Three-Body Technology Kirchhoff EQ Review: Why You Should Buy This $300 Equalizer (But Only When It Costs $60)

There is a golden rule in the world of professional audio: “Buy once, cry once.”

Usually, this means biting the bullet and spending hundreds of dollars on industry-standard software so you never have to upgrade again. But occasionally, a loophole opens up. A piece of software that normally costs as much as a round-trip flight goes on sale for the price of a tank of gas.

That software is the Kirchhoff-EQ by Three-Body Technology.

Its regular price tag is a hefty $306. But a few times a year, it drops to around $60. When that happens, it is arguably the best value in the entire audio world.

While it’s not perfect (we’ll get to that), it might just be the only equalizer you ever need to buy.

First Things First: What is an Equalizer?

If you are new to this, don’t panic. You’ve probably used an equalizer (EQ) before. If you’ve ever turned the “Bass” or “Treble” knob in your car stereo, you were using an EQ.

• The Concept: Imagine your volume knob controls the entire sound. An EQ breaks that volume knob into little pieces. You can turn down just the low rumble of your air conditioner (Bass) without turning down your voice. You can turn up just the crisp details of your speech (Treble) without turning up the background noise.
• The “Squiggly Line” (Spectrum Analyzer): This plugin features a massive screen with a line moving in real-time. This is a Spectrum Analyzer. It visualizes your sound.
  • Left side = Low sounds (Bass/Thunder)
  • Right side = High sounds (Birds/Whistles)
  • Height = Volume
  • Why this matters: You don’t have to guess where the annoying noise is. You can literally see the spike on the graph and pull it down.

Who Are “Three-Body Technology”?

The name might remind you of sci-fi novels or physics problems, and that’s appropriate. This developer is known for deep, mathematical modeling. They don’t just make plugins that “sound good”; they model the physical behavior of analog circuits with extreme precision.

Basically, they are the math nerds of the audio world, and Kirchhoff-EQ is their thesis project.

Why You Want This (The “Forever Plugin”)

Most affordable EQs are simple. They do the job, but eventually, you outgrow them. You start wanting “vintage” tone or more precise control.

Kirchhoff-EQ is different. It is built to compete with the titans of the industry (like the famous FabFilter Pro-Q 3).

1. The “Vintage” Models: This is the coolest feature for beginners. In the old days, hardware EQs (like those from the 60s and 70s) added a specific “flavor” or curve to the sound. Kirchhoff models huge numbers of these legendary units. You can select a “British” or “Tube” curve, and apply it right on the modern, digital graph. It’s the best of both worlds: vintage tone with modern visibility.
2. 117-Bit Processing: I won’t bore you with the math, but this is extreme overkill. It ensures that no matter how much you twist and turn the sound, the math remains pure and the quality stays pristine.
3. It Grows With You: Right now, you might only use 2 bands to give your daily Zoom calls that polished “podcast voice.” But in three years, if you’re editing a video or mixing a music track, this same plugin has 32 bands, dynamic processing, and features pros dream of.

The Catch

If this thing is so powerful, why isn’t it a perfect 10? And why do I still use other EQs? It suffers from “Option Paralysis.”

Kirchhoff-EQ is like a scientific laboratory. It has so many options, menus, and filter types that it can be overwhelming.

• Workflow: When you are in a hurry, you just want to grab a knob and fix a problem. In Kirchhoff, you might find yourself menu-diving to choose between 15 different types of “Low Pass Filters.”
• The “Feel”: While it is incredibly powerful, the user interface isn’t quite as buttery smooth or intuitive as its main rival, FabFilter Pro-Q 3. It feels a bit more rigid—more like engineering software, less like a creative instrument.

The Verdict

If you catch Kirchhoff-EQ on sale for $60, buy it immediately. You are getting a Ferrari engine for the price of a Honda Civic. It will serve you faithfully from your first team sync to your hundredth podcast episode.

However, keep your eye on the market. As you get faster and more experienced, you might eventually find yourself craving a tool that prioritizes speed over raw power.