In a previous blog post, I talked about acoustic room treatments, and while you should treat your room acoustically, sometimes it’s just not practical. I had mentioned my small, almost square studio as the worst-case scenario. I said I had abandoned acoustic room treatments because no matter how much foam I stuck to the walls and ceiling, it would result in only a marginal difference. I think trading off the aesthetics for minimal reward isn’t worth it. I’m one of many in this position. Perhaps your studio is in your main bedroom, kitchen, basement rec room, or shared office with your significant other. Is it convenient to put up foam in these rooms? Maybe your parents or guardians prefer not to have foam stuck to the house’s walls and the dog’s forehead. Probably not, but there are other solutions. Enter room correction software.
I use the IK Multimedia ARC (Advanced Room Correction) software in my studio. The software comes with a measurement microphone. Connect the included microphone to your audio interface and then run the software. The software instructs where to place the mic and when to take the measurement. The software generates a signal through your monitors, which your microphone records. The software then analyzes the result and places the measurement in the software as it creates a profile for your monitors. Several measurements are needed to complete your monitor’s profile. You can access your monitor profile through a plug-in in your DAW when you’ve finished. When in your DAW, place the ARC system plug-in on your master bus, which now outputs to your monitors applying the EQ correction to your room, which tries to correct your room and provide the flattest response it can calculate. Again the details are more complicated than that, but this covers the general concept.
If you check online, several EQ correction software programs are available. Sonarworks makes EQ room correction software, and I have their headphone correction software, which I like. Some may argue that EQ correction software colours the sound or is inaccurate, which may be true. I don’t know; even if so, I’m unsure I could tell. If you’re like me and can’t use acoustic treatments in your room, this may be a viable option, I like the results, but some don’t.
Suppose you are in a position where you can acoustically treat your room. In that case, EQ room correction software can still improve your situation, as the software only would need to make slight corrections using EQ rather than dramatic ones.
There is no such thing as perfect in music; just close enough. In the end, if you have a problem in your studio, look around to see what options are available for solving that problem. There are enough of us home studio enthusiasts out there with these issues, and there are also a lot of solutions. Thanks for reading; I’m just a music teacher having fun; catch ya on the next one.