The Virtual Monitoring PRO marks a significant new expansion for the Sonarworks headphone monitoring tools. You can now measure and simulate your own room (or any other stereo environment) on headphones. Perhaps you have your own favorite car stereo mixcheck, or another unique mixcheck setup - you can measure it too, and bring it with you wherever you go.
What's the difference between the VM Add-on and VM PRO?
- Virtual Monitoring Add-on: Apply pre-made spatial speaker & consumer device simulation presets on headphones. Works with SoundID Reference headphone calibration (requires Sonarworks-supported headphones).
- Virtual Monitoring PRO: Ultra-realistic simulation of your room or any other environment (stereo) on headphones. Requires any over-ear headphones (no headphone calibration needed) and the SoundID Reference In-ear Binaural Microphone. Also includes the Virtual Monitoring Add-on features.
What are the system and license requirements for Virtual Monitoring PRO?
You'll need a few things to get started with VM PRO:
- Virtual Monitoring PRO product license. See pricing here.
- The new SoundID Reference EREF binaural in-ear microphone (included in all VM PRO licenses & license upgrade versions).
- Any over-ear headphones. They don't have to be on the Sonarworks-support headphone list, as VM PRO doesn't need headphone calibration to function.
See full system and license requirements here.
Can I upgrade from my existing license?
Yes, there are two upgrade paths available for existing license owners; see pricing here.
- For existing SoundID Reference license owners (any version): Upgrade from SoundID Reference to Virtual Monitoring PRO.
- For existing Virtual Monitoring Add-on license owners: Upgrade from Virtual Monitoring Add-on to Virtual Monitoring PRO.
When will I get access to the Virtual Monitoring PRO features?
Virtual Monitoring PRO is available to pre-order from October 21 to November 11. Here's what's going to happen after the purchase:
- Hardware & license are delivered: The binaural microphone is shipped out (physical products are typically delivered within 5 business days), and license/upgrade details are provided (follow the instructions in the license delivery email).
- Start using the available software features: Start using the currently available SoundID Reference features for headphone calibration, and the Virtual Monitoring Add-on features for speaker & consumer device simulations on your headphones (the VM Add-on functionality is included in VM PRO). Learn more here: Setting up with SoundID Reference Virtual Monitoring
- Virtual Monitoring PRO unlocks on November 11: The VM PRO software update is released - install the update to activate and unlock the VM PRO features.
Note: Virtual Monitoring PRO won't be available at a discount during this year's Black Friday sale. The pre-order discount offer ends on November 11, 2025, 5:00 AM, PT.
See this setup guide for a more detailed description, step-by-step instructions, system & license requirements, and more questions answered: Setting up with SoundID Reference Virtual Monitoring.
4 comments
Does this give you the ability to capture your room post-calibration of monitors? I just need to make sure I am capturing the sound of the room I paid Sonarworks to help correct, not how it sounded before.
Lorne Mills that's correct: you'll have the option to use your existing speaker calibration profile during the process too. More details here: Setting up with SoundID Reference Virtual Monitoring.
Nice. Thanks for clearing that up. Do you still plan to add and support new headphone profiles to Reference for headphones? I would still really love to be able to flatten my DT 1990 Pro MK2's (in a non-virtual monitoring state).
Yes, we'll try to get some new models in, including 1990 PRO MK2. We cannot make any promises or provide any ETA's yet, though (we'll update that post once we actually have something tangible).