Bugs and issues with SoundId Reference Release

Hi everyone, 

Let me elaborate on Rodrigo's list above too:

• Old Reference 4 presets don’t translate and have to build them from scratch. - True, it was not possible to migrate those settings between Reference 4 and SoundID Reference without causing a lot of errors. The reason for this was a complete rebuild of the output device handling mechanism in SoundID Reference (different to Reference 4).
• Midi mapping is broken and crashes. - Fixed and re-released with the 5.0.3 update, release notes here.
• You can no longer midi map functions like the basic enabling and disabling calibration. - Fixed and re-released with the 5.0.3 update, release notes here.
• Utilizing the same headphone profile on 2 different output devices causes problems. - not sure about this, can you elaborate, please, is this still a problem?
• I can no longer run Reference 4 to compare. - Reference 4 is still available to all who have upgraded from Reference 4 to SoundID Reference. It is not possible to run both standalone apps at the same time though, that would cause an output clash between the two separate output devices. More details here: "Reference 4 Systemwide is currently running" alert
• It will randomly lower the current presets output volume when starting up or switching between presets. - Not exactly sure about this, but we do have a pending development task still to address an unexpected change in the volume logic mechanism (profile defaulting to -10 dB in some situations, when it could have been maxed out to the Safe Headroom value instead, or matching the level of the previously used profile). Is this the one, or are you referring to something else?
• The duplicating function for presets does nothing at all. - True, a bug fix development task is pending for this 
• The target curve duplicate button only creates a new target curve, not a duplicate. - True, same as the point above 
• Presets don’t carry over from Systemwide to plugin. - This will not be possible, at least not in the near future. The presets in the plugin (released just a couple of months ago) are fundamentally different from the presets in the standalone app - there is no output device/channel information in them, and the data is stored in a different architecture. It could be possible in the future to carry over at least the other preset properties. I should clarify though - we have implemented everything for the plugin preset data to be carried over between different DAWs and different SoundID Reference plugin formats, and it is working pretty solidly too!
• Plugin doesn’t show Listening position is enabled when it is. - Doesn't sound right, we don't have any other reports of this behavior. If true, should be investigated and reported as a bug for a development fix. Is this still the case, or has the behavior changed; which DAW/plugin format exactly?
• Systemwide is not even close to near zero latency, even when bypassed it still produces quite a delay. - The new near-zero latency Windows drivers we've developed are the APO driver (direct insert on Windows audio engine), performing at 7 ms latency; and the new ASIO to ASIO driver, for which, the only limitation is the output device latency, so also near-zero (pretty good compared to the virtual drivers in Reference 4, which are performing at anywhere from the 20-300 ms range). Mac features our redesigned HAL driver, but there is still room for improvement there - serious improvements to the Mac driver are planned later down the road too.
• They released an update today but none of the issues I mention got fixed and I think this might be me, but i believe 5.0.0.406 (the launch version) sounds better than 5.0.0.409 - No change in DSP processing, one update release cannot sound different from another one. Probably was a minor DSP settings adjustment that was different.
• Some typos in menus (I know, incredible). It doesn’t spell "battery consumption" correctly in settings for example. - All fixed

Admittedly, SoundID Reference got off to a shaky start, and the support team was also overloaded with support requests for months, presenting us with a pretty epic challenge to get things sorted out. I'm very glad to say that we have caught up now, the support team response time is good again, and the software itself has received and a huge list of improvements, bug fixes, and more new features too. The full list can be viewed here: Release notes.

Our latest 5.2.0.59 is the most stable yet, and we encourage everyone to install this new update; download here. 

It would be great to hear your feedback on this and have a closer look at any issues that are still ongoing. Thanks for standing by while we are working on this, your patience is hugely appreciated!

“It will randomly lower the current presets output volume when starting up or switching between presets. - Not exactly sure about this, but we do have a pending development task still to address an unexpected change in the volume logic mechanism (profile defaulting to -10 dB in some situations, when it could have been maxed out to the Safe Headroom value instead, or matching the level of the previously used profile).”

I just recognised this problem when I installed my second pair of speakers. Indeed it's always matching the lowest level of the previously used profile. For example, if one profile has -4 db headroom and i switch to another profile with -6 db headroom it will lower the volume. Fine. But when I switch back to the -4 db profile it keeps the -6 db. Very annoying. Any solution? Thank you!

Hi Ivo,

Thanks for your comment! Sorry to hear you are experiencing an issue!

Can you confirm if this seems to happen right after adding an additional speaker profile to the output preset in SoundID Reference? Does switching back and forth a couple of times eventually show the correct safe headroom for each profile? What happens if you slightly lower the gain in the app and switch between the profiles again, is there any change in safe headroom values displayed for each profile? 

Thanks in advance for any additional details you can provide! 

In my case it seems to stem from switching between presets with midi.

Hey Zane, thank you for your help.

It's with all profiles. Doesn't matter if new or old. Now I have two monitor and two Headphone profiles I'm working with and the headroom always stays in the lowest position last chosen. Even if I manually lower the gain in the app it stays there. No changes of the headroom after changing the profile. I also tried to disable and enable calibration... no changes. In deed I can see the changed headroom (orange line in the fader; see picture) but the fader itself doesn't change. So it seems the volume changes are not proper submitted to the fader itself.

Hi,

Thank you for your responses!

Rodrigo - can you confirm if this only happens when switching with midi or are you experiencing it without using a midi controller as well? 

Ivo - thanks for the additional info! I have opened a support request on your behalf for some more details and log requests. 

Hey Zane, for me it only happens when switching presets via MIDI.

Hi Rodrigo,

Thanks for confirming! I have opened a support request on your behalf regarding this to also gather additional information and log requests. 

Just installed the update (5.2.2) and no solution for the "randomly volume" problem. It's even not mentioned in the "Known issues".

I'm not sure where to post this. I've been experiencing an extremely frustrating bug with the standalone SoundID Reference software. If my PC stops making sound for only a couple of seconds, SoundID Reference will change the Dry/Wet knob from 40% to 100% (and it will not tell you). I just bought some new Kali Audio IN-8s, and it's extremely difficult to adjust to them when Sonarworks is drastically and CONSTANTLY changing the EQ. The Dry/Wet knob literally changes every single time that software isn't receiving audio (which is a lot). It's actually awful. It's become a huge obstacle in my setup, having to CONSTANTLY adjust the Dry/Wet knob. This is a SERIOUS problem. The software is extremely frustrating. I just want a functioning room correction software... (I've already tried deleting the config files)

Jaden Ferrell, thanks for bringing this up! 

If this is indeed a bug, then it is likely to be present with a specific driver mode only. the quickest solution would be to use an alternative driver mode (there are 4 different driver modes available on Windows): [WIN] Audio driver types in the standalone app

Let me know if this helps. Meanwhile, I've created a support request on your behalf, to have a closer look at the issue. Thanks again!