Of course, if a room correction plugin simply makes your audio sound more flattering, this may not help you as an engineer - but after using the Sonarworks 3 plugin for over a month now, I can say with certainty it has helped me deliver far more polished mixes. Bypassing the correction in the plugin revealed the low mid and low frequency buildup we hadn’t noticed before, and everything simply sounded muddy and lacking in clarity. Inserting the plugin on the master buss of a session was nothing short of a revelation - everything sounded more clear, more defined, and much more cohesive in the stereo field. The Sonarworks system detected some fairly significant low and low-mid build up (~+5dB) as well as a slight dip around 1K, a critical region for vocal mixing as well as mastering.
We have a substantial amount of high-end corrective material up in the DJBooth studios, but due to the odd shape of our room and extremely high ceilings, we knew the sound could be more accurate. We would without hesitation say this is the first plugin any producer or engineer should buy to expand the capabilities of their DAW - it’s really that game changing. FeaturesĪfter using the Sonarworks 3 system for just a couple of days, it had become indispensable in my workflow.
#Sonarworks reference 3 with microphone install
Setting up Sonarworks Systemwide takes a quick install and authorization - after that, you’ll see a dropdown menu with controls for the correction in your Mac’s menu bar.