Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1178376
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y F A L L 2 0 1 9 73 plugin, otherwise, you'll be printing with levels lower than your meters are indicating. Why? Because the software reduces its output by the amount of boost it adds to achieve correction in order to avoid clipping. Look at the output gain reduction in the snapshot of the FR for the Shure headphones (below). If you are rendering offline instead of in real-time, you'll get a prompt warning you when you try to print (see photo on p. 70). OBSERVATIONS After I measured, I opened a Pro Tools session that contained my reference songs, inserted Reference Studio on a Master Fader, and listened. The difference was instantly noticeable and I was extremely impressed. The low end seemed so much tighter and the mid frequencies much more uniform. I sat in my room for over an hour just enjoying the sound of the songs I know so well, analyzing how different genres translated. I was having such a good time just listening, that it made me want to start mixing music again! One thing I really loved was the ability to sway out of the sweetspot without comb-filtering rearing its annoying head. This must be due to the averaging the software does during those 37 measurements. One of my audio pet peeves is a room with such a narrow sweetspot that you can barely move your head without audible phasing. A great feature is that you can bypass the processing that Reference does (by pressing the "Bypass" button) and it will keep your volume consistent. Note, this is different than bypassing the plugin itself. Just like with the Genelec GLM software, you can do some additional boosts or attenuation with some high and low shelf filters ("Bass Boost and Tilt"). The software also has some alternate "Target Curves," including the X-Curve, that you can engage (see photo). CONCLUSION I've listened and mixed and mixed and listened and am really glad that I gave this software a shot. Mixes are translating really well to speakers in treated rooms, my Genelec's, and also to headphones. If you're curious, there are a number of videos available along with the Sonarworks Whitepaper (available on their site) that explain the science and setup. If your space could use some adjusting, I recommend giving Reference a try. [AFTER CALIBRATING] I SAT IN MY ROOM FOR OVER AN HOUR JUST ENJOYING THE SOUND OF THE SONGS I KNOW SO WELL." " Window shows output attenuation, profile, and adjustment (for Shure SRH840 headphones in this example), Enabled/Bypass indicator, Boost/Tilt profile, and additional Target Curve options.