SRS iWow is a plug-in for iTunes that magically processes music you play in iTunes so it sounds much better regardless of the speakers or earphones you use. It makes crummy speakers or earphones sound significantly better and makes good speakers or earphones sound fantastic.

How does it do that? You've got me, but according to SRS Labs:

iWOW uses the new SRS WOW HD processing to let you shape the sound of iTunes how you like it. It uses psychoacoustic processing to overcome physical limitations in your audio hardware to do things like get extra thump out of your speakers, extend the stereo sound field beyond your speakers, increase the height of your sound.

I won't pretend to know what that means, but it works and it works well. Every kind of music I tried -- rock, pop, alternative, jazz, blues, hip-hop, R & B, and everything in between -- sounded bigger, better, and crisper with iWow enabled. Put another way, when I turned iWow off, the same music sounded flat, dull, and lifeless.

Or you can create a customized setting by tweaking the individual controls:

• The SRS3D Center control adjusts the volume of the virtual center speaker.
• The SRS3D Space control adjusts the width of the stereo sound stage, simulating the effect of moving the speakers farther apart.
• The Definition control beefs up the high frequency details.
• The Focus control elevates the height of the sound stage, simulating the effect of moving the speakers up higher.
• The TruBass level control adjusts the amount of bass processing.



and

• The TruBass size control changes the low frequency limit of your speakers or headphones by changing the frequency of the low-pass filter.

I've been using iWow for months and haven't found a single significant issue. The only thing I'd like to see changed is that you can't currently save custom presets. And if you set the controls just the way you like them, those changes are blown away when you choose any other preset.

Other than that there's nothing I don't love about SRS iWow. But you don't have to take my word for it... you can download a free trial version and test it for yourself with no risk. Listen to your favorite songs while turning it on and off. If you're anything like me, you'll buy your copy before the trial period even ends.

The Bottom Line

Makes music played with iTunes sound significantly better regardless of your speakers or earphones. At $19.99 it's a steal.