It was sarcasm, maybe a bit too dry. Yep exactly, I'd rather just get on with on it and not have to deal with any issues Sonarworks itself might bring to the table, it's just an EQ after all. If you're using decent phones you just need to learn them or buy something that better fits your expectation.

 

I'm curious to learn about what issues Sonarworks might bring to the table. And why would you rather learn how to use a colored headphone, than flatten its response?

 

https://support.sonarworks.com/hc/en-us/articles/212037245-What-are-filter-types-

pick one.

Your disagreement doesn't really make sense, you're suggesting all audio monitoring gear is useless without an eq. That isn't based on reality.

 

I tried Sonarworks and ToneBoosters' Morphit for my headphones and found both too extreme. So I adopted the basic adjustments to my soundcard's software to a minor amount and am satisfied.

 

There is only one to pick from lol. Yes, phase response is altered based on the filter setting. I haven't experienced this as such an issue, maybe my ears aren't trained enough.

Don't put words in my mouth good sir, I'd never make such a ridiculous statement. And I haven't disagreed with you. I was merely responding to your statement, asking: "why would you rather learn how to use a colored headphone, than flatten its response?"

 

Last edited: Jul 3, 2020

That is highly questionable but I love them dearly. One of the best purchases I've made.

Even with sonarworks they sound a bit to harsh(!) when I reference the mix on other systems.

 

They've been designed to sound like "true to the sound".

What pair would be better, in this price range?

 

That's an hard one. Listen to all of them and choose the ones you like the most. Choose reference tracks.

 

How can I listen to all of them lol, that's impossible... there's 100 of them, I'd need 100k on my account right now...

 

I've tested Sonarworks, Morphit, ARC and some other fancy stuff, but it ultimately leads to confusion of my senses,
what is right? what is true? what is actually flat?

sure when I measure and correct monitors in my room, I'm getting some changes in frequency response, but I am by no means getting flat even decay response, if I open a window, is the correction ruined?
and if you agree opening window changes frequency response, then same applies for headphones, something as minor as wearing glasses would equal to opening windows in room, right?
now if those companies measure headphones in some way to acquire those curves, they aren't using my own head, so how can the curve be at all useful? if they use Neumann binaural head (which is cool, been having fun with it for a while) then I do know it's not like my own head, so the measurements will be approximate at best,
and on top of that all, human ear quickly adjusts to anything, you can only like the adjustment more or less but you are not able to tell if it's more true or not,
so how I see it is, those correction softwares are useful as "second ears" or let's say "second monitors" or "second headphones" without the need to actually buy another monitors or headphones - is such benefit really worth it? I can't tell...

 

Obviously you don't know how to use a plugin. Certainly the best and most complete plugin!!!
Morphit sounds hifi attractive but too loudness. It’s cheap but it’s really unusable for production because it lies. Sonarworks sounds like a bad copy of the HD650 and doesn’t translate well. You will notice that you add too much extreme to the sound and so the recording does not translate well. None of them offer HRTF crossfeed and they sound far worse and don’t sound like a calibrated speaker in room. Dsoniq sounds like a calibrated speaker in room, sonarworks sounds unnatural with pronounced mid frequencies or "flat", however it is not a psihoacoust.perceived flat. With all the options, Dsoniq is still cheaper than sonarworks and much better. You also have a recent dSONIQ SOS review so take a look.
cheers

 

Hey guys,

I've been using Sonarworks for a few years now and I think it's a great tool. People who mention latency, you know that you can choose from Zero Latency (0ms) to Linear Phase (~45ms) with Mixed Phase (~17ms) in-between, right?!

I use it for my studio monitors but also for my Sennheiser 650HD and they were custom calibrated. It took two months to get them back (issues with customs) but it was worth the wait. The calibration removes some of the low-mid mud and add more bass - actually I'll attach a screenshot, so you can see for yourself (it features the custom calibration of my HD650). However, I found that the calibration works better with certain genres than others. It sounds wonderful on acoustic genres/rock/classical/ambient as it brings out the warmth of the track but I found that the bass in EDM is way too overwhelming when the calibration is engaged. But the bass also sounds too thin when not calibrated. It needs a happy medium. With that being said, you have different controls, to manipulate the frequency response post-calibration, from a dry/wet knob to bass and high boosts and tilts.

As for the studio monitors, nothing beats treating your room acoustically, and you should do that before buying more plugins/hardware. But it’s still very useful if your speakers have a slight phase issue that room treatment has nothing to do with. I don’t have any issue with my Neumann KH120s but I have Yamaha MSP7 monitors and the left one has a latency of 1ms that the right speaker doesn’t have, which creates this unfocused/phas-y stereo image. After I calibrate them with Sonarworks, I can hear immediately how the stereo image gets tight and precise. Sonarworks also shows you how much latency it is compensating for and for which speaker.

Hoping this info will be useful to someone who’s wondering if Sonarworks is right for them or not.

 

How much does it change in comparison with the average curve? does it sounds drastically better than the default?

 

I have attached the screenshots of what it does to my headphones to my initial post. It doesn't change drastically but you can definitely hear the sound opening up, removing some harshness and extending the bass. It's a flatter response, not always flattering (without making any play on words LOL) but true to what the track exactly sounds like without the headphone coloration.

 

I have been testing Sonarworks Reference 4 with my Beyerdynamic 880 Pro headphones for the past 2 weeks. In my opinion it definitely enhances the casual music listening experience, it tends to bring out a more natural and balanced tone of instruments.
As for mixing, I think it is subjective as mixing in headphone is typically more for referencing higher frequencies throughout the mix.
Ultimately I think its always best to try and reference your mixes on as many sound systems as possible, but that isn't really a realistic option for many people.
The Wet/Dry slide is a nice features as you can gradually compensate towards a flatter frequency response. I almost think of it as having several pairs of headphones in one. Some people are really against these kind of products like Sonarworks, but for me personally I don't have a problem with it.
Next step is to try calibrating monitors when I move into new studio.

 

Got the DT-880 corrected with SW, and my mixes translates way better on other systems than before i started using It. I combine it with Can Opener. And stuff just sound much more relaxed & unharsher than without the correction. Tried morphit before , but its supersubtle compared with SW.
Conclusion : I won‘t work without it. Plus i don’t understand people talking bad about it, seen than here n there in the web. Why, its just a tool, if u don’t get what it does, or don’t like how it sounds, whatever ... don’t use it. The translation part is the relevant one!

Edit: Btw, i like how the corrected DT sounds, its clarity. But i thought about buying another HP eventually cause the bass isn’t that definded. i‘m into electronic music & the lowend , especially the kick & bass Relationship is crucial, so i thought about getting a Ultrasone Pro 750 or a 650 someday.

 

Last edited: Jul 12, 2020

Thanks for the info and latency correction I didn't notice before.

Btw why do you use a safe room of -9.3? That sounds crazy huge to me. I leave at -1 if not it's not loud enough even with my good and powerful Audient interface. Do you use a headphone amp like JDS Labs Atom to compensate for the safe room?

 

How can you hide the window of Reference 4 at startup on Mac?

Despite what Sonarworks claim below it doesn't work for me. The annoying window shows up at every system start. I want to start Reference 4.5.5 at startup but HIDDEN IN THE BACKGROUND. Is it because I'm running the trial? I tried reinstalling from scratch it still doesn't hide at startup.

https://support.sonarworks.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360010787913-Systemwide-at-login-just-hidden-not-showing-full-window

https://support.sonarworks.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360028758634-Silent-Startup