“meh... I mean it's really just a name change and some lipstick and a few new bugs. I would have preferred just bumping to Ref 5 and not having to manually move all my Ref 4 profiles from the old folder to the new.”
“It lacks the possibility of activating several outputs simultaneously (with specific curves for each output).
The interface is a little more complicated to use than before, on the left side (choice of output).
Otherwise, the ability to set up a custom EQ is great!”
“Resizing and the button to minimize clutter are both big selling points in their “What’s new” video. Those features only work in stand-alone mode—not in my DAW when used as a plugin on my listen bus. I don’t even know when someone would use stand-alone mode. I also found when engaged using my headphone profile (Sennheiser HD700), the volume gets significantly lower (like half as loud as when bypassed). I don’t remember it behaving like that in Reference 4. Regardless, I’m probably not going to be using the headphone profile (a big reason I bought it). I’ll use the mic and see how a monitor profile works out, but so far I’m very disappointed.”
“Overall, I enjoy and use the systemwide and Pro Tools plugin everyday. To be honest the rebranding and new features did not really expand any functions that I use, but the upgrade was discounted and I know Sonarworks will continue to put resources into this newer program which makes retaining Reference 4 silly. I primarily use the Pro Tools plugin for audio post production on indie films and music mixing. I was a little disappointed to see that the X-Curve preset was removed, though it makes sense because most larger re-recording stages are mixing in at least 5.1 (if not 7.1 or Atmos) and do not use Sonarworks. Plus, I didn't really use it. The Dark theme is nice, but unfortunately is not available for the Pro Tools plugin. I also notice that in the plugin, even though the "Listening Position" correction is enabled, the small slider icon always shows "disabled." (Pro Tools Ultimate 2020.12 on macOS 10.13.6) Some of the GUI changes are more streamlined, but some of the other buttons are now smaller; the calibration on/off is barely noticeable in the lower right corner and the channel switch, mono, and mute buttons are very tiny icons which means just a bit more effort to find and click if needed. Program in general feels snappier, which is nice. It no longer has a digital audio spike that would jolt my speakers when auto-loading with the computer start. To be even more honest, I would really love to see a 5.1 surround sound version. Even if it was pricier, small room film editors/mixers who don't have the money or infrastructure for calibration hardware (Trinnov, JBL Intonato, Avid MTRX, etc) would jump on it. I've even tried jerry rigging multiple instances of the plugin to make multiple "stereo" pairs to try and make it work, but the surround speaker distance in a ITU SMPTE configuration is too wide (thought it might work with 7.1). However, the additional issue is that film mixing calibrates their rooms using -20dB RMS Pink Noise and a real time analyzer "RTA" to make the correction, not sine wave sweeps. I don't remember off hand what the difference is, but the Sonarworks's method still wouldn't be "officially" endorsed. I have found personal calibrations with pink noise to mimic those found with Sonarworks, so I do still think small room film mixers would love a 5.1 option. On a side note, I am curious if the measurement program is able to ignore self noise from powered speakers? I know my monitors have a noisier amp with an audible hum/buzz (despite proper power conditioners, etc) as well as hiss. I wonder if this contributes to the reading the measurement mic does. Maybe there's a way to provide a "room tone" file that may consider inherent system noise through the monitors...similar to the mic calibration profile file? Regardless, I do find the software valuable and will continue to use it. Thank you for a great program and please keep developing it. Cheers!”
“Nygamla funktionen med translation är kanon. Det som inte är bra är dock pluginen som är buggig i Pro tools. Man måste välja om profil varje gång man startar en session för att det ska funka överhuvudtaget. Annars blir det ingen justering alls.
Sen vore det gött om ni kunde lägga
till Slate VSX som hörlur”
