SoundGym Cafe

Christian Gaertner
Nov 24, 2023

Hi guys, there are probably some of you using Sonarworks SoundID Reference. I checked out the free trial. Currently I can't put up my near field monitors anyway so I'm just using it for my headphones. In my opinion the curve adjustment is a great feature but for me the flat target doesn't sound flat or right even after having it turned on for quite a long time now. So I adjusted the curve myself. I cut out some resonating frequencies but left the rest untouched. I think the DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm sound more natural that way. Mixing with the flat target preset is really weird so I turn on my own preset and listen to some reference tracks while mixing. Then it's way easier to find the right balance of my own mixing projects. The sound even translates better to my other pair of headphones and car speakers.
Do you guys think I'm just used to the sound of my headphones and should try using sonarworks flat target for even a longer period of time? Or just keep doing what I did so far? I mean if my method works better for me why should I change it.
Also the virtual monitoring add-on doesn't sound like monitor speakers to me at all. Since the sound source is still the headphone the emulation just sounds different but not anything like real speakers.
Does the add-on still help you to produce better mixes?

For speakers it's a different topic. Especially for measuring and eliminating the resonating frequencies.

1 props

Melchior van Dijk
Nov 24, 2023

Yo Christian, it depends. If you're constantly trying out different listening devices to hear how it translates, then your totally fine. If you know your headphones well without a flat target, and how it translates, you're fine aswel. Only when u notice a lot of differences when listening on other devices, then it might be better to use the flat target, so there's no more guessing. Most important is to know how the music translates and that is all about how u hear the the music in the first place.

1 props

Christian Gaertner
Nov 24, 2023

@Melchior Van Dijk Thanks for the advice. Using the flat curve I tend to overdo the high ends. I'm feeling way more confident using the preset I created.

1 props

sean agostini
Nov 24, 2023

i've never tried sound id reference. but what's your preset? i use the same headphones

0 props

Jazzy Tea
Nov 24, 2023

I'm using SoundID on DT990 too. My way is usually going without them as I have listened a lot on them and just for some sessions turn it on at 60%, or switching. If the sounds start being simirarly pleasant in both, I usually expect being on a good way.

1 props

Christian Gaertner
Nov 25, 2023

@sean agostini According to the software the headphones have some resonating frequencies above 10kHz and the highs are a little bit boosted. I cancelled out the resonances and turned down the highs just a bit, not much. The highs sound more soft now but still bright. And I boosted the lowest low end like in the SoundID reference profile. The rest between 100Hz - 10kHz is nearly untouched. I just tried to flatten these frequencies a tiny bit.

1 props

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