SoundID Listen app promises "truly personalised" headphones listening
The new software from pro audio company Sonarworks is free to try for 60 days
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Sonarworks – the company whose audio software is used by music professionals in over 45,000 recording studios around the world – has announced a new desktop app designed to offer a personalised sound to anyone listening to their compatible headphones through their Mac or Windows PC.
Sound personalisation applications are hardly novel, however Sonarworks claims this is “ the first time [sic] one of the most respected companies in pro audio has come forward with a solution”. SoundID technology was born from the company’s professional audio software, which is used by the likes of Lady Gaga, Madonna, Rihanna, Adele, Coldplay and Kanye West.
SoundID creates an individual user profile based on your headphones, hearing ability and listening preferences. Thanks to the software’s use of algorithms and machine learning, it can evolve over time, too.
With an update due later this year, users will also be able to take their SoundID onto their phone and across streaming and social platforms.
Sonarworks’ early research claims that over 80 per cent of its blind test participants preferred their SoundID sound over their headphones’ performance without it.
If you want to hear it for yourself, you can download the free SoundID app from the iOS or Google Play Store, create your sound profile through the in-app test, and load your cloud-connected profile onto the SoundID Listen app on Mac or Windows. The software is free to try for 60 days, after which it costs $4.99 per month.
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Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of the brand's sister magazines Down Under – Australian Hi-Fi and Audio Esoterica. During her 11+ years in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices. In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.
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