The equalizer and noise control come to the Microsoft Store version of KikuTune with KikuTune Bridge, a free companion you install from this site. The same installer brings noise control; the Bridge page lists what it needs.
What works on a PC
- Stereo audio and the microphone, through standard Windows Bluetooth
- Battery, as far as the headphones report it to Windows
- A ten-band equalizer applied to the Windows output, with the free KikuTune Bridge
- Output switching between headphones, speakers and anything else
- Low latency mode for games
What does not carry over
- Switching quiet modes from the PC. Those live in the headphones and in the Bose app on a phone.
- Immersive audio modes, which the headphones and the phone app compute.
- Anything the phone app automates by place or activity.
Noise cancelling does not depend on the PC
The cancelling runs inside the headphones, so it is just as effective on a PC as on a phone. What a PC cannot do is change the mode, because the control is not part of standard Bluetooth.
The buttons on the headphones keep working, which is the fastest way to switch while you are at the desk.
One curve for everything you play
A player with its own equalizer shapes only its own audio, so the sound changes every time you switch windows.
A system-wide equalizer sits on the Windows output, which is why the same curve covers video, games and calls.
KikuTune on Windows
Battery, output switching and one-click reconnect are free, with no account. The free KikuTune Bridge adds the equalizer and noise control. Optional Pro adds model correction and the studio signal path.
Questions people ask
- Can KikuTune change the Bose quiet modes?
- No. Those modes are handled by the headphones, so use the button or the phone app. KikuTune adds output switching, one-click reconnect and the battery Windows reports.
- Do I need an account?
- No. Battery, output switching and reconnecting all work without one.
- Will my audio sound thin during calls?
- It will if an app opens the headset microphone, because Windows switches to hands-free mode. Choosing a different microphone in the call app avoids it.