Show Notes
Room correction software promises to fix your monitoring. So is it a genuine tool or a crutch that lies to you?
In Episode 18 of KNOBS, Simon Moro and Terry Hart get into monitor, room and headphone correction (Sonarworks, IK's ARC), coming at it from opposite corners: Simon has leaned on it for years, Terry has been the sceptic who just installed it.
They agree on the most useful part first: the correction curve is a brilliant diagnostic. Seeing the bass bump and the top-end roll-off in your room finally explains the failed car test, the mix that sounds great in the studio and thin and brittle everywhere else. Simon reframes that failure beautifully, if you can hear the difference room to room, you are not broken, you have good ears. From there they dig into the honest downsides: the headroom you lose when the software boosts a big dip, why the room itself still matters more than any plugin, and the reference-track discipline that keeps you honest whatever you use.
Plus headphones: calibration, the ARC on ear, and why the right pair changed what Simon can actually hear.
Whether you swear by correction or refuse to touch it, this is a fair, practical look at both sides.
Topics covered:
The correction curve as a diagnostic. Why the car test finally makes sense. You are not broken, it was the room. The headroom you lose to correction. Why the room matters more than the plugin. Reference tracks that keep you honest. Headphone calibration and the right pair. Treat the room first, then correct.
More from Knobs
For the last episode of the season, Simon and Terry try to catch each other off guard with the tricks and questions they actually use.
You do not want to see the canvas under the Mona Lisa. So why do so many records let you hear the technology, the effort and the mix?
You have two speakers and a flat file. So how do you make a mix sound like a real three-dimensional space?
It might be the most confusing job title in music. So what does a producer actually do?
What is actually on Simon and Terry's channels when they mix a drum kit and bass? This one is the guided tour.