Sonar Works - any users?

[DaytonaRik]

I've just downloaded a demo of Sonar Works Reference 4 Headphone Edition and the adjustments to the EQ of my AKG K702 headphones (which I always thought sounded great) were impressive, boosting the lows at around 90hz, taking a notch out of the low mids at around 1k and generally tidying up the whole response from 12k upwards (se attached before/after images)

Just wondered if anyone uses this as there's a Black Friday sale on reducing the studio edition from $299 to $179 which includes a reference microphone to accurately measure the response with your own room/speakers.  I know it's not a substitute for proper room treatment, but  from my demo of the system the results seem to speak for themselves and the software seems to have a few fans, notably producer/engineer Warren Huart (Korn, Black Veil Brides, The Ramones, Ace Frehley, Aerosmith) who runs the Produce Like a Pro YouTube channel.

The system will also emulate pre-defined curves such as hi-fi speakers, cinema system curves etc.

Thoughts and comments appreciated.

[Ramirez]

I use it with AKG K712 headphones, and I find it to make a very worthwhile improvement.
Though I prefer speakers, I’m happy mixing commercial stuff with that combination.

[DaytonaRik]

Thanks @Ramirez- the results on the K702s have been impressive enough for me to consider the full studio edition.  Have you tried it with your monitors as well?  If so then I'd be intrigued to hear your opinion.

[Ramirez]

I’m afraid not, I’ve only used the headphone edition.

[Mcgiver69]

I used them for 9 months (Free from Focusrite) and I liked it. Now to be honest you can do better work with Morphit paired with CanOpener. End up cheaper and your mixes will come out better as CanOpener do the crosstalk that happens with real speakers.

https://www.toneboosters.com/tb_morphit_v1.html

https://goodhertz.co/canopener-studio/

BTW I'm talking about headphones here.

Edited November 26, 2020 by Mcgiver69

[DaytonaRik]

8 minutes ago, Mcgiver69 said:

I used them for 9 months (Free from Focusrite) and I liked it. Now to be honest you can do better work with Morphit paired with CanOpener. End up cheaper and your mixes will come out better as CanOpener do the crosstalk that happens with real speakers.

https://www.toneboosters.com/tb_morphit_v1.html

https://goodhertz.co/canopener-studio/

 

Do either of those actually work with monitors or just headphones?  A quick glance would show that it's the latter?  I also mix on a set of KRK Rokit 5's and want to apply correction to those as well which Sonarworks allows me to do.  Sonarworks also include a calibrated reference condenser mic (which is useful for RTA) in the price and make the profile of that individual mic available to you for your room measurements.  Black Friday deal is $179

Edited November 26, 2020 by DaytonaRik

[Mcgiver69]

Only headphones, if you're talking about monitors then Sonarworks is the best way to go, cheaper than IK Multimedia and still gives you great results.

The issue is that no matter what room you have the calibration will ensure your monitors will operate at the flattest possible. It's not ideal but there's no such thing when you have a home recording or small studio environment.

[DaytonaRik]

2 minutes ago, Mcgiver69 said:

Only headphones, if you're talking about monitors then Sonarworks is the best way to go, cheaper than IK Multimedia and still gives you great results.

The issue is that no matter what room you have the calibration will ensure your monitors will operate at the flattest possible. It's not ideal but there's no such thing when you have a home recording or small studio environment.

Agree - home studio environment is a nightmare and far from perfect but anything we can do to flatten the response and trust what we hear can only be a good thing

[Mcgiver69]

I can only advise to make it as flat as possible and use a lot of references to make your mix as close to whatever your reference track is. Like I said it will never be ideal because a well treat room cost a lot and we usually do not have the space to create such room.

I think that package you are buying comes with both (room and headphones) so I would then get the CanOpener to test my mixes with headphones, that will take it close to your speakers and will give you more points of reference (with CO and without). That's what I would do.

[DaytonaRik]

2 minutes ago, Mcgiver69 said:

I can only advise to make it as flat as possible and use a lot of references to make your mix as close to whatever your reference track is. Like I said it will never be ideal because a well treat room cost a lot and we usually do not have the space to create such room.

I think that package you are buying comes with both (room and headphones) so I would then get the CanOpener to test my mixes with headphones, that will take it close to your speakers and will give you more points of reference (with CO and without). That's what I would do.

Thanks for the advice @Mcgiver69 - the more tools we have at our disposal the better.  I'm using the demo of SW Headphone edition and the improvements in bass response, especially around 70-100hz are incredible, plus by flattening the response from 1.1khz everything just seems fuller and more weighty! 

[Mcgiver69]

Nice one, that will get you as close as you can be.

BTW if you're getting a plugin in this Black Friday I would recommend you get this one, this will take care of gain staging over a considerable number of tracks in no time. At that price it would be criminal not getting it.

https://www.hornetplugins.com/plugins/hornet-vu-meter-mk4/

[DaytonaRik]

8 minutes ago, Mcgiver69 said:

Nice one, that will get you as close as you can be.

BTW if you're getting a plugin in this Black Friday I would recommend you get this one, this will take care of gain staging over a considerable number of tracks in no time. At that price it would be criminal not getting it.

https://www.hornetplugins.com/plugins/hornet-vu-meter-mk4/

Thanks @Mcgiver69 - that looks perfect for buses/groups