Sonarworks Headphone Calibration - Is it supposed to sound like this?

Hello everyone,

I just picked up the Sonarworks Headphone Calibration plugin and loaded up the profile for my Audio-Technica ATH-M70X. I loaded up a track that I finished mixing just the other day to see how it sounded using the plugin. I was shocked at how drastically different the sound was. It sounded very flat and almost 2-dimensional. It lost a lot of its power and just overall sounded a lot worse. Now, I understand that the plugin is supposed to make everything flat so that I can then make better mixing decisions, but is what I'm hearing in my finished track the result of me doing a horrible job mixing it? In other words, I was pretty happy with the mix I did without the Sonarworks plugin. When I listen to it without the plugin enabled, I like the sound. If I were to redo the mix from the ground up using Sonarworks, would my goal then be to try to get the new mix (with the plugin enabled) to sound the way my old mix did with the plugin disabled? Would this then supposedly translate better to other listening environments? 

I guess I'm just a little uncertain of how to go about mixing now that these headphones that I'm so used to sound so different with the plugin. 

One other question: there is a "Prevent Clipping" switch that is enabled by default. This drops the output volume by about 6.5dB. How am I supposed to compensate for a 6.5 difference in volume while making my mixing decisions if I going to be disabling the plugin before doing my final mixdown? 

If any of you have used Sonarworks for a while and are very comfortable with the workflow, I'd love some advice on how best to approach this. 

Thank you!

If you know that the plugin is "reducing" the volume, there is 
no worry, as you will be removing it for "Mixdown".  The purpose
of the plugin is to give you "reference" quality for the mix, but
that is based on the headphones you are using, and the plugin will be removed
from the Master Bus when you mix down and all volumes will be
as they should be.  And, as was mentioned, if you watch your levels,
you can disable the "clipping" option when mixing.

Yes, what here is "reference" and you find that your mixes, when moved from
source to source, will remain consistent, and that is what you want.

You can have a GREAT sounding mix in YOUR headphones, but, when it's moved
to another source for playing it will NOT sound the same at all.  

Try loading in some tracks from your favorite commercial recordings and spend some time just kicking back and listening to them through the filtered headphones. Training your ears to this new environment is going to be just as challenging as switching to entirely new headphones or speakers. It'll take some time to adjust.
 

I haven't heard the ATH-M70s, but from reviews I gather they're very close to the ATH-M50s, and those are horribly bass-hyped by a good 10 dB at least. You must take that low-end bump into account if you intend to rely on them as your primary reference. I'm not at all surprised that abruptly losing that bass boost would be quite jarring.
 
The good news is that once you've trained your ears to the flatter sound, you WILL get consistently better mixes, and fairly quickly. 

Also, did I just miss it on the site, or is there no manual for the plugin? 

cclarry
Direct from the website

We have streamlined the measurement and correction processes so you don't have to read anything before you start. You will be guided along the way as you go.

As streamlined as the process is, we are currently working on a user manual and it should be out by the end of 2016.

Thanks, Larry. Yeah, I pretty much figured out all of the features after a few minutes of playing around with it, but I wanted to have the manual if, in fact, there was one.