Sonarworks SoundID Reference - Worth it??

[@ivomatic13]

I was in the same boat for a long time until I've tried it, and now I can't live without it. I kept saying to myself, as long as I get used to the sound it will be fine, as long as I reference other music on the same setup I will be fine. But it's all about having the best possible starting point. +1 for Sonarworks

[@jeffsalvatore7441]

If you have a null at 100hz and sonar works boosts at 100z, wouldn't you still have the null? It's the dimensions of your room responding to that frequency. What am I missing here?

[@conrow1157]

Boosting with sonarworks is not ideal. If there is a phase cancellation around 100hz it would make no sense to boost theses frequencies

[@standard_lines9981]

Yes. The simple answer is that acoustic treatment is still necessary - Sonarworks is meant to complete the acoustic treatment, not to replace it.

[@mechaxofficial5048]

I like your no nonsense format. Picked this up based on a few things, but your review is what tipped the scale. Thanks & keep it up.

[@ManchesterMusic]

Thanks for taking the time to say something nice. Really appreciate it and have fun with your new purchase :).

[@newnamez630]

Thx for blowing up my ears with those sounds.

[@bulletproofzest]

I did a full, consultant designed control room build with full floor to ceiling treatment. It worked amazingly well, but due to the space limitations of my room there are still a few minor dips in some fairly critical areas that I’ve largely been able to counter with eq. I’m going to give this a try for a bit more precision. I have a feeling that in a room that is treated with a dump truck full of fixtures that it should work well. Hope to have the same experience as you did!

[@alexanderlindner2673]

Phase Cancelation in a room, can not be fixed, With a EQ Boost!!!

[@jonathanestrada1111]

I appreciate the tip for adding a limiter at the end. Thank you !

[@jeanyvestheriault8362]

Best thing to do, mix with headphone or speaker. ARC 4 is also an option around the same price, for me I still used Sonarworks with my old setup PT HD 8.5 RTAS on Windows 7

[@kob79jd]

I agree with your new view. I am just starting to build a home studio. I will never be even close to where you are, but I bought Sonoworks (with the reference microphone) to get the room straight from the get-go.

[@RudalPL]

I have SoundID Reference (the headphones version) since the newest version came out, so a year or so. And I love it. I have Senheiser HD660S and I thought they sound good but I discovered that with SoundID it's way easier to hear a lot of different things that I didn't catch on headphones alone. I upgraded my interface as well, and now I have proper XLR outputs and I am actually thinking of upgrading my licence to the speaker version. I am recording and mixing my own stuff in my living room. So the environment is far from perfect and I'm really considering the upgrade. And here's the problem. 99 euro is fine (for the headphones version) but 250 euro (for speaker + HP version) is a bit steep for me. If you add microphone to it it's +50 euro. 299 total. What doesn't help is that upgrade itself costs 238 euro. So 99 + 238 is 337 euro, and that is more than the Speaker + Headphones version on its own. And that is just taking the piss out of people.

[@zBalistiqRain]

I find the Calibration profile on the 660S a bit boomy, i like how clear the 660S sound stock. I can hear the bass changing tone way clearer without sonarworks engaged. That's my experience with sonarworks and the 660S.

[@nrs_207]

@@zBalistiqRain the 6__ series has a lot of roll off in the bass, so it’s probably trying to correct that and the driver can’t handle it well. Just a guess. I have a free trial going right now and I enjoy the change to my LCD-X. They seem to take EQ really well. I have played around with the target a little bit and have found one that works for me a little better, but I’m sure I can improve it with more time. I haven’t tried my HD660S yet, will have to do that.

[@nachoci6876]

Wondering if you can achieve a similar result with an EQ in the master channel ... checking the reference ID calibration result (with the demo version) and trying to apply a similar curve in the EQ

[@WassupFred]

It really is worth it if u want to speed up the process

[@enochporch]

brother, glad you're having success with the sonarworks! also, have you considered replacing your doors with a semi-permeable membranes to turn the adjacent room & closet into bass traps themselves?

[@viktorkoning1442]

Don't know why KZbin didn't show your channel sooner. Your videos are amazing! Thanks!

[@ManchesterMusic]

Aw thanks dude. I appreciate that

[@davidasher22]

I just picked up the free trial last night. I don’t have the reference mic yet so I’m just using it for headphones but it seems pretty good. I’m glad I saw this video because you answered one of my questions actually. I was wondering why there was that 6db attenuation on the output. But of course it makes sense that it’s there to counteract any added volume from the curve. It just seems a little extreme and I couldn’t adjust it for some reason. I’m assuming there’s a button some where to turn it off. I’ll look into it. But I definitely see this as something worth investing in when the time is right. After I’m finished with my room treatment.

[@ManchesterMusic]

Yup. There’s a way to turn the output adjustment off.

[@WassupFred]

I just got it.. so basically the way to use this, is get your profile, and now with this new sound, I’m supposed to mix with this new sound?

[@ManchesterMusic]

Yup

[@WassupFred]

@@ManchesterMusic thanks!! Been working great so far!!!!

[@danielmconnolly7]

It's nice to see somebody who puts their speakers on the side like me. I don't think they sound right with the tweeters on top.

[@danielecohen2266]

Excellent review! Thank you. I’ve been curious about this and want to do this in my studio!

[@ManchesterMusic]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Staatsschuldenlüge]

you should put mobile bass trtaps in the corner with the door. What does the test microphone records with the calibration adjustments? Is the curve flat now? Or is there more bass now? :D I guess neither.

[@gabrielp1183]

Im starting to build a home studio! Do you think I should invest in treatment for the room or go directly for this Sonarworks product? I know basic treatment is a must for professional work but I am building it step by step... What do you think goes first?

[@ManchesterMusic]

I think your room treatment should be prioritized. Crucially. Get it solid at the source so Sonarworks has to work less.

[@musicproductionvideos5019]

I use a mic stand so my movement trying to be still... is not taken as part of the final curve. I'm wondering how much difference it makes. Must be some because how much moving a mic on a guitar speaker can make or break the recording. I wonder what the company says about that? Also I'm a little confused on what setting on the "Limit controls" I should be using for the low end side? I want the most accurate correctin... so which is it? Neutral, Extended or Aggressive? Thanks

[@christopher.k.guitar]

As for you, the use of this software was one of those few lightbulb moments for me. For example - I always tried to get rid of high end fizz coming from my high gain amps by low passing it in post - but when I finally had the correction going, it was almost completely gone. So the disturbing high end was there but exagerated by my (unfortunately) almost untreatable room. A real gamechanger... Thinking about sending my headphones to latvia for calibrating as well, although the standard built in correction does work great already...

[@pecacartun]

Use it all the time. Only thing is that I disabled any boosts.

[@Oxsasuna]

Just thinking out loud: does this software make room treatment obsolete?

[@artwerkmedia8616]

I used to think the same way that I could compensate and just get to know my room. But no, these tools are great. Does sonar works compensate/fix phase coherence? My Only issue with it is that it has to live as a plug-in at the end of your chain. That’s why I might go the Neumann route; it lived in the speaker dsp.

[@daaamn001]

Ive got my headphone version:) Love it!

[@mrdali67]

A bit of a silly question propably, but gonns throw it anyway. Would the software make an absolute newbie (or maybe just lazy person) be able to ignore everything about "best room treatment as possible" and just use the software and be home free ? I am currently thinking about what is the best reasoning if we take the headphone version, if you buy a decent pair eg DT770 Pro, you buy the software, software + individual correction, or just buy a pair of headphones 4x the price of the DT770

[@joeyf808]

SoundID Reference with My Audeze LCD-X's, MAJOR GAME CHANGER!

[@nrs_207]

I’m enjoying this too on my LCD-X. Just trying to decide if it’s worth $100 when I can find a great EQ target online. My only problem is that I’m on a Mac with Apple Music and the free EQ solutions aren’t as good as Windows.

[@Appleloucious]

7:48 Why? It is working perfectly for me with monitors and headphones. Mayhaps you get help if you post your issue here ( : One Love!

[@heaaarthat]

The high end had been twacky and brittle on headphones i noticed for me but im sure its different case by case. Acoustic Treatment + SoundID on speakers definitely has been better

[@jackforan4448]

I like what Sonarworks Reference does - though they really screwed over users of R4 when they switched to Sound ID and I did not find their support helpful at all. You mention treating the sound at the source as being optimal, but I'm surprised you didn't touch more on the actual differences between using something like Sonarworks and room treatment- where you can adjust the output EQ but it does little for excessive decay times etc. It's a good product but it can only help with a small portion of the problems in a listening space. I would recommend it to others overall, but the £200+ for Sonarworks achieved a fraction of the £100 I spent on stacks of rockwool.

[@Antonio_Cabanillas]

Dirac Live Audio is the best..!!

[@jimsanger]

Really interesting, I'll have to look into it.

[@katrinaallikas2028]

Hey Jim, feel free to try out on your headphones - on Sonarworks website there is a 21-day free trial :)

[@hamm24]

If you aren't using Sonarworks you are missing out, Sonarworks is essential for a commercially viable studio product.

[@Satwamassive]

Abbey Road doesn't use it.

[@dab7963]

I wanted to like it but it was so intrusive that I wound up deleting it. I think you're better off getting to know your speakers and learning your environment.

[@suitabledjs]

Terrified my fiancé 😀😀😀.. It is loud and noises are weird

[@alexanderlindner2673]

Sorry, but you can nit Boost a dip Phase Cancelation can nit be Booosted

[@Satwamassive]

I wonder how people managed to record all those timeless , classic albums before Sonarworks was invented?

[@ManchesterMusic]

They were mixed in treated, expensive rooms. Computer technology and music production tools have come down in price such that mixing at home is possible. Acoustically treating one’s room remains somewhat expensive and somewhat complex. The market opportunities for Sonarworks to assist at-home mixing engineers seems fairly obvious.