Anyone try Sonarworks Headphone Calibration?

I tried it but went back to just using the electri-q eq for foobar.

 

Good stuff, are you guys still working on a native system wide EQ? I'm worried there might be a loss of sound quality when patching the signal around.

 

Under OS X I use audio hijack to implement Sonarworks for system sound or apps that do not allow you to inline a VST/AU. It's sort of sample rate kludgey and works best if you keep things at 44.1 but overall I think it works better then the pedalboard thing. There is a loss of sound quality for sure but for non critical stuff (youtube etc...) I feel it's still much better then not having Sonarworks in place.

 

I'm a huge fan of Sonarworks and exclusively listen to my HD800's with it. The default target curve sounds a bit dull/flat to my ears so I add some tilt and dial back the mix to about 75%. This keeps the essential character of the HD800's (soundstage, etc) but compensates for most of the problems - ie. spiky treble, recessed midrange and lack of bass impact. The end result is as good a headphone as I have heard and stunning value given the current used prices of HD800's. I can get most of the way to the Sonarworks end result with my own eq curves, but the plugin makes it really easy and adds the last bit of refinement. I'm also using audio hijack on OS X to route Spotify and lossless files through the plugin. I don't have any hi-res source material but I agree with Chris F that Audio hijack is not an ideal solution in this case.

 

Very nice explanation. Thanks.

 

Hey guys!

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• AIAIAI TMA1 (PU foam pads)
• AKG K141 MKII
• AKG K240 Studio
• AKG K271 MKII
• AKG K701
• AKG K702
• AKG K712 Pro
• Audeze LCD-2 non-fazor
• Audeze LCD-X non-fazor
• Audio-Technica M20x
• Audio-Technica M40x
• Audio-Technica M50x
• Audio-Technica M70x
• Beyerdynamic DT770 80 Ohm
• Beyerdynamic DT770 250 Ohm
• Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro
• Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro
• Beyerdynamic T1
• Focal Spirit Pro
• KRK KNS8400
• Sennheiser HD25-II
• Sennheiser HD280
• Sennheiser HD598
• Sennheiser HD600
• Sennheiser HD650
• Sennheiser HD800
• Sennheiser Surrounder
• Shure SRH840
• Shure SRH1840
• Sony MDR7506
• Sony MDR7520
• Superlux HD681

And one extra review for the endgamest headphone out there -

 

I downloaded sonarworks plugin to use in jriver. It felt like it flattened the soundstage and sounded more veiled. Am I doing it right? Do you guys also notice a decrease in sound quality using sonarworks? I am just making sure I am using it correctly.

 

Adjust the wet/dry button to somewhere 1/4 to half way. 100% is too much. Also try switching between linear, mixed and minimum phase. If I remember correctly I liked mixed phase the best. And to my preference bass boost was just overbearing, I toned it down quite a bit.

edit: I used HD800

 

I agree with 100 wetness being too much, I'm using modded HD650 and find that 30 - 50 on the wet/dry dial (depending on if I'm using the no limits curve and if I'm using any tilt/bass boost) works well to extend the sub-bass, slightly tame the mid-bass hump, and even out the treble a bit. Generally I find that EQ'ing the HD650 subbass is a necessity, but if you crank it up too high it starts to mess up the FR in weird ways.

 

Sonarworks is great. I didnt like the result with hd650 as I dont think it was really needed.
I couldnt live with hd800 stock, but with sonarworks at 70% wet in min phase,they are amazing. HD650 have not been used at all since I got my hd800 + sonarworks

 

I made a document on system wide sound plugin using a difference free tool (for this purpose) call Sound Siphon.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?res...307&authkey=!AByyOi3J16IdMys&ithint=file,docx

 

AllanMarcus, your link doesn't work for me?

 

Sorry about that. Please try the updated link above.

 

Bit of a thread resurrection. Has anyone got Sonarworks running on a Windows system? I'm checking out the trial version and quite intrigued so far. Only problem is that it seems to be limited to 16-44 content & sending anything above that causes all sorts of breakups.

 

How are you running the plug-in? There's a good chance that the VST hosting solution might be choking in them bits. Try setting the buffer size to super large and then step back to see how small you can go, before stuff gets borky.

 

Hi thanks for the reply. Yes I should have clarified that I'm using pedalboard with VB hifi cable. I also tried vsthost with the same result. Pretty sure I tried increasing the buffer, but I'll confirm for sure. I suspect the problem is vsthost/pedalboard as JRiver can handle it all natively with its own VST support, but my preferred method (Roon) doesn't yet do this so I'm reliant on the intermediary stuff to host the VST and route audio to it.

 

Just wanted to add that Sonarworks has added average correction for the Oppo PM-3 to their plugin, in case anyone else enjoys this excellent (if slightly honky sounding) headphone

Hrudolf, is it still possible to join in on the beta testing of Sonarworks for mobile? With the addition of the PM-3 I would be eager to give that a go (direct message sent a little while back). Thanks!

 

My 800's were and remain majorly modded and I used both the average 800 curve and the 'no limits' curve quite successfully.
And the flexibility of the Ref-3 plugin helps accommodate these variations fairly easily.

And it certainly would seem to be worth a shot to see if it will work for you since there is a free trial available.

JJ

 

Great to hear how well this worked -- and you make a very good point about exploring the free trial.

 

I tried it and was initially impressed, but I felt it reduced the sound stage too much. I ended up getting a refund (kudos to SonarWorks for their 30 day return policy). To me, simply eq is good enough to give the cans I have a little more bass when needed.

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