True-Fi doesn’t just compensate for a headphone’s frequency response shortcomings, like an EQ package would. Sean Olive and his colleagues at Harman International, which suggests otherwise. It’s tempting to think that headphones should exhibit ruler-flat frequency response, from the bottom of the frequency spectrum to the top, but I’ll point you to the pioneering work of Dr. The goal here is to make each headphone’s final sound match their studio reference standard as closely as physically possible. Once this analysis is complete, the team applies the appropriate inverse curve to address those frequency peaks and dips.

In an ongoing effort, Sonarworks measures and analyzes each supported headphones’ frequency response, looking for its shortcomings. The typical curve is riddled with peaks and valleys, indicating that the drivers inside the headphone will overemphasize some frequencies and under-emphasize others, coloring the audio reproduction compared to what was recorded in the studio. If you’ve ever examined a frequency-response chart, you’ll note that it is not ruler flat. Sonarworks’ True-Fi functions in a similar vein to today’s top room-correction packages, such as Audyssey, Anthem ARC, Dirac, and Trinnov.

A free 10-day trial of the desktop version is also available. Sonarworks announced at CES in January that customers who purchase a True-Fi license before those apps are released for sale will receive a free upgrade for a lifetime license to the mobile versions. True-Fi works on both Windows and macOS, and there are Android and iOS versions in the works (these are available for “early access” in the app stores, but I did not evaluate either). True-Fi, by contrast, works only with headphones ( 287 models were supported at press time) and is designed for the average consumer.

Reference 4 adjusts the frequency response of supported models of studio monitors (loudspeakers) and headphones to match the company’s studio reference sound standard. The company says Reference 4 is used in more than 30,000 of these facilities worldwide. Sonarworks developed another software program, Reference 4, that is aimed at recording studios.

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