Sonarworks question

[Bill S]

Hi all

Just reading April’s SOS and the review of the new multichannel version of Sonarworks. I’m not multichannel myself, but it did remind me about Sonarworks, and I am considering buying either the Headphones edition which I believe costs $99, or the full speaker + headphone version.

Am I correct that “all” I am buying if I went for headphones option would be a custom EQ curve for my AKG K701 phones? The AKGs are a supported model on Sonarworks’ website, so that’s good.

Im not trying to wriggle out of paying for this, and indeed I am more likely to buy the full speakers+calibration mic+headphone package which costs $299. However, does this mean that if anyone had ever posted an image of the K701’s EQ curve online, this could be copied using any decent EQ plugin?

[RichardT]

Fundamentally yes, that's what the headphone edition is about.

However there is one feature that takes it beyond a custom EQ curve - which is the ability to define Sonarworks as an audio device (in Mac terminology) so that all sound can be routed through it. I've got this set up and it's a great feature as it means that casual listening, mixing and listening to references are all done with the same EQ curve in place.

Sonarworks does also give you the ability to customise the EQ curve and simulate listening in various environments. For example, on my phones the calibration profile has a big boost below 40Hz - which I reduce a bit. But of course that could be done in any EQ.

[The Elf]

...and I'll say to save yourself even more money and learn to understand your headphones as they are. There's nothing wrong with K701s that needs 'correcting' - IMHO.

[Bill S]

Just found this - I honestly can’t see that the AKGs need as much bass boost as the Sonarworks curve suggests:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHa9aT-gacM

[Bill S]

...and I'll say to save yourself even more money and learn to understand your headphones as they are. There's nothing wrong with K701s that needs 'correcting' - IMHO.

I agree - I’ve been using them for years and I know them pretty well. Without over complicating things - they are a bit bass light. That’s it!

[Hugh Robjohns]

Just found this - I honestly can’t see that the AKGs need as much bass boost as the Sonarworks curve suggests

I wonder if they tested a brand new pair, rather than a set that was nicely run in....

The comparison of diffrrent correction systems does highlight the difficulty of measuring headphone responses accurately and/or the production tolerance variations.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

You could visually copy the eq curve, but that's assuming the eq you use does exactly what it says on the graph. Many do not. Equalizers give different frequency response curves for the same Q settings.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Q is defined very precisely as the filter centre frequency divided by the bandwidth measured at -3dB from the peak.

The real issue your link's author is tripping over is that different EQ designs develop different shaped bell curves at different gain settings due to being designed either as Constant Q or Proportional Q equalisers. In reality, then, the gain/Q parameters interact but this may not be correctly revealed in the control values shown on the plugin or hardware EQ.

[Bill S]

In the blurb below the video I linked above, the following was suggested as a way of flattening the AKG K701/2. I plugged this into the Waves Q10 Equaliser and I have to say it’s really helped. I mixed a song with this as the last plugin on my master bus. Firstly, the sound is more pleasing - mainly, in that I am hearing the bottom end more clearly. But more importantly I hope it takes some of my guesswork out of compensating for this lack of low end that I’ve got used to over the years using these headphones. The bottom line is I think this is helpful! Mental note to self: don’t forget to switch the EQ off before bouncing! (Unless using a separate headphone bus).

105Hz +4.5dB Q1.35 Low Shelf
690Hz +3.0dB Q2.4 Peak
1320Hz +2.0dB Q4.0 Peak
2700Hz -3.4dB Q2.0 Peak
5950Hz -3.2dB Q3.0 Peak
10900Hz +3.7dB Q5.0 Peak
14600Hz +3.3dB Q3.6 Peak

For me, I think there would be benefit in investing in Sonarworks or similar, but IMHO only for room calibration, I personally wouldn’t get value from the headphones only option.

[The Elf]

For me, I think there would be benefit in investing in Sonarworks or similar, but IMHO only for room calibration, I personally wouldn’t get value from the headphones only option.

I'd say it's the 180 degree opposite, but that's a whole new can of worms!