“I would have chosen a "depends" option for the above question if there was one. I upgraded for the native M1 support and although the new features seem very cool, I tend to only use the standard speaker/headphone calibration. I originally had some poor performance running in Cubase (which I didn't with Ref4) however that seems to have been fixed with an update shortly after.
The app itself can be generally a bit slow to inputs compared to Ref4 but that's pretty minor.
I probably could have stuck with Ref4 for my needs, but the extra features could come in handy someday and the M1 support & knowing there'll be active support and updates with SoundID is nice. Couldn't live without either though.”
Hi,
Thanks for your review, we really appreciate it!
I am sorry to hear that you have encountered some trouble with SoundID Reference. I will reach out to you privately to gather some additional details on your experience with the product so far.
Best regards,
Zane
“Loving the new target simulations, very helpful. Applying your own target curve is also an interesting feature. The high-frequency processing sounds a bit clearer and more precise than previous Sonarworks versions. Regarding Measure, it's great to have little videos to help better visualize how to position correctly the mic. Satisfied overall!”
“I like using the software but some improvements are needed for the upgrading and systemwide running of the software. I'm now using SoundID 5.6.1.4 on 2022 Mac Studio OS version: 12.6.2 (Monterey).
- Why can't all my profiles in Reference 4 be automatically ready to go and imported to SoundID? I had to manually add them as well as the devices. The info exists in Reference 4.
- Another issue is when my computer goes to sleep: On wake-up, Systemwide SoundID crashes sometimes or appears to be working but isn't as there are no levels going in or out yet I can hear audio. Or it blocks all audio even though it's running - I can see audio meters moving but nothing coming out. I then have to manually QUIT SoundID and restart it and all works again. Not a big deal but annoying. This was never an issue with Reference 4.”
Hi Don,
Thanks for your review, we really appreciate it! Glad to hear overall you are liking SoundID Reference :)
Regarding the profiles and devices not automatically importing into SoundID Reference from Reference 4 - unfortunately, this feature is not available. SoundID Reference is a separate product and it would have to be set up manually even if you've been using Reference 4 prior to upgrading to SoundID Reference. There are also some changes in adding a new device output and loading profiles, thus the setting up process is manual.
As for the sleep issue on your macOS you've mentioned - very sorry to hear about this. We are aware of this issue with SoundID Reference and we're currently working on improvements to provide a more stable experience with the app. I will reach out to you personally as well on this specific issue, so we can link your case to the development report and notify you of any updates.
Thanks again for taking the time to submit your review, your feedback is very valuable!
Best regards,
Zane from Sonarworks Team
Posted 2 years ago
Hi Don,
I hope you're doing well!
As you mentioned in your review that you have encountered some sleep state issues with SoundID Reference, I wanted to let you know that we have recently released a new SoundID Reference beta version (v5.7.3) which includes a major rework of the macOS driver and aims to resolve various issues such as sleep/idle-time problems and the SoundID Reference virtual device disappearing from the output list. We have been working on these improvements for a while now and we hope that the product experience is greatly improved for our macOS users.
For more details on the beta and steps on how to install it, see our Community post here: https://www.sonarworks.com/community/soundid-reference/posts/12241588603282-new-beta-macos-driver-update-beta-testing-soundid-reference-beta-version-573
If you have the chance to try out the beta, it would be great if you could let us know about your experience in the Community post linked or by submitting a support request. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
Best regards,
Zane from Sonarworks Team
“I'm still using the 6 months license by Audient for SoundID, but I bought the update as owner of Refence 4 Studio for Speakers & Headphones.
I think it's a good upgrade option from v4 to v5 because of the new features and EQ profiles. The only thing I want to point out is that the headphone EQ profiles are not very accurate. With my Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro it doesn't work so well and I hoped that in the new version that would be corrected, but it's still the same. I guess I'll have to calibrate them individually.”
Hi Franco,
Thanks for your review, we really appreciate! We're happy to know that SoundID Reference is providing a good experience :)
Regarding the headphone calibration, the readily available average profiles in our supported headphones list are average summaries from several different units measured and tested (because even the same model headphones will differ pair to pair in frequency response). Due to that build inconsistency, some anomalies to the flat target can be present. I would recommend looking into the individual calibration service as well as it will give you the ultimate calibration accuracy, since the calibration is specifically tailored for your individual pair of headphones.
In case there's anything else you'd like to share about your time with the product so far or have any questions, feel free to contact us via our website anytime!
Best regards,
Zane from Sonarworks Team
