What should I measure before upgrading studio monitors?

Measure the transfer function at your mix position with your current monitors. This captures both the speaker response and the room interaction. Store this as a baseline trace. After installing new monitors, measure again at the exact same position and compare. Differences in the room interaction pattern will be visible in the transfer function, separate from the speaker change.

How do I know if my room needs treatment before buying new monitors?

Measure RT60. If it exceeds 0.4 seconds at any octave band in a small studio, room treatment will improve your monitoring accuracy more than new speakers. Also check the transfer function for deep nulls (>15 dB) below 300 Hz — these indicate standing wave problems that no monitor can fix. The treatment calculator shows what panels are needed.

Can SonaVyx measure studio monitor frequency response accurately?

Yes. Use the transfer function measurement with the built-in pink noise generator or swept sine. Place the measurement microphone at your mix position (ear height, centered). SonaVyx measures magnitude, phase, and coherence — the same measurements professional tools like Smaart and REW provide. Import a mic calibration file for best accuracy.

Studio Upgrade Guide: Measure Before and After Every Change

The Before/After Methodology

The most powerful tool for evaluating studio upgrades is the before/after comparison. The methodology is simple: measure everything before the change, make the change, measure everything again at the exact same positions, and compare objectively. This removes subjective bias and reveals whether the change actually improved acoustic performance.

Baseline Measurements for Your Current Studio

Before changing anything, capture a comprehensive baseline:

Transfer function at the mix position (left speaker, right speaker, both together)
RT60 per octave band (sweep or MLS excitation)
Background noise level and NC rating with all equipment powered on
Problem scan: check for resonances, hum, standing waves, and comb filtering
STI if the studio is used for voice recording or podcasting

Store all measurements as named traces and save to a venue profile for your studio.

Evaluating New Monitors

When comparing monitors, the transfer function at your mix position is the definitive test. It captures both the speaker's native response and how it interacts with your room. Compare the magnitude response, phase behavior, and coherence between the old and new monitors.

Important: the speaker measurement suite measures the speaker in isolation (important for specs), but the transfer function at your listening position measures the complete system (speaker + room) — which is what you actually hear. A speaker with ruler-flat anechoic response may perform worse in your room than one with deliberate shaping to compensate for typical room interactions.

Room Treatment Upgrades

The treatment calculator predicts how much absorption is needed and where to place it. Measure RT60 before and after installing panels to verify the prediction. The before/after comparison shows the improvement per octave band.

For bass traps, focus on RT60 at 63, 125, and 250 Hz octave bands. For reflection control (first reflection points), the transfer function at the mix position shows the comb filtering reduction. AcousPlan's calculators help plan treatment at the design stage.

Subwoofer Integration

Adding or repositioning a subwoofer is one of the most measurement-dependent studio changes. Measure the transfer function at the crossover frequency (typically 80 Hz) with subwoofer only, monitors only, and both together. The phase relationship at crossover determines whether the sub adds or cancels at the transition. The transfer function's phase plot reveals this directly.

Room Layout Changes

Moving the mix position, reorienting speakers, or repositioning furniture all change the acoustic environment. Take transfer function measurements at the current position, make the change, and measure at the new position. The room scan tool identifies room modes that inform optimal position selection.

Track Your Studio's Evolution

Use acoustic trends to track your studio's performance over months and years. Seasonal changes (humidity, temperature) affect room acoustics. Equipment aging degrades performance gradually. Regular measurement catches drift before it becomes audible, and the AI diagnostic identifies emerging issues automatically.