Hi,
Not sure if this is hardware or software and it is also not relevant for gigging - but - somebody might find this useful when working in a studio.
I notice that during October - IK Multimedia have a special offer (40% off) on their ARC Acoustic Room Correction system - including the correction microphone. Its 119.99 dollars/Euros for first time purchase or 89.99 dollars/Euros for a cross-grade from any other IK purchased product costing more than 99.99 dollars/Euros (presumably this means e.g. a sound library)
I use SonarWorks for my headphones while mixing, but it seems to me that these two products are doing different things.
The Room correction system seems to be listening to the room with the provided microphone and it tries to take the room properties out of your experience while the SonarWorks product is taking out the subtle differences in the listening device (Speakers or Headphones) and allows you to then emulate the listening experience on some other device - it does not take the room into account at all.
I think Sonarworks is a room correction software.
They say on their website and I can hear that it sounds much better with Sonarworks.
Much less resonance frequencies with Sonarworks.
Maybe I am missing something, but they say “Reference 4 removes unwanted coloration from studio speakers and headphones.”
I guess one could use it to eliminate the room influence from the sound with some measuring microphone and maybe doing something special with the software.
The entire point of SonarWorks Reference 4 is to provide you with that “reference” sound that is not “coloured” by your hardware (speakers or headphones). Makes it much easier to mix and master music. It is not really there to make it sound better. Consider speakers that have a really heavy bottom. If you mix on those speakers you will tend to reduce lower frequencies. You then give that to someone with “normal” speakers or headphones and your bass will sound thin.
If you are talking about their other product “True-Fi” - I don’t know since I don’t have or use that one.
I own Sonarworks Reference Studio.
And the measurement does not ignore the room.
I can see in the correction curves, they differ a lot from left and right.
This comes because my home studio is in a bad location:
In store, in the corner, sloping roof.
Nomally the worst place to use monitors.
But with Sonarworks Reference 4 all is well balanced.
When I create my sounds at home with calibration enabled and monitors on (not headphone),
in rehearsals I can hear my sounds as I do in my studio.
As far as I can see - room correction software can only work if it has ‘listened’ to the room with a calibrated microphone - and on reading his post - PianoPaul seems to imply that he has not done that because he says that ‘I think Sonarworks is room correction software’. I don’t know what that means - but just selecting a speaker model from a list is not calibrating the room - its selecting for the limitations of a particular speaker system. I looked at the Sonarworks web site (one of the worst web site designs I have ever seen) and it seems a very good system. But it is quite expensive for the complete studio system at 299Euros + 69Euros for the calibration mic. Obviously for use with headphones it can come pre-calibrated by headphone type - as you cannot calibrate a headphone yourself.
I have never used the IK Mutimedia system - but I’ve heard good reviews and its seems quite cost effective - especially with the deal - so I thought some people might find the deal useful - which is why I raised it.
I actually use a somewhat aging KRK Ergo system which, unfortunately, requires an Windows XP computer to calibrate it. I have such a system which is kept in a glass case with a label saying ‘emergency use only’ (joke!).
