REW-like app for mobile (Android/iOS)

[SSSheridan]

Hey all,

In another thread, y'all might be convincing me to invest in a minidsp UMIK-1 measurement microphone. I'm thinking about one advantage of a USB mic: portability. Could a smartphone use the UMIK-1 and its calibration profile? If so:

Is there a recommended app for iOS/Android that's similar to Room EQ Wizard? Is there a "gold standard" app in this forum, like REW is, or is there just a mish-mash of assorted apps?

(I imagine this has been discussed plenty of times before, but my Google-fu couldn't pull up relevant results, which is why I've kinda SEO'd up this post with lots of relevant keywords, like "REW equivalent for smartphone" and "RoomEqWizard app for Android". Maybe this post can help future searchers!)

A couple of candidates I've found; I'll update this list if there are other suggestions:
- AudioTools by Andrew Smith for iOS - $20 to start, over $200 for full functionality (!). The gold standard on iOS.
- AudioTool by JulianApps ($8/8.50€) on Android - not the same as AudioTools for iOS! Unknown quality.
- Room Acoustics Meter, by Dr. Johann Gauss (free, with in-app purchases). The name is likely a reference to REW. The screenshots look pretty legit, but it has no reviews yet. It was released in October 2021.

 

[kschmit2]

here's the creator's website for Room Acoustics Meter:

Hifi-Apps

hifi-apps.com

 

[staticV3]

On iOS the gold standard is AudioTools. I don't know if it supports mic cal files.
On Android I'm not aware of a good REW alternative. I've tried like eight different ones and none really did what I wanted.

 

[AdamG]

On iOS the gold standard is AudioTools. I don't know if it supports mic cal files.
On Android I'm not aware of a good REW alternative. I've tried like eight different ones and none really did what I wanted.

AudioTools does support calibration file import and various UMIK versions. It is very expensive however and is sold in confusing packages with many hidden unlock-able features. I have it and use an IPad Pro to calibrate and adjust my audio system. If you just don’t want to use a laptop or the convenience of using your iPad, it works fine. Updates are on the slow side. Did I mention the price? For full functionality it’s over 200 USD. And that was a bit sale price.

 

[SSSheridan]

Awesome, I've updated the original post with that info.

On Android I'm not aware of a good REW alternative. I've tried like eight different ones and none really did what I wanted.

Bummer. Are there any that you'd recommend for doing just the basics?

 

[RichT]

wavelet for android. Great for headphones

 

[staticV3]

Bummer. Are there any that you'd recommend for doing just the basics?

What are "the basics"? Measuring frequency response? Or FFT?
There's AudioTool (which is geared towards loudspeaker measurements) and a myriad of basic FFT apps, but none that I could comfortably measure DAC/Amp performance or like an IEM with.

 

[SSSheridan]

I'd like to edit the original post with updates, like a micro version of the EQ software post, but it's not possible to edit after a certain time period. How would I do that - can I ask the mods to give me permission to edit old posts, or something?

 

[sweetchaos]

If you donate, you get edit privileges.

 

[SSSheridan]

Aww. That'll have to wait till I graduate and get a proper job, then.

 

[Greg Wilding]

For iOS, you could try out HouseCurve. It supports calibrated mics like the UMIK-1, but will also work with just the iPhone mic. You can use it for "the basics" like measuring magnitude, phase, group delay and comparing to target curves. It can also generate filters for your parametric EQ (or convolution), so it can be used for "room correction", etc.

There's a limited free trial here. Full disclosure, I'm the app's author . I use it to tune my miniDSP 2x4 HD, etc.

 

[monx]

For iOS, you could try out HouseCurve. It supports calibrated mics like the UMIK-1, but will also work with just the iPhone mic. You can use it for "the basics" like measuring magnitude, phase, group delay and comparing to target curves. It can also generate filters for your parametric EQ (or convolution), so it can be used for "room correction", etc.

There's a limited free trial here. Full disclosure, I'm the app's author . I use it to tune my miniDSP 2x4 HD, etc.

I just tried out HouseCurve and I'm really impressed with the software quality. (I'm not nearly as impressed with my office room acoustics...)
Highly recommended!

 

[SiamXIII]

HouseCurve is pretty effective even with em embedded mic. Waiting for my UMIK1 to arrive next week.

 

[MacClintock]

For iOS, you could try out HouseCurve. It supports calibrated mics like the UMIK-1, but will also work with just the iPhone mic. You can use it for "the basics" like measuring magnitude, phase, group delay and comparing to target curves. It can also generate filters for your parametric EQ (or convolution), so it can be used for "room correction", etc.

There's a limited free trial here. Full disclosure, I'm the app's author . I use it to tune my miniDSP 2x4 HD, etc.

That sounds very interesting. So I could use this app to measure the FR of my system with some external microphone, built the EQ and use this correction to stream music from the same iPhone providing this DRC? Or is a miniDSP still needed?

 

[Greg Wilding]

So I could use this app to measure the FR of my system with some external microphone, built the EQ and use this correction to stream music from the same iPhone providing this DRC? Or is a miniDSP still needed?

HouseCurve is like REW - a measurement tool that can make room correction filters. You still need a PEQ (ex: miniDSP) or a convolution engine (Roon, CamillaDSP) to implement the filter. Check out the application notes on room correction I wrote to understand how it works. You don't have to use an external mic, but you can if you like.

 

[MacClintock]

HouseCurve is like REW - a measurement tool that can make room correction filters. You still need a PEQ (ex: miniDSP) or a convolution engine (Roon, CamillaDSP) to implement the filter. Check out the application notes on room correction I wrote to understand how it works. You don't have to use an external mic, but you can if you like.

Thanks for the infos. So from going through the options, as I am not planning to aquire a Roon subscription nor to buy a miniDSP, Raspberry Pi 4 with Volumio and CamillaDSP seems to be the best option. But I have not experience to set all this up. Might not turn out to be so easy. Will think about it.

 

[Weeb Labs]

For iOS, you could try out HouseCurve. It supports calibrated mics like the UMIK-1, but will also work with just the iPhone mic. You can use it for "the basics" like measuring magnitude, phase, group delay and comparing to target curves. It can also generate filters for your parametric EQ (or convolution), so it can be used for "room correction", etc.

There's a limited free trial here. Full disclosure, I'm the app's author . I use it to tune my miniDSP 2x4 HD, etc.

I have been making use of HouseCurve for the last month and you have implemented the onboard microphone calibration and filter generation extremely well. Results using an iPhone's onboard microphone are very comparable to those of REW using a UMIK-1.


At the moment, I am capturing various measurments in order to compare the results with those of other automated room correction tools. Responses are impressively similar; especially below 500Hz where the most obnoxious modal peaks live. I will be covering this application in an upcoming video.

I am also comparing filter generation. In this example, red is HouseCurve.

A very close match. This application should be perfectly adequate for correcting almost any system.

If I could make one suggestion, it would be to add a measurement export function. This would enable measurements to be imported to REW. It would also be useful if the vertical axis scale could be precisely adjusted (digit entry ideally) or if a standard 50dB scale could be selected.

 

[Greg Wilding]

@Weeb Labs thanks for posting your measurements, glad you're liking HouseCurve

it would be to add a measurement export function

With the paid version of the app, you can export a saved measurement as an impulse response. REW is able to import these.

 

[Weeb Labs]

@Weeb Labs
With the paid version of the app, you can export a saved measurement as an impulse response. REW is able to import these.

Ah, yes. I somehow missed that. By any chance, is a vertical scale setting also present somewhere?

 

[Greg Wilding]

is a vertical scale setting also present somewhere?

Unfortunately no, the app auto-fits the vertical scale (as best it can).