In June 2018 we ran a poll to find out how many members of The Production Expert Community use Speaker Calibration software in their studios. 370 community members voted and the results are as follows:

• Read original article: Poll - Do You Use Speaker Calibration Software?

Of the 370 members who voted a whopping 59% say they use Speaker Calibration software and that they cannot live without it. I'll admit, this won't come as a surprise to regular readers of the blog, that I feel the same. My Speaker Calibration software of choice is by Sonarworks

• Sonarworks Reference 3 Room Calibration - One Year On

I've been using Sonarworks software for nearly three years, it's an integral component in my workflow and I cannot mix without it. I do appreciate that there are a number of people out there in mixing land who do not share my enthusiasm when it comes to Speaker Calibration software.

Of the 370 members who voted roughly 16% do not use Speaker Calibration in their studios because they either tried it and didn't get along with it or they haven't yet tested any speaker calibration software because they don't believe or trust in the technology. That's quite a small percentage of people that have no interest in speaker calibration software.

• Grammy Nominated Mix Engineer Was A Room Correction Software Skeptic - Now A Believer

25% of the voters say they are keen to try a speaker calibration product but have yet to get around to testing a product in their studio. I suspect the reason so many haven't yet tried a speaker calibration product is because they all require some sort of measurement microphone in order to set up the calibration process, maybe the initial spend could be putting people off? 

I was in that boat years ago. I wanted to try Sonarworks but I was hesitant about buying a measurement microphone in case I ended up not liking the software after testing. Investing in a measurement mic could have a been a waste of money... but it didn't turn out that way at all.

If you are serious about mixing then you have to be open to the idea of occasionally investing a little money into areas that may improve your workflow. Buying a measurement mic for "testing" is fairly inexpensive. I've seen such microphones advertised online for under $35, that's a tiny outlay to test a product that could massively improve your mixing results... us Brits would say "It's worth a punt"