SoundID Reference girl with headphones

Create, mix and deliver with confidence

Calibrate your headphones and speakers with SoundID Reference software to trust every mixing decision.

Fully functional 21-day free trial.
Soundid Reference rating score

4.6 Rating / 3,101 Reviews

Loved by over 140’000+ recording studios

As featured on:

Intuitive creator tool made to hear every detail anew

What is it

SoundID Reference is a standalone app and a DAW plugin that calibrates speakers and headphones to deliver an accurate studio reference sound.

For whom

Made for audio engineers, producers, musicians, DJs, composers, sound designers, game developers, and audiophiles.

What it does

SoundID Reference ensures perfect translation so you can create music that sounds great on phones, laptops, earbuds, or wherever else its played.

Results

By working with the same reference sound with your colleagues and clients, you can save time and money, no matter the distance or gear you have.

How it works?

Even the best speakers can't compensate for the acoustics of a poorly designed room. SoundID Reference compensates for that by measuring the frequency response of your room and speakers to create a calibration profile. For headphones - simply apply a pre-made calibration profile available in the software. With calibration applied, your music will sound great everywhere.

How different speakers and headphones sound when playing an audio signal before calibration

Before optimization

Level Up Your Workflow With Key Features

Speaker and headphone calibration

Accurate speaker measurements and calibration for headphones and stereo or multichannel setups. Over 400+ supported headphone models.

Software supports speaker setups from stereo, to 5.1. and up to 9.1.6. Atmos rooms.
Supported headphones

DAW plugin and standalone app

Works in all major DAWs as a plugin and as a standalone Systemwide app calibrating audio across your entire system.

Save time with translation check

Simulate a wide range of listening environments, from a car stereo to a high-end hi-fi system. This allows you to fine-tune your mix to sound great no matter where it's being played.

Ability to control target curve and modes

Make custom adjustments to the target curve in real time and manually select the frequency range that the calibration will be applied to.

Various target modes - select flat to set the frequency response target to be neutral across all frequencies, create your presets or work on Dolby Atmos music target curve.
Learn more about Flat Target

Zero latency processing

Select between different filter processing modes - zero latency for live tracking, mixed for greater flexibility, or linear phase to ensure there's no phase distortion.

Sonarworks tech used and loved by 140,000+ studios and 55+ Grammy-Awarded-Engineers worldwide

“The difference is immense.”
Imogen Heap
GRAMMY Award-winning artist, singer-songwriter, engineer, producer and composer
“It’s a key part of my setup.”
— Ariel Borujow
Grammy winning Mix Engineer. Mac Miller, Puff Daddy, Madonna, MoonBoots, CID
“Speaker calibration made easy for anyone.”
Maria Elisa Ayerbe
Grammy Award-Winning Audio engineer and producer. Mary J Blige, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, JLo, and CEO of South Mountain Music
“My speakers have never sounded this good!”
— Aamir Yaqub
Grammy Award-winning Mixing Engineer and Producer. David Guetta, Rihanna, Sia, J Cole, Ne-Yo
“It makes such a difference to creating and mixing process. The clarity of sound is stunning.”
— Haiku Hands
Haiku hands has been touted by NME as “Australia’s most electrifying pop prospect” and “a thrilling pop hybrid” who combine the pure pop attitude of Charli XCX with the energy and swagger of The Beastie Boys.
“It’s incredible how much more detail you can hear.”
— Koen Helden
Mix Engineer, Multi-platinum American Music Award and Billboard Music Award winner. XXXTentacion, Swae Lee, Kanye West and Lil Wayne

Requirements

Computer

Windows: 10, 11

MacOS: 10.14, 10.15, 11 Big Sur, 12 Monterey, 13 Ventura

Frequently asked questions

Yes, 21-day free trial is available here. No credit card required, no hidden conditions. Experience full confidence in sound today!

To try out speaker calibration you will need a measurement microphone. You can buy the measurement microphone from our store or use your own. You can use any omnidirectional condenser measurement microphone. Please note that we will not be able to consult the calibration outcome if you are not using an individually calibrated microphone.

We have provided multiple upgrade options for customers who already own a Reference 3 or Reference 4 license. Here you can find out all details about upgrade options https://www.sonarworks.com/soundid-reference/upgrade-info

SoundID Reference is the recent successor of Reference 4 software. Our latest software version delivers the same consistently accurate reference sound so you can trust every mixing decision. But with the new update, we have added new features like translations check and powerful custom target curve adjustments and made significant improvements to even further improve your workflow. Find out more in this article.

Yes, you can. Your existing mic is fully compatible with the latest SoundID Reference software version and there's no need to purchase a new one nor to re-measure the room and speakers. Remeasurement is required if you have moved things around the studio.

All digital products are delivered via email immediately after the purchase. All physical deliverable items from Sonarworks store are shipped by DHL Express within 2-3 working days in the EU and 3-5 working days in the rest of the world. If we are out of stock, purchases are usually delivered within 2-3 weeks. But don't worry, it happens very rarely.

No worries! We grant a 14-day money-back guarantee from the order date on any digital item or from the date of delivery on any shippable item you buy at Sonarworks online store. If you are not completely satisfied, please contact support team to arrange the return.

Available payment methods include credit and debit cards (VISA, MasterCard, AmEx, Discovery un Diners Club), Paypal (outside of the United States), Splitit (in the United States), and Klarna payments in Austria, The Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Belgium, Spain, France, and Italy.

Free trial

Try Out SoundID Reference 21-day free

→ No credit card required, no hidden conditions.
→ A quick and guided setup.
→ Try out on any of supported headphones and speakers for up to 9.1.6. setups.