B excerpt measurement and Loudness Meter remain distinct measurement perspectives.

The native Spectral Balancer shapes the monitoring signal in five broad, overlapping ranges. Complementary first-order filters create musical adjustment regions rather than sharply separated FFT segments.

Each band provides ±6 dB gain, 0–150 percent stereo width, L/R balance and solo. Zero percent width means mono; 100 percent preserves the original width. Shared headroom ranges from −24 to 0 dB; the initial configuration starts at −6 dB and bypass. Parameter changes are briefly crossfaded. Neutral band controls and 0 dB trim preserve the original signal.

Input and output energy are shown per band as smoothed stereo RMS columns from −72 to 0 dBFS. A correlation display adds insight into stereo distribution. These measurements are taken before headphone monitoring and player volume. The energy display is not a LUFS meter.

Learn from a useful passage

1. Play a suitable passage and Learn target for five seconds.
2. Listen to a different passage or track.
3. Calculate a Suggestion for static gain values.
4. Review the changes and deliberately Apply them.

The target stores relative input energies with track, time and sample rate. Suggestions are limited to ±3 dB and take necessary pre-attenuation into account. Width and balance remain unchanged. Pause, seeking, source changes or signal-path changes cancel a capture in progress.

Targets and settings are saved; activation and solo are session states. Reset restores band controls and −6 dB headroom, while the target can be deleted separately. Closing the panel does not stop an active Balancer. A/B temporarily bypasses it; Pure Play and an app restart disable it. This is not a dynamic mastering assistant: it has no limiter or file/mastering export.

Headphone monitoring combines crossfeed, room character and an optional five-band EQ. A low-pass-filtered, slightly delayed signal from the opposite channel reduces hard channel separation. It provides an alternative listening perspective without promising an exact reproduction of a real loudspeaker system.

Space offers Focus, Natural and Open. Open adds short early reflections. Crossfeed amount ranges from 0 to 100 percent, with a total virtual speaker angle of 30 to 75 degrees. Defaults are Natural, 35 percent and 45 degrees. Headroom before EQ ranges from −24 to 0 dB and starts at −3 dB with the neutral configuration.

The optional personal EQ has five bands, each set to Off, Low Shelf, Peak or High Shelf. Frequency ranges from 20 to 20,000 Hz, gain from −12 to +12 dB, and Q from 0.2 to 10. Numerical entries, reset, a response curve and a headroom recommendation support repeatable settings. EQ is initially off and flat.

The response graph shows EQ plus headroom at a display sample rate of 48 kHz, excluding crossfeed. Audio processing uses the actual sample rate. The headroom recommendation estimates the largest response boost with an additional 1 dB margin; it does not replace a limiter.

Processing is enabled independently of panel visibility. After an app restart or audio-output change, headphone processing returns to bypass. Settings remain saved. During reference comparison, the same headphone monitoring applies to A and B, before balance and player volume. It does not rewrite the original file LUFS.

The built-in AKG K812 · AutoEq 5 profile is based on oratory1990 measurements from the AutoEq project. It uses exactly five supported filters. Selecting it enables EQ and sets the calculated headroom reserve to −6 dB. Crossfeed and the separate main enable switch are left unchanged.

This is an adjustment based on a model-specific measurement profile, not individual calibration of every headphone unit. Fit, unit variation and personal perception still matter. Other headphones require an appropriate profile or a suitable manual setting. The AutoEq attribution and MIT licence are bundled with the app. The measurement source in the AutoEq project ↗ is pinned to a fixed source revision.

The Effect Rack is a dedicated Studio tool with three numbered slots. It processes serially through 01 → 02 → 03, followed by the Balancer and monitoring. The order is fixed. Each slot offers selection or replacement, a parameter view, individual bypass and removal. A pending load can be cancelled.

The Rack active master switch controls the whole chain. Loading a plug-in does not enable it automatically. Slot, Rack and Reference bypass are displayed as distinct states. Closing the panel only hides the view; the tool card still identifies an active chain. Pure Play bypasses every insert.

The searchable browser lists compatible AUv2 and AUv3 effects or Music Effects registered on the Mac. Manufacturer filters, full names, type labels, refresh and a marker for the current effect help selection. The number depends on the individual Mac’s installation. Hushquay does not include a fixed-size collection of commercial plug-ins.

Manufacturer interfaces or generic parameter views open in separate windows. Stereo format and loading status are checked, and stale responses are ignored. A timeout applies after 30 seconds while the host remains responsive. On failure, the previous effect is restored where possible. Signal-path changes can briefly interrupt playback.

AUv2 runs inside the app process; AUv3 uses an extension process. A native AUv2 crash can therefore affect the host. Manufacturer licences, compatible versions and any required DSP hardware remain necessary. VST and CLAP are not hosted. Installing Logic does not automatically make its internal effects, such as Mastering Assistant, separately hostable Audio Units.

Loaded instances and their parameters survive workspace changes within the session. The documented version does not add Rack or plug-in preset persistence across app restarts.

The entire audio-output strip is clickable. The device browser shows the active route and full device names, with search and icons. Mac and display speakers, interfaces and connections, and wireless devices are grouped. Virtual and aggregate devices sit in a separate collapsed group. The list can be refreshed.

A direct device selection applies to Hushquay without changing the macOS default output. Follow macOS output uses the system route; this mode is saved. For AirPlay, HomePod or Apple TV, Setup enables Follow mode and opens macOS Sound settings. Choose the network destination there. The app does not discover disconnected HomePods itself. AirPlay can add latency.

Audio output remains available during reference comparison. Switching can briefly interrupt playback; on error the app attempts to restore the route. Headphone processing is disabled for a new output and can then be deliberately enabled again.

Hardware volume and hardware mute act in addition to player volume. They are displayed where Core Audio exposes them. Current behaviour: built-in Mac speakers and Studio Display speakers are set to 100 percent device volume at launch or explicit selection. An existing hardware mute is preserved. Other interfaces and headphones are not changed, and subsequent manual device-volume adjustments are not continually overwritten. Player volume remains the primary listening control.

The processing order explains where each display or adjustment takes effect:

1. Local source; two player branches during Crossfade
2. Effect Rack slots 01, 02 and 03
3. Spectral Balancer, with its own input/output band measurements
4. Stereo/Mono processing
5. Headphone monitoring with crossfeed, EQ and headroom
6. Balance
7. Player volume, DIM or Mute
8. Output meters, Spectrum Analyzer and live Loudness capture
9. The selected Core Audio device and any additional device gain

Pure Play takes the Rack, Balancer and headphone DSP out of the audible path. A/B comparison bypasses the Rack, Balancer and automatic Crossfade, with Stereo and centred balance on both sides. Headphone monitoring remains available as a common listening stage.

A stored spectrum snapshot therefore includes the player volume that applied when it was captured. Reference LUFS, in contrast, come from analysing the file excerpt. Loudness Meter’s full original-file analysis operates independently of the monitoring chain. Balancer band energy, reference-excerpt LUFS, full-track LUFS and output peak are different measurements and should not be treated as interchangeable.

Switch the app between German and English immediately without stopping the music. The choice is saved; without a previous choice, the app starts in English. File metadata, playlist names, device names and manufacturer names are not translated. Plug-in editors use their own language.

The header remains accessible. Show or hide the library. Its sidebar is adjustable from 230 to 620 points and can be reset to 320 points. The minimum content size is 1,020 × 580 points; content scrolls when height is limited. Rating placement adapts to the available width.

Native window controls offer Close, Minimise and Full Screen. Option-clicking the green control uses Zoom or Restore. Keep on Top makes a permanent monitoring display practical alongside other apps. Plug-in editors remain macOS windows.

The Help menu opens the German instructions or English guide. Sample music in the File menu creates twelve seconds of stereo test music for checking playback.

Listen to an album deliberately

Choose Pure Play, start a playlist and select the right output. Stereo, centred balance and a comfortable volume provide a starting point. Enable Crossfade when you want overlapping transitions. Mark personal favourites with up to six stars.

Compare two productions fairly

Open Studio Pro, assign two tracks to A and B and choose musically comparable passages. Enable loudness matching. Listen to A starts any required analysis; then switch between sides. Consider bass distribution, transients and space separately. The shared monitoring path reduces unnecessary variables. End comparison to return to the original music.

Investigate a tonal idea

Observe an output passage in Spectrum and capture a snapshot if useful. Learn a suitable Balancer target for five seconds. Review a suggestion for a second passage and apply it only when appropriate. Keep output level and headroom in view. This process supports a listening decision; it does not write a new master file.

Check loudness and dynamics transparently

Choose Original file in Loudness Meter, analyse the intended track and consider Integrated, True Peak, LRA and PLR together. Choose an appropriate streaming or delivery reference and read its note. Inspect a section in the history and listen from there when needed. Save the report as JSON or CSV. Start a separate live measurement to assess the monitoring chain; it includes player volume and therefore does not replace the original-file report.

This documentation describes Hushquay 1.61, build 65, as of 25 October 2026. The app is built for Apple Silicon (arm64), macOS 14 or later. SwiftUI/AppKit provide the native interface; AVAudioEngine and Core Audio provide playback and device routing. An Intel version is not planned.

The current app build is locally ad hoc signed. Public notarisation, App Store availability, pricing or a freely distributable download are not claimed here. This website introduces the app and documents its current features.

Hushquay is neither a DAW nor a file-mastering exporter. AI-origin detection, automatic track-quality ratings, cloud synchronisation and streaming services are outside the current product. Bit-perfect or exclusive-mode playback, a true-peak limiter and guaranteed gapless playback are also not supported claims for this version.

A future native iPad version is an architectural goal. It is not yet an available product or one validated on iPad hardware. Installed Mac AUv2 plug-ins and UAD DSP support do not transfer automatically to iPad.

Hushquay’s tools are native implementations. Metric AB, Lucent, Aether, Equilibrium and Youlean Loudness Meter provided conceptual inspiration; their software is not embedded. Product and manufacturer names belong to their respective owners. Illustrations are genuine Hushquay captures. Older module details carry their capture version, and their placement or labels may differ from the current version.

JSON and CSV measurement reports export data, not processed audio. Loudness Meter uses the MIT-licensed libebur128 measurement core; no Youlean binaries, graphics or licence are included. No external plug-in installation is required for this native tool.