Your questions answered: Sonarworks Reference calibration tools What it’s like calibrating headphones and monitors with Sonarworks tools Previously, I did some deep dives into this software and answered reader questions: The little tool that gets you up and running when you start I already liked, and wrote about previously, but they’ve enhanced that even more Integrated room measurement inside the Systemwide and plugin toolsīetter virtual sound device performance (I need to test this across my Mac and Windows machines) There are already over a couple hundred of these, and they keep adding more.ĭark mode – some people hate these I love them, since I work in a lot of dim / late night environmentsĪ better menu/tray bar, which is critical as you modify settings as you work More important than the addition of new individual models, though, they’ve added on-demand profile delivery, so you can add support inside the tool. Those seem to target new users as well as ones traveling. You also get new headphone profiles, which show both some high-end Beyerdynamic models but also the sort of consumer listening cans a lot of us use on the go with our smartphones and such. In fact, given this involved a ground-up rewrite, I’m surprised Sonarworks didn’t call this Reference 5. That for me makes Reference way more useful. The big improvement in Reference 4.3 is to let you have both – with a mixed filter mode that operates with minimal latency but still delivers accurate results. Those differences are, again, noticeable to anyone. The other is low-latency, but doesn’t sound as good.

That’s especially rough if you want to work with calibration switched on all the time. One sounds really great, but adds a ton of latency. The biggest challenge has been that there are two modes. I’ve been using Sonarworks Reference religiously since the fall. Testing and calibration improves that enough that anyone can hear. And especially outside of perfectly tuned studio environments, neither are working environments. The thing is, headphones and studio monitors really aren’t flat. But once you hear the results, anyone can hear what this does. I think the biggest challenge Sonarworks has here is that even I would have imagined calibration was something for engineers, but not necessarily producers.

And with both high-end and consumer cans on the supported list, they seem to want everybody to give this a go. The goal: make sure your mixes sound consistent everywhere. Sonarworks Reference 4.3 has a bunch of new features – more headphones, better performance, and it won’t blind you in a dark studio.

Sonarworks reference 3 mega