DSP Tuning Tracks & Guide
Hey everyone, Nick here. On this page, I have a Google Drive link to my ResoNix DSP Tuning Tracks Playlist, as well as a basic DSP Tuning Guide written below. While this isn’t a full guide, this is meant to help “polish” your DSP Tune by ear.
Tracks & tips to perfect your sound
Our DSP Tuning Tracks Playlist and DSP Tuning Guide is designed to be used in order with my tuning method. No, this is not a full tuning guide. In order to utilize this page and our DSP Tuning Tracks fully, you will already need to know the basics of tuning, from measurements, verifying by ear, and all of the terminology and all of the basic understandings of how an audio system works. If you are not confident on being able to do the Car Audio DSP Tuning on your own, we also offer a Remote Car Audio DSP Tuning Service.
Car Audio DSP Tuning Process
My personal quick rundown of my Car Audio DSP Tuning Process using our DSP Tuning Tracks Playlist (no, this is not a full guide)
First, the ResoNix Sound Solutions REW Target Curves Overview
First, some details about the ResoNix Sound Solutions REW target curves linked above. Inside the folder, you’ll find two text files. Each one is a different target curve that I personally use for system tuning.
The "Accurate" 2023 target curve is what I use in most vehicles and usually use in my own system. It leans toward what I’d consider technically correct, with a relatively flat midrange, a little less low-end boost, and a bit more top-end energy. If you’re chasing accuracy and fidelity to the source, this is usually the best place to start. That said, it can be a bit fatiguing over long or loud listening sessions, and the lighter bass response doesn’t always hold up as well against road noise when driving.
The "Laid Back" June 2025 curve is something I’ve been using in my personal car for about a year now on some occasions. It adds a bit more low end, pulls back the upper treble, and is tuned more specifically for how my system behaves and how I like it to sound under certain circumstances. I wouldn’t call it more accurate, but it can be more enjoyable in some situations, especially with the music I tend to listen to and the way it’s recorded and mixed.
This leads into why target curves are not one-size-fits-all. The right curve depends on a lot of factors, and they’re not always obvious.
Vehicle acoustics play a big role. Cabin size affects how much bass lift is needed. Reflections behave differently from car to car and even from location to location inside the same car. A-pillar tweeters will behave differently than sail panel or dash-mounted ones. On top of that, speaker polar response changes with crossover design and placement, and in many cases, what the RTA measures doesn’t match how we actually perceive certain frequencies.
For example, in my car, I run my tweeters and mids with an unusually high crossover point of 5000 Hz (not that I want to, but it is to overcome an acoustic reflection issue that is present on the left tweeter that shows itself with more traditional crossover points). That creates a narrow upper midrange dispersion, so while the mic sees a dip in energy at those frequencies, my ears don’t necessarily hear it that way because of how that off-axis energy interacts with the cabin.
Even beyond the car and gear, the same measured response can sound different depending on the distortion profile of the speakers being used. Two systems can be matched to the same target but sound completely different because of how cleanly or harshly they reproduce certain frequencies.
So unless your vehicle, speaker setup, measurement mic, and methodology are all identical to mine, your system won’t measure or sound exactly the same using the same curve. That said, These curves can still both work well for many as long as you are using the same measurement method. I am just trying to prepare you for the fact that no car is done being tuned once the target curve is reached.
For reference, I use an Earthworks M23 mic with an external soundcard. I use the pink noise that you will find in our google drive folder of tuning tracks, and I take measurements using REW’s RTA. I sit in the driver’s seat and take a spatial average around my head and ears. I’ve tried just about every method out there, and this one gives me the most consistent and accurate results in real-world listening.
Enjoy!
My personal rundown of my car audio DSP tuning process using our DSP tuning tracks playlist
Note: This is not a full guide.
Mute all outputs for safety, set inputs/outputs, set crossovers that make sense for the setup, and verify all inputs/outputs are correct and all speakers are playing without issues. I cannot stress that last part enough. It is scary how common this is and even more scary how common it is that people don’t check, or flat out miss these issues.
Set timing via impulse response (I personally use the Helix ATM feature). If not available, I start off by setting signal delay based on distance.
Measure each channel’s individual frequency response with our correlated pink noise track and equalize and level match based on the measurements. Adjust crossovers if necessary.
Measure (and possibly equalize if needed) each channel again, as it is rare for one pass with EQ to nail the target curve due to non-linearities in the system (resonances, reflections, etc).
Once each driver is individually measuring close to the target curve, verify if left/right pairs of speakers are in phase/time using the first “Center” track (track 02) (it should sound like the person is speaking from the center of the dashboard in the size of about a softball, maybe a bit larger since this isnt dialed in (but hopefully no larger than a soccer ball). If they are all good, move on. If not good, troubleshoot why the image is large, or out of phase entirely.
From here, measure left/right (without the sub playing). Compare response to the last individual measurements and verify phase cohesion between speakers through the crossovers. If there are phase issues, correct as needed. If not or after that is fixed, measure again.
Once left and right are matched and correct, measure and equalize all of the front speakers (again, no sub) to match the target curve.
Once this is done, verify that the front has the same level matching the target as the subwoofer. Adjust their levels as needed, and then measure the system as a whole (minus rear fill speakers if there are any). Equalize to match the target curve.
By ear, verify levels of left/right speakers (midrange vs. midrange, etc.) with correlated pink noise. Adjust levels to match regardless of what the measurements say if necessary.
Verify broad tonality by ear with correlated pink noise. Adjust to have left/right sound the same regardless of what the measurements say if necessary.
Verify phase/timing by ear with pink noise. Adjust if necessary (usually it won’t need to be adjusted by much at this point, if at all).
Move on to the “by ear” tracks.
Start with track 02 and move down the list using their descriptions.
Listen to music, make adjustments to suit your personal taste, and enjoy!
Track list breakdown
This track features a mans voice talking. It is in equal volume from left and right, and equal in time. That means this will, if all things are correct, form a perfect phantom center image. This is a track that I use to do a general verification of my center image, a general verification if anything sounds unnatural, etc. You can use this with pairs of speakers on their own, or all speakers playing for various verifications throughout your tuning process. I like this track because it is easy to identify when a voice sounds unnatural (although, this one is a bit on the deeper side), and has a wide range of frequencies that can highlight problems in various areas.
This is the same track as the center track, but only playing from the left side. You can use this to verify the left side cohesion of your system. Verify things such as image placement and cohesion, resonance, if the left side pulls down to the midbass, if the left side sounds unnatural, etc.
Same track, but due to level differences from left to right, should appear perfectly in between your far left and your center image. Note, many systems will exhibit left side stage compression (left center sounds far left, there seems to be a “hole” in the left center position of the stage), and this is a great track to verify that.
Yes, center again. Like I mentioned above, this playlist is in fact perfectly in order. Why do I have center at the start and center here? So after you listen to pink noise, you can verify your center image, and then from there you can verify your staging across the board and can do so without having to skip back and fourth. This is just here to make things easy.
Same track, just placed directly in between the center and far right image.
Same track, use to test the right side for the same things mentioned above.
This is a “polarity pulse” type track. I only use this when I am having issues with verifying imaging with the above “Center” track if I am ever having trouble for whatever reason, usually due to reflections in an install that has compromised speaker locations. In that situation, I would set signal delay with impulse response or tape measure, and then verify with this track, and then check for natural reproduction with the Center track.
I rarely use this track, but it is nice to have for soundstage placement verification, and also check that left-center soundstage compression that I mentioned earlier (or right side if you are in a right hand drive vehicle). The downside to this track is that there is hardly any low frequency content, so this track may not expose everything.
Just like the tracks above, this and the following will be positioning tracks. The difference is, these ones are a bit quicker, and feature a wide array of instruments to help isolate frequency ranges. This allows you to verify positioning more finely for these different frequency ranges as opposed to a broad-spectrum generalization. Use these to verify tonality as well, and to also check for rattles and resonances, harshness, sibilance, etc. These tracks are of very easy to recognize instruments so it should be easy to know if they sound at least close to correct or not.
Same as above, just plays left only.
Same, but should be directly between center and far left.
Again, to not have to skip around.
Should be positioned directly between center and far right.
Right only. Again, verify right side cohesion and tonality.
YOU MADE IT THIS FAR!
Awesome! If your system exhibits no signs of any technical shortcomings when you get here, that is great. The next portion is where the very small things that I feel separate a technically good system from a technically great system.
The rest of the tracks are all band-limited, third-octave pink noise tracks. What I do with these is very simple. The first step is to match levels of these frequencies by ear from left and right. For left to right level matching I start a few tracks lower than my midbass high pass crossover. I will play only one speaker at a time, but quickly switch back and fourth between the left and right speaker to see if I can hear a level difference between the two. If there isn’t a difference, I move on to the next frequency. If there is an audible level difference, I will take away from the louder side, and equally add to the quieter side. This way you can balance left and right while still keeping the overall frequency response the same. Once they are level matched from left to right, I run through them again and double-check. During this process, I do NOT pay any mind to imaging cues. I only pay attention to left vs. right levels per frequency range.
Next step, run through all tracks again. This time, with both sides playing. You can do the front speakers all together, or just one pair at a time (midbass only, midrange only, tweeter only, etc.).. When running through this, you will verify one thing only.. center image cohesion per frequency. Since we know timing and levels are damn near perfect at this point, any imaging issues that stick out can help identify installation or speaker location (reflection) issues that are causing issues in your system. How you deal with them from here is difficult to say. Every situation is different, and this article is not the one where we are diving into those super-fine details.
Need help tuning?
Check out our Remote DSP Tuning Service
The Remote DSP Tuning Service by ResoNix Sound Solutions provides expert tuning for your car audio system through remote access. Perfect for those seeking optimal sound quality but lacking the confidence or tools to achieve it on their own, this service guides you through a professional tuning process, ensuring your system is dialed in for the best possible performance. The service includes a comprehensive follow-up period to fine-tune the results based on your feedback.
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