Something to help calibrate your headphones...

http://logic-pro-expert.com/logic-pro-blog/2015/01/18/calibrate-headphones-with-sonarworks-reference-plugin.html
 
A news item which caught my eyes, just thought I'd share it with you guys. I haven't investigated any further yet, but I thought this was potentially interesting.

Rain
http://logic-pro-expert.com/logic-pro-blog/2015/01/18/calibrate-headphones-with-sonarworks-reference-plugin.html
 
A news item which caught my eyes, just thought I'd share it with you guys. I haven't investigated any further yet, but I thought this was potentially interesting.

According to their WEB site:
"A full frequency sweep along the audible range produces a frequency response data. We employ a unique patent pending measurement technology that delivers data in a way that illustrates how a set of headphones will be heard by real people."
Huh? What means this? How about "unreal" people? I could understand if they just provide a compensating data to correct certain models, but it sounds like they somehow can calibrate your headphones. How can they do this without some sort of calibrated transducer to measure the output. But what do I know, I'm just a simple accordion player,  oh and a simple electronics design engineer...
 
BTW I may be a great product, it's just the write up that is confusing, or maybe it's me. I wish they had a tool like this to make my 70+ year old hearing response flat!
 
Walt

Thanks for posting this, Rain. It would be great if it does what it says it can do. I've tried plugs in the past that were supposed to do this, but none delivered satisfactory results.

Walt, you're right to be skeptical. The product seems to be nothing more than an equalizer with a set of presets for different headphones. If you have any of the more popular headphone models, you can create your own preset for free by referencing published frequency-response charts.
 
I did this long ago for my ATH-M50s, but I haven't used the correction preset for years because in truth headphone "calibration" isn't even necessary. Instead, calibrate your brain. That's not as hard as it sounds - all you have to do is spend enough time listening to well-made records on your headphones and your own brain will do the rest.

bitflipper
... Instead, calibrate your brain. That's not as hard as it sounds - all you have to do is spend enough time listening to well-made records on your headphones and your own brain will do the rest.

At 70, my hearing response is centered around 1KHz and drops either side at 90dB/Octave! (Okay not that bad...) When I master I have a template with songs I'm working on, plus some reference songs for a comparison. Fortunately, the people who hear my albums are pretty much in the same age bracket, +/- 20 years so their hearing has probably taken an age hit too. (although playing 3 to 4 times  a weekend for 40 years hasn't helping my hearing any...)
 
Walt
 

Wally, I can relate. Although I'm a mere child of 63, there's no doubt that my ears' frequency response has been damaged by a half-century of live playing. I know it's the result of gigging because for most of that time I stood stage left (nowadays I sit stage left) and today my left ear is more reliable than my right (e.g. I hold the telephone to my left ear).
 
For me, the greatest danger in terms of mixing and mastering is over-representation of the frequencies I don't hear well (12 KHz and up). I hear this problem in mixes made by younger ears, too, though it's caused not by hearing loss but by mastering in headphones. Headphones kind of mimic age-related hearing loss, but it's even worse since age-related loss tends to be a smooth rolloff and headphones get uneven and weird at the high end.
 
It would seem to make sense, then, to compensate headphones so they're flatter. However, the brain is a wonderfully adaptive organ. Over time, it will program itself to recognize what a good recording sounds like over any playback system, including headphones. Given enough repetition, your brain will eventually be able to tell you when your recording sounds right, even when the transducers aren't being honest.
 
As long as you can visually ascertain that you're not too hot at the very top of the spectrum, you'll be OK. A spectrum analyzer is therefore non-optional gear for the over-50s. Actually, it's recommended for the over-40s, too, because audio engineers lose their hearing faster than the general population.
 
At least, that used to be the case. A recent study showed a frightening percentage of teenagers have the hearing acuity of a 50-year-old, the result of constant use of earbuds at high volume. When that generation is our age, they'll be functionally deaf. Mass deafness is predicted to become a major public health issue in 30 years' time.
 
So for the young guys reading this: your ears are your most precious resource; protect them now!

For those of you lucky enough to be attending Winter NAMM this year: free hearing tests have been available there in the past, and hopefully are again this year. Do that first, before your ears have been assaulted by the cacaphony of NAMM all day. It's an eye-opener!

drewfx1
There are also cheap loudness meter apps for smartphones and whatnot. Some are not terribly accurate, but newer iPhones can get decent results:
 
http://www.safetynewsaler...ate-noise-measurement/
 
Even if you already have a proper meter, do you carry it with you everywhere?
 
I got the cheapest one of the four recommended in the link above ($1), and it allows you to see OSHA style statistics and also measure over time (hint: put it in another room while it's running and see how the noise you're making affects others in your abode).
 
https://itunes.apple.com/...oisee/id549239949?mt=8

iAndroid
iLoser

Most of our software has been developed based on feedback from forum users, so I thought it’s only fair if we try to give something back! Here’s a 20% discount for all Cakewalk forum members. Enter CakeW-20 on checkout at our store and you will get a 20% price reduction for all products except headphones and the trial pack (which is already super cheap!). Just don’t wait too long - the offer will end on August 31st!

Just type Sonarworks dot com. Or google it, we have plenty of good reviews floating around!

Hrodulf
Most of our software has been developed based on feedback from forum users, so I thought it’s only fair if we try to give something back! Here’s a 20% discount for all Cakewalk forum members. Enter CakeW-20 on checkout at our store and you will get a 20% price reduction for all products except headphones and the trial pack (which is already super cheap!). Just don’t wait too long - the offer will end on August 31st!

I bought the software this morning before reading this. I had been waiting for a sale and thought there wouldn't be one. Will you guys honor the discount for me?
 
The purchase was made at 6:03am Central this morning.
 
thank you!

Doktor Avalanche
Just looked at the speaker calibration software. Looks good but can't afford it. Will wait for sale.

Use the CakeW-20 code and you'll get -20% off from our software. It won't get any sale-ier any time soon!