Sonarworks has announced that it has developed high-definition studio headphone calibration that will allow sound professionals to achieve complete accuracy towards the reference of their choice via headphones. It will also make collaboration over distance sonically predictable and allow users to get the same accurate sound on the go.
This is achieved by using a unique patent pending measurement technology that delivers data that illustrates how the music would be heard by real people through a set of headphones. After the measurement is done, a high-resolution calibration curve is generated and used by the DAW plug-in to compensate each and every frequency response dip and curve.
Sonarworks offers average calibration curves for a variety of headphone models, presently including seven popular models from AKG and Sennheiser among others. However the best precision can only be achieved by using individual calibration for each set of headphones. This eliminates sample-to-sample variations that are bound to introduce some deviation from frequency response target curve.
In addition to a highly accurate frequency response, the Sonarworks plug-in allows mixing and mastering engineers to control the sound reference and emulate the sound of other headphones or speakers. This feature is useful for double-checking how the mix would sound on other systems. The plug-in also allows for a consistent sound across many studio rigs. This helps tremendously when collaborating over distance. The software also enables extra mobility – when working with a DAW on a laptop, reference sound is available wherever you are.
The company is currently offering a free 21-day trial of the Sonarworks Reference plug-in so that users may try headphone calibration and test average model curves for a selection of up to seven headphone models. This list can be viewed on the company website: sonarworks.com/try-now. During the trial full functionality is enabled and after the trial it is possible to buy a license for €70 / $92.26.
For those who require highest precision, Sonarworks offers the DAW plug-in bundled with two models of individually calibrated headphones:
- Sonarworks plug-in + Sony MDR-7506 (€170 / $224.07).
- Two licences of Sonarworks plug-in + AKG K712 Pro (€430 / $566.77).
For hobbyists looking for an affordable entry into reference sound, Sonarworks offers a special set. It is comprised of Superlux HD681 headphones, a correction curve averaged from numerous HD681 headphone measurements, and a Lite version of the plugin which will support correction curve only for the bundled model.
Full bundles or separate licenses can be purchased online at sonarworks.com/store/headphones
Sonarworks plugin is available in VST and AU standards for PC and Mac computers. In order to run it, the plug-in requires a calibration file generated by Sonarworks speaker calibrator software. The plugin provides lossless speaker calibration withphase-linear FIR filter in 16,000 correction bands.
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