Sonarworks SoundID Reference FAQ.
- David Jacques
- Jeremy Rodeschini
- Ricardo
What is the Sonarworks SoundID Reference and MERGING+ANUBIS partnership all about?
Sonarworks is the developper of the popular room and headphones correction software for Mac and PC called SoundID Reference.
MERGING+ANUBIS is an all in powerful mastering grade audio interface.
We have partnered with Sonarworks so that you can now export any SoundID Reference correction preset and load it onto Anubis. The correction happens directly into Anubis for the lowest latency and highest convenience.
This is available from stereo all the way to Dolby Atmos 9.1.6!
How do I purchase the SoundID Reference and MERGING+ANUBIS solution?
Simply purchase SoundID Reference from your favourite Sonarworks reseller, and your MERGING+ANUBIS from your Merging reseller.
Stereo corrections will run without any additional licences.
For multichannel corrections:
-A SoundID Reference for Multichannel Software must be purchased (available either as an upgrade from stereo, or as a new license) from the Sonarworks sales channels.
-An Anubis SoundID Multichannel license is also required. This one can be purchased exclusively from the Merging Online Shop.
Can I use the SoundID Reference Trial version with my MERGING+ANUBIS ?
No, to be able to export the sound profiles for Anubis, you need a full license for SoundID Reference.
I have the Premium version of the MERGING+ANUBIS, can I still run a SoundID Reference correction onto it?
Unlike the Pro version of MERGING+ANUBIS, the Premium version allows sampling rate up to 384kHz as well as DXD and DSD.
While no processing can occur in DSD by definition (including SoundID Reference correction), you will be able to run a SoundID Reference correction in DXD and 384kHz on MERGING+ANUBIS (firmware 1.4.6 and above is required).
My monitoring setup includes a subwoofer (2.1) how do I deal with this case?
Working with a stereo stereo profile exported from SoundID Reference is probably the best solution for this situation.
Whenever a subwoofer is used, it is usually fed from a crossover. There are two typical scenarios:
-This crossover is sometimes part of the subwoofer itself (L and R signals are sent to the subwoofer which keeps the low frequency components for the sub and sends the filtered mid+high frequencies of L and R inputs to the L and R speakers).
-Anubis can be used as a crossover too, doing the same job as the above subwoofer but with more controls.
In both cases, just make sure that your subwoofer and crossovers are active when doing your SoundID Reference measurement so that the measured response includes your subwoofer, and the correction is therefore adequate.
Is Sonarworks SoundID Reference available in both the Monitoring and Music Missions of the Anubis?
Yes, however the multichannel version currently only applies to the Monitoring Mission.
I would like to calibrate my room without the assistance of Sonarworks SoundID Reference. Can I use the Anubis on its own for calibration?
Yes, Anubis is a fully fledged multichannel monitoring interface which includes 336 EQ bands.
Those can be assigned to any speaker set of any size (5.1, 7.1.4, 9.1.6 and more) for traditional manual room correction.
Delays and trims are also available on all speaker outputs.
How do I choose which SoundID Reference filter topology to run on Anubis?
While SoundID Reference standalone software and plugins offer 3 different filter topologies, Anubis is running its own filter topology based on the acclaimed Pyramix Mastering EQ-X filter.
This is a very high quality low latency filter topology used by top mastering engineers in the world.
I love SoundID Reference translation checks, can I use them on the Anubis?
Yes, they must be exported as dedicated presets. They must combine both the desired headphones/ speaker calibration preset AND the translation check.
All required combinations for the desired workflow must be exported.
Anubis conveniently allows importing those presets in one go.
What is the additional latency caused by Sonarworks correction?
Close to zero! (firmware 1.4.6 and above)
"Headphones" and "Cues" monitor bus types:
44.1kHz: 0.34ms
48kHz: 0.31ms
88.2kHz: 0.17ms
96kHz: 0.15ms
176.4kHz: 0.09ms
192kHz: 0.08ms
352.8kHz: 0.04ms
384kHz: 0.03ms
"Speakersets" monitor type:
For FPGA architectural reason, an extra value of 1.4ms of delay is added to the above values in the case of speaker sets. (This is approximately equivalent to an extra 50cm of distance between the listener and the speakers.)
When a faster time of travel is required, for example for tracking in the control room on speakers, two options are available:
a.) Make sure that the SoundID Measure application reported delay between your stereo speakers is 0ms. This is achievable by ensuring the microphone is placed exactly at the same distance from the L and the R speaker when doing the measurement. When the measured delay is 0ms, Anubis will not add 1.4 ms onto your speakerset.
b.) Change the monitor type used to "Headphones" or "Cue" (see user manual for differences). This will reject any time differences between channels for the lowest possible latency.
How many speaker sets can I correct using Anubis?
On the basis that one only listens to one speaker set at a time, you can correct as many speaker sets as you like. Anubis doesn't lock correction ressources to speaker sets but rather assigns them dynamically as needed.
Simply load the corresponding correction file onto each of your speaker sets and Anubis will activate them as you toggle through them.
Running correction on multiple speaker sets, cues or headphones simultaneously is however possible and largely welcome.
For example, it is possible to run one stereo correction for the studio main monitors, and 5 different headphones corrections simultaneously for musician cues.
A great number of combinations is possible until all correction ressources are used. The user is immediately prompted by an error message when the limit is reached.
We will detail some more configuration examples here in the near future.
How many headphones can I correct using Anubis?
As per the previous paragraph, this will depend on the current correction consumption.
However it is possible, for example, to simultaneously correct:
1x 9.1.6 speaker set plus 2x different headphones.
or
1x stereo speaker set plus 5x different headphones
or
1x 7.1.4 speaker set plus 3x different headphones
What is the largest speaker set that SoundID Reference can correct on Anubis?
Anubis can run any SoundID Reference correction all the way to Dolby Atmos 9.1.6.
However Anubis doesn't stop to Dolby Atmos 9.1.6. Anubis provides monitoring paths up to 32 channels, such as NHK22.2 or Auro, which can be corrected manually using the built-in 336 EQ bands, delays and trims on speaker outputs.
Can I run a multichannel SoundID Reference correction onto a stereo speaker set?
Yes! As long as all channels of the speaker set (in this example stereo) are available in the SoundID Reference correction profile, Anubis will use their respective correction and apply them to the relevant speakers.
In other cases, Anubis will prevent the correction from running on the whole speaker set and notify the user so a new measurement can be done and as a result correction data be exported from SoundID Reference software to be used on the relevant speaker set.
Special case: When applying a 7.1 SoundID Reference correction onto an Anubis 5.1 speaker set, the Sonarworks correction Ls and Rs channels are used for the Anubis surround speakers.
Can I run a Sonarworks Sound ID Reference correction on the outputs of a Horus or Hapi DA module?
Yes as long as a MERGING+ANUBIS is part of the configuration.
MERGING+ANUBIS is an extremely flexible audio interface which can be expanded using Horus, Hapi and Hapi MKII interfaces. Those interfaces can easily receive corrected audio signals from Anubis.
Any Ravenna or AES67 compatible device can be also used.
Can I use Sonarworks SoundID Reference without Anubis?
Yes, Sonarworks SoundID Reference can be run as a plugin or as a standalone software. However with various limitations in terms of latency and multichannel correction.
Please refer to the Sonarworks website for more details.
Can I run a Sonarworks SoundID Reference correction on a 2nd Anubis?
Sonarworks SoundID Reference can be run on as many MERGING+ANUBIS as needed for as long as they all belong to the same owner of SoundID.
One Anubis Sonarworks multichannel license must be purchased per Anubis.
As SoundID Reference profile exports use Anubis serial numbers, you will have to export them for each Anubis.
At which sampling rates can I use the SoundID Reference correction ?
Sonarworks SoundID Reference correction can be run on Anubis from 44.1kHz all the way to DXD/384kHz (firmware 1.4.6 or above required).
DSD is not supported.