Not only is there a huge deviation between measurements, but there is an even larger variation between the left-hand and right-hand side drivers. The graph below shows the variation in a pair of Hifiman He400i with ten re-seatings, shown per ear. Neumann KU100 dummy head set up to track drums.įor each measurement, the headphones were taken off and then replaced back onto the fake ears. The headphones were placed on a Neumann KU100 dummy head (kind of like a crash test dummy with microphones in its ears - check out Kieran’s review of it here).įrequency responses were measured using sinusoidal sweeps in an anechoic chamber.
#Sonarworks reference 4 impulse response series
Mythbusting The “Perfectly Flat Curve”īuilt-in headphone calibration presets sound like a great tool for the bedroom producer, but like most digital signal processing, there will almost always be extra, potentially unwanted effects on the digital waveform.Īdditionally, it is a well-accepted fact that even the seating position of a pair of headphones on a head can create variability in its frequency response, not to mention variations caused due to differences in people’s ear cavity sizes and pinnae.Īs a part of a research project conducted at The University of Sydney in 2018, I conducted a series of tests in an attempt to ascertain the variability in frequency response due to these factors. It is simple, inexpensive and is advertised to almost completely negate the effects of a pair of headphones’ naturally built colouration. In comparison with Reference 4’s room measurement calibration system, or Nura’s OAE system, these headphone calibration profiles do not require any measurements to be taken by the user, and hence do not require an expensive measurement microphone or a complex built-in monitoring system. Sonarworks ’ Reference 4 possesses an extra feature over their competing developer’s products: a built-in set of calibration profiles for many popular makes of high-end and consumer-grade reference headphones.Ĭonsidering the now-common use of non-purpose built critical listening spaces for music production, this seems an attractive alternative to expensive acoustic room treatment, and a cheap way to transform your pair of Skullcandy’s into Audeze.
#Sonarworks reference 4 impulse response software
With this information, the software can then apply the inverse signal directly to the monitoring systems output in order to deconstructively superposition the non-flat frequency characteristics.įurthering the innovation in this field, manufacturers such as Melbourne based, Nura, have developed headphones that automatically measure Otoacoustic Emission (OAE) signals emitted from the cochlea in order to map the transfer function of the listener’s ear canals (and digitally process the headphones output accordingly). ARC vs Sonarworks vs Nuraīoth IK Multimedia’s “ARC” and Sonarworks’ “Reference 4” software (as well as many others) allow the user to take measurements with a calibration microphone which then creates an impulse response representing the spectral attributes of the space.
I recommend you check out Steven Taddei’s critical analysis of Sonarworks 4 here. In the last decade, exciting advancements in digital signal processing (DSP) technology has led to new methods of controlling the spectral colouration of loudspeakers in rooms and headphones.Ĭonsidering the expense, and difficulty of acoustically treating studios, and in today’s case, non-purpose built critical listening spaces (bedroom studios etc.), software developers such as IK Multimedia and Sonarworks have developed cool pieces of software designed to hypothetically “cancel out” the naturally built colouration of an acoustic environment. What to look out for when processing sound for referencing.Does headphone calibration audio processing do more harm than good?.