Correction plugins like Morphit or Sonar Works???

[Trancit]

How accurate are they???
I know, Sonar Works gives you the ability to make a special calebration for your own headphones but $$$$$....

I´ve got a pair of DT 990 Pro´s here...

If I demo these plugins with their standard calebration for these headphones, how do I know, that they are giving me a flat response in reality???

Do have different pairs of headphones from the same model a different frequency response or are they 99.9% the same, that one could say the calebration of one DT 990 Pro is enough for all of them???

Does this topic really matters??
Isn´t referencing your own work with other pro productions on the same headphones the same or more safe at the very end...

What advantages do have a calebration vs. "knowing" your headphones well or referencing with other audio???

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I have both (bought Morphit first for headphones, and just got Reference for monitors primarily).

Do they work? Yeah, I'd say so. After a few months of regular use, I was impressed enough with the Morphit results to go and try out Reference on my studio monitors.

How accurate are they? I have a set of HD-280's, and the Massdrop/Sennheiser HD6XX's. Morphit really flattens out the response very well on both sets of headphones. Much more so on the 280's than the HD6XX's due to the 280 simply needing more correction. It's somewhat true that your ears adjust to what you're hearing, but going from the HD280 with no correction to correction enabled and back, they simply sound less "weird" and more flat with correction enabled. I'd never be able to fully compensate for their weird response without the help of Morphit. I don't even like monitoring myself without correction, because I can't trust what I'm hearing.

In terms of Reference, I have a fair amount of treatment in my room (with even more coming), and the difference was less extreme in my studio monitors (ADAM A7's) than I was expecting. The biggest change is there's a sharp, 6db dip around 130hz at my listening position that it compensates for, but other than that, my room was in better shape than I thought it would be (at the listening position). But again, even though we're talking about smaller adjustments to the frequency response, things still sound better with Reference enabled than with it off. I'm not convinced I'd buy it again considering how treated my room is and the fact that I have more bass trapping on the way, but if I didn't have a heavily treated room, I'm sure it'd be a huge God send.

So my advice: if you're mixing on headphones, buy Morphit, it'll work out much better than not having it. It's inexpensive, sounds great, and will compensate for things that would be otherwise difficult to do. If you mix between monitors and headphones, particularly in an untreated room, get the big-boy version of Reference and the measurement microphone.

Both have a demo, at least try one or both out. Morphit is inexpensive and well worth the money IMO.

[jbarish]

What percentage setting in Morphit are you using for your HD-280's???

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

What percentage setting in Morphit are you using for your HD-280's???

I keep it at 100% with the Limiter off and start with the Gain at zero though I may drop the gain back if needed.

[Trancit]

First of all thx for your detailed response...

One thing I am still curious though:

...I have a set of HD-280's, and the Massdrop/Sennheiser HD6XX's. Morphit really flattens out the response very well on both sets of headphones....

How do you know???
I mean, how do you know, that you get a flat response and not some weird opposite curve...
Are there any ways to check this???

Perhaps I am thinking wrong, but how can I know, that the response is "flat"...

[martinjuenke]

I use SONARWORKS for correcting my headphones (AKG702) and my Yamaha speakers (room measurement done with their microphone). The results are impressive and revealing. I would buy that package again, it‘s simply far more worthy than the third emulation of a sixties compressor or the fourth VA synth!

[MogwaiBoy]

Reference 4 Headphones version in use here with AKG K702 cans. Use them for just 10 minutes then switch the correction curve off, you'll be amazed at what you had to deal with before.

I guess they measure frequency response from as large a group as possible of each headphone type, then generate averages from that data. So if you have an average pair of X brand heapdhones, the default correction will likely be an improvement.

The thing that dawned on me though is... commercial mixes still sound Great without any correction - while my mix might sound slightly harsh with the correction off and great with it on. It's a "damn, how do they do that" moment that made me realise how much I still have to learn about mixing and balancing. It also makes me think that there is some merit in aiming for as good a mix even in compromised headphones with no correction - because if the pros can make their stuff translate even to factory stock K702s which are strident in the upper mids and severely lack low end, mine should too...

[Trancit]

Thx so far for your comments...

Nevertheless: What tells you, that it is "better" what you hear now...

I agree, that it sounds different... to me it sounds boring/lifeless... it sounds simply worse...
I tried the online test of Sonar Works homepage... I had more bass and less highs on my cans...
It sounded dull with more bass compared to calebration off

What tells me, that this is what I should reach for???

[MogwaiBoy]

Well obviously if you see little need for correction and don't even like what it does anyway, don't use it or even wonder about it any longer - simple as that

[Bodhisan]

Glad this came up. Very interesting “scientific”- (and who isn’t a fool for science?) ally based adjustments. While I don’t base my mixes purely on my Superlux, they do have weight in my finished product, so I was a bit astonished at the brightness the Superlux produce. For $35 - a must. Bought it, love it.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

First of all thx for your detailed response...

One thing I am still curious though:

...I have a set of HD-280's, and the Massdrop/Sennheiser HD6XX's. Morphit really flattens out the response very well on both sets of headphones....

How do you know???
I mean, how do you know, that you get a flat response and not some weird opposite curve...
Are there any ways to check this???

Perhaps I am thinking wrong, but how can I know, that the response is "flat"...

How do I know? Because I have a pair of decent studio monitors in a fairly well treated room and the headphones with Morphit sound much closer to what I hear out of the monitors, than without Morphit. So there's test #1.

Test #2: the HD-280's have a very weird frequency response. When you toggle the correction you HEAR it improve. The weird resonances/peaky EQ curve of the headphones basically disappears. It's an audible thing. If you have better headphones, the results won't be so drastic. And looking at Morphit...the DT990 is much, much flatter than the HD280 Pro. So not surprised the difference you're hearing isn't huge. What I can see from the Morphit correction profile though is that the DT990 has a slight bass bump aound 200hz, is missing some mids, then boosts the highs starting around 10k. Basically, a smiley face EQ. This is basically a "smiley face EQ". Boosted lows and highs with cut mids results in a hyped sound. Most people prefer this. That's fine for listening to music, but not great for mixing.

See, it''s not about making your headphones "sound better." If they sound boring with the correction on, that's simply because a flatter frequency response will sound boring. A frequency response that emphasizes bass and highs will sound better to the vast majority of people. Hi-fi speakers and headphones are frequently designed to exagerate this effect on purpose because people like it. Studio monitors, on the other hand, are designed to combat the effect and get a flatter, more boring response.

The reason you don't want a hyped sound when you're mixing is all about getting your mix to translate. If you're mixing in your room or headphones and things sound awesome, but that same mix sounds completely different (and bad) in your car, or on your earbuds, or on your friends hi-fi, or at the club, it's likely because you weren't hearing what was really being produced by the speakers, and your headphones and/or room/monitors were coloring the sound in a way you had adjusted to. Simple example: let's take that same smiley face EQ (boosted lows/hi's and cut mids). You make a balanced mix, and the low end sounds good, the highs are sparkling just right, and you think you're good to go. Then you take it to the car, and the low end is weak, and the highs are dark. What's going on? Turns out the speaker frequency response in your car isn't going to match your headphones, and may not be complimentary. So those adjustments you made to your EQ didn't translate to different speakers. If you were starting from a flat mix environment, your mix would translate better on a much wider variety of materials.

Anyway, if you don't like it, don't use it. The DT990's look like they have a decent enough frequency response to start with. If you're not listening to your music in other environments and having translation issues, then it's completely unnecessary. If you are though, you may want to try out a mix with something like Morphit on and see if that one translates better.

[Bodhisan]

How do you know???
I mean, how do you know, that you get a flat response and not some weird opposite curve...
Are there any ways to check this???

Perhaps I am thinking wrong, but how can I know, that the response is "flat"...

Very fair question - one I might ask if I didn’t trust the developer - and that’s my answer. This guy has a reputation that he wouldn’t trade for a snake-oil claim.

[acYm]

The thing that dawned on me though is... commercial mixes still sound Great without any correction - while my mix might sound slightly harsh with the correction off and great with it on. It's a "damn, how do they do that" moment that made me realise how much I still have to learn about mixing and balancing.

I gave some thought to that before. imo it's because these commercial mixes emphasize the particular frequencies that will sound good on all speakers (and especially small shitty ones) much more than you or I would. the perceivable discrepancy between "good and bad" sound reproduction from frequency imbalance becomes smaller.

I'm pretty happy with my Reference4 on the focal spirit pro with their average curve. it's a clean sound if I've heard one. if I ever get something else I'll probably order it from them with a custom curve.

[Trancit]

Thx very much for participating and helping out here...

Only one thing I want to make a bit clearer: it is not, that I am denying something or that I am not aware of the theory and benefits behind a flat frequency response...

I am just a person, who has to understand first "how", "why" and "how can I be sure about that", before I can use something properly without always doubting...
By asking a lot I try to collect reasons and arguments I can accept and identify my way of thinking with... that´s the reason for boring more and more...

So everything I wrote here, was not about "I don´t like it" , it was just about "I want to understand this" by writing my first impressions with some tests...

But anyway: Thx again...

[studiowaveform]

sonarkworks was one of the better things I have bought for the studio,.


Moved from a nice room to a less-than-ideal one, and it really helped cushion the blow. My new room made everything sound so boomy so I would eq that out. Tracks instantly sounded better after calibrating it


Also I like that its a plugin where you can add amounts of correction in, really useful!


Am tempted to send them my headphones for the perfect calibration routine