Updated – Feb 2026
Our setups are similar – Tom did his first, with help from our friends Peter, Ben, and Christian, then Owen copied.
I call mine the ‘Poundland Peter’ setup.
I used to link to online retailers, but Play Music Today are sadly no longer with us, and we have listeners outside the UK, so I’ll just say, use an independent specialist reseller where you can.
Here’s what we’ve got:
Microphones:
Sonarworks Sound ID Reference – between one and four
A decent quality mic with easily downloadable .cal calibration files. We have four so we can measure four positions at once to save time. They cost around £80 each. If you’re starting off on a tight budget, get one or two, then add more when you can.
If the Sonarworks units aren’t available where you are, something similar will be – the important bit is having downloadable .cal files for each mic.
Ascendo measurement mic – we’ve all recently added these to our rigs – they measure bass below 20Hz, have lower noise, and higher quality, but more expensive. Ours came from Karma AV – the UK Ascendo distributor.
The MiniDSP UMIK-1 is fine – it connects via USB for convenience, and for example works directly with Dirac, but it’s noisier – we think Sonarworks or similar mics will take you further. Their UMIK-2 is less useful for general calibrations, but is quieter, so may help for noise floor.
Do note, these are all measurement microphones, designed to measure in-room response – don’t use them for podcasting or music recordings, it’ll sound terrible.
Audio Interface:
A low-noise preamp with four simultaneous XLR mic inputs and 48v phantom power, which lets you use four microphones at once.
It can also be used for home recording to a good level (it’s actually intended for that) but not with measurement mics.
I got mine for £150.
The EVO has always worked for me directly into Dirac, but it isn’t guaranteed.
Things move quickly in pro audio, so if the EVO8 isn’t available there will be another good multi-input interface available, quiet enough that you can basically consider it transparent (for Levels 1 and 2 at least).
Lano and Tom have both upgraded recently to MOTU M6 which are better, quieter, and cost more. I’m sure I’ll follow in due course.
If you’re attempting to calibrate Level Four, you’ll need quieter, better everything, and hopefully know far too much to be reading this. You’d be better off finding a world-class calibrator – we can help with that.
Cables:
Neutrik XLRs & Van Damme mic cables – get 10m or longer for larger rooms, or if you want the laptop outside the cinema.
I also got some Neutrik XXR colour-code rings, just to make things quicker – for no good reason I went with orange, violet, black and white. My friend Rich went a step further and ordered cables in each colour.
Then I got small coloured stickers for the mics and audio interface.
Hearing protection:
You’ll likely be calibrating for hours at a time, with loud test tones, frequency sweeps and pink noise – protect your hearing. Try to work outside the room as much as you can; I can’t always so I use ear defenders, and recently added some Etymotic earplugs.
Mic level calibrator:
This is important for level measurements – it outputs a steady 1kHz tone, usually at 94dB level, place directly over the mic and use the REW level calibration tool to confirm it’s at 94dB. You should calibrate each input and mic before each calibration.
There are different types and qualities available, we don’t have a strong recommendation just now. If you use both Sonarworks and Ascendo mics, you’ll also need an adaptor to fit the smaller Ascendo capsule.
Stands:
Regular boom mic stands also from CPC. I would use a full-size boom mic stand, there are a few choices.
It’s also worth having a stereo mic bar to measure what’s arriving at each ear from one seat. CPC have those too.
Case:
I needed something to carry my mics and audio interface.
This MAX400 from Trifibre works very well – it’s nice and deep so the mics can go in vertically, with a bit of room to add things later.
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