Not every studio is created equal. Engineering the Sound learned how to accommodate for any studio shortcomings with SoundID Reference.
Sonarworks are currently some of the coolest cats in the audio world, commercialising tech and compiling software that used to be pretty high-end and inaccessible. They operate on both the producer and listener sides of the equation, with their listener products focusing on perfecting and personalising the audio experience through their EQ apps.
On the other side of this coin though are their producer products – of which SoundID Reference is slowly becoming a critical piece of gear in many producers’ catalogues. Engineering The Sound was lucky enough to get our hands on one of their SoundID Reference kits this week, and we gave it a spin in the in-house Enmore Audio studios.
With the accompanying omnidirectional reference mic, we used SoundID Reference’s software to run some tests in the room. We followed instructions and used the microphone to register our monitor setup’s measurements, and took a series of test recordings throughout the studio to get a sound map of our space.
Using their onboard algorithm, SoundID Reference was able to show us some of the minor faults in the studio and provided us with an EQ map that we could apply to the master track to accommodate for this.
We’ve had issues in the past absolutely perfecting our mixes on things like booming male vocals, or snare drums, and after using SoundID’s EQ, we were able to accommodate for this and get some cleaner-sounding finals.
As well as this, SoundID includes a nifty tool that replicates the EQ settings of various different speaker setups, estimating the listener experience through a phone speaker, on AirPods, on a TV, or through many other audio rigs – regardless of how shitty.
Long gone are the days of needing to test your mixes on a mate’s home speakers or out in your car, as you can test and adjust for this on the spot with this software.
After giving it a spin, we can see how useful SoundID Reference is in any space, and how it has become an essential bit in many producers’ equipment lists. If you’re an artist that bumps in and out of many different studios, or feel like you need a good measurement tool to treat your bedroom with, definitely give it a crack, as it’s an incredibly useful piece of tech.
Find out more about SoundIDReference here.
