Bluetooth and wired headphones, paired with a smartphone, offer a great way to listen to music, podcasts, and movies on the go. Without annoying anybody who happens to be standing nearby. But that experience can be even better, especially if you know how to set things up with Sonarworks SoundID.
The audio software helps adjust how sound is delivered. And that’s not just from person to person. It also makes adjustments on an ear-by-ear basis. Since almost nobody’s ears work exactly the same and two ears attached to the same body don’t necessarily either.
Now, not every headset, earbud, or listening device is compatible with SoundID. But a staggering number of apps, computers, and headphones are compatible. In fact, there are more than 20 brands supported. And that’s all before leaving the brands beginning with “B,” with multiple models supported across each. So there are well over 60 brands supported alone.
The list includes models from heavy hitters ranging from ASUS, Audio-Technica, Bose, Bang & Olufsen, Behringer, Bowers & Wilkins, Corsair, Creative, and Edifier. And the list continues to include brands such as HONOR, Huawei, JBL, JVC, Jabra, LG, Motorola, Monoprice, and a plethora of others.
So chances are, you already own a pair of headphones that will work with SoundID and this guide exists to help you learn how to set that up.
How to check if your headphones support SoundID
Of course, with such an extensive list, figuring out if your headphones support the feature could be a hassle. Especially if you’re looking to buy new headphones. The easiest way to figure that out is simply going to be to download the app and sign-up for a free profile to search.
For those that want to try that method, you’ll want to start by installing the app and getting signed up.
- Navigate to the Google Play Store
- Search for “SoundID Profile Creation”
- Tap the “Install” button
- Open SoundID Profile Creation
- Cycle through the explanation pages or just tap “Get Started”
- Login or Create an account via Email, Facebook, or Google. This step works exactly like a login, regardless of whether users already have a free account
- Select an accent color for the app
Then you’ll need to search the app to see if your headphones are listed by;
- Tap “Select your headphones”
- Select the search bar and type in the brand you’d like to use
- Choose your brand
- Select the model, if shown
Conversely, you can scroll the list to look for your brand. If your headphones aren’t listed, then they unfortunately aren’t supported. Once you’ve selected a model, an image will be shown to confirm that they’re the right ones.
If you don’t want to install the app, you can simply navigate to the company’s website here to see a full list of supported headphones.
How to set up earbuds for mobile
The most common way you’ll end up using Sonarworks’s solution is obviously going to be on a smartphone. That is, after all, where most people are listening to music these days. And that’s an easy enough process if you know where to look and how to get started. Although, there are definitely more than a few steps involved.
To get SoundID on a computer — other than Chromebooks since those support mobile apps — you’ll simply need to navigate to a URL. That’s “Sonarworks.com/listen” to be exact. Then you’ll need to download the software and follow the setup process, starting with a free trial. There don’t appear to be any costs associated with the mobile variant.
Connecting SoundID to your headphones
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Now, the first step will be to ensure that you’ve got your earbuds or headphones linked to your phone via Bluetooth. That will shorten the discovery and connect processes later on. Then, you’ll need to follow the steps above to download the app, discover your listening device, and get your listening device connected.
Once you’ve selected your headphones, the UI will change a bit. The next steps to follow are;
- After choosing your headphones, tap the “Connect” button
- Wait for the app to discover your headphones and connect. Then select “Continue”
- The app will set the acoustic properties of your headphones and even presents a chart to showcase what those properties are as well as how SoundID has been used to balance the audio properly
Equalizing the equalizer for SoundID
Of course, that equalization information is great to have but straight-across-the-board balance isn’t exactly what we’re looking for here. As noted above. Everybody’s ears are different. And there are differences between left and right ears for most people too. The Sonarworks SoundID software accounts for that, with a bit of help.
The next step will be to set base audio preferences, which takes into account your individual listening preferences.
- After connecting earbuds or headphones, SoundID will take you back to the home screen
- The second list item, marked “Preference Test” will be highlighted
- Select Preference Test
- SoundID presents a list of sounds to choose from for the test. None of those will alter the results of the test but serve as an entry point for altering the balance to the audio. Each can be chosen for preview before continuing. For the purposes of this test, I selected an audio file dubbed “Electronic beats 1”
- Choose “Continue”
- The audio will alter between “A” and “B” options in the next segment, allowing you to freely select between them to preview them.
- Select the audio sample that sounds better to you — or “Neither” if neither sounds good or “No Difference” if they both sound the same to your ears.
- Tap the Arrow to continue the test.
- The test will continue until the results are ready to be analyzed. Then the system will analyze them and create an audio profile before providing the option to “Complete Setup”
- Once setup is complete, the UI will shift to allow the feature to be enabled for on-device apps, media, and more at the flick of a toggle.
- The app will then present you with options to view the activation process for a Windows or Mac computer, alongside deeper beta options for typically non-supported apps. That can be turned off individually if any errors are encountered.
Tune to your own individual ears with a hearing test
The final step in this process is to get your headphones set up to provide a more individualized experience. Namely, by diving into how to use SoundID to tune the experience for each individual ear.
As might be expected, this step can take a bit longer. Especially if you plan to re-tune the audio balance based on this test — since the above steps will need to be gone through again in that case. But it will vastly improve your overall listening experience. And that’s without the need to fiddle with the sometimes cumbersome equalizers often found on Android smartphones. So it’s well worth the added effort.
You can repeat the processes as often as you need to find your perfect sound.
You’ll notice when the SoundID app pushes you back to the home screen that a new option is highlighted. And that’s where this process will start.
- On the home screen, tap “Hearing Test” to get started. You’ll want to be in a quiet room or space when this test is performed. Primarily because this test is going to gauge the health of your ears. And that’s how the sound will be adapted in terms of volume and other aspects. On a per-ear basis.
- As noted on the app’s next screen, this test isn’t meant for a medical diagnosis. Bearing that in mind, tap “Get Started”
- The app will ask you some questions about your age and gender to set a baseline. So you’ll want to scroll the selection wheels and select “Male,” Female,” or “Other” when asked.
- On the next page, the headphones that are currently connected will be shown. You can confirm those by selecting the “Continue” option or tap “Change” if you want to test and tune different headphones
- Tap “Auto set volume” to allow the app to set the test volume appropriately
- Select “Start Test”
Sonarworks set up the next segment of the hearing test to be fairly self-explanatory.
- The first SoundID test will ask you to press the button as soon as you are able to hear the sound being emitted.
- The next step will test ears left and right, one at a time but no longer relies on a single button press. First, the app will emit noise in either the left or right ear. You’ll be tasked to raise and lower the volume with on-screen controls and then to select the arrow-shaped ‘next’ button. The goal is to raise the volume until it’s heard clearly. And then to lower the volume until it can’t be heard at all.
- After being returned to the home screen, tap “Try it out” to hear what audio sounds like with your new settings turned on or off.
As noted above, once you’ve tuned the sounds to your ears, you can simply go through the tests again if things don’t sound quite right. Or, conversely, you may choose to only re-take one of the tests.
Now, within the menu settings for any of those, the app will also allow you to add additional headsets. That’s useful if you happen to have more than one set of earphones. Especially if they aren’t the same make and model. With the SoundID app, you can set those up to get consistent sound from multiple headphones.