However, the focus here is on providing a simple and seamless system for consumer listening, which differs from the requirements of pro engineers. For those familiar with Reference 4, this might feel oversimplified, especially as you can’t edit your profile at this stage. You can also add additional pairs of headphones or change the audio-output details. It essentially combines a headphone-calibration file, a listening test and your personal profile into a single on/off switch. Whether you’re listening to tracks via YouTube, Apple Music or Spotify, or watching movies or playing videogames, all the system audio is piped via your personal profile to provide a more refined listening experience. The SoundID Listen desktop software functions like a simplified version of Sonarworks’ Reference 4 Systemwide, which runs in the background to process all of your system audio. The app’s function, then, is to generate for users a profile, which is stored in the Cloud and can be taken with you and loaded into other software and hardware. With the profile complete, users can listen to a demo track while switching the profile in and out, or load a single track via a Spotify premium account. Human hearing alters with age, and this could prove a useful tool for monitoring preferences and abilities over long periods. From here, users can take an additional test to refine their results, as well as a five-minute hearing test that can pick up obvious physical listening variations. The preference test is much like an eye test SoundID plays two sets of audio examples, which have slight variations in EQ balance, and asks users if they prefer the first or second (or whether they heard no difference at all).Īfter answering between eight and 12 or so questions, users will receive their Core profile.

Once you’ve set up an account and entered your personal information, SoundID asks you to select from a list of more than 350 headphone models that cover everything from expensive studio models to cheap-and-cheerful earbuds.

Sonarworks reference 3 complete reveiw