Room EQ Wizard (REW) - Looking Back on Audio Measurement Software History

This article revisits 20 years of Room EQ Wizard (REW), one of the mainstays in the audio measurement tool landscape with a strong user base. What started out as a side project for John Mulcahy, the creator and only developer, evolved to become a very complete and useful suite for both enthusiasts and professionals - a comprehensive set of measurement software tools bundled in a free package. This entertaining history of REW is also a fit way to commemorate the software's 20th anniversary.

The March 2024 issue of audioXpress includes an overview of the latest Audio Test and Measurement solutions, a review of the Listen SoundCheck 21 and AmpConnect 621 test suite, and a tribute to 20 years of Room EQ Wizard (REW). Learn how to build a True-RMS Voltmeter and what's behind the myth of Second Harmonic Distortion. Learn how motion feedback technologies can be applied to speakers, and how our hearing process affects our audio listening experiences, and much more. Dive in now!

Exploring the Standard Method of Measurement for Subwoofers (ANSI/CTA-2010-B R-2020), Brent Butterworth discusses how this might be a better method for avoiding the confusion on measuring bass extension of subwoofers. The article details how CTA-2010 measures usable output at 1/3-octave intervals within the subwoofer’s operational range, instead of measuring frequency response at a low sound pressure level. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, June 2021.

"Before you start measuring and playing around with your new speakers, maybe you should know your room." The statement, inspired Ethan Winer to write this article from a very practical perspective, helping us to understand the acoustics of our own listening rooms, and how measurements will help us. The examples contained in the article use the popular Room EQ Wizard (REW) software. This article was originally published in audioXpress, August 2021.

miniDSP introduced two new advanced products in its Acoustic Measurement product line, including the UMIK-2, miniDSP's second-generation omnidirectional acoustic measurement microphone, offering a significant upgrade in performance and functionality compared to the popular UMIK-1. And for multichannel measurements, there's the new UMIK-X USB Multichannel microphone array, offering up to 16ch audio recording, A2B wiring, and REW integration.

Another great research article from Ethan Winer, where he designed a simple device that measures capacitor distortion using a USB sound card and free software to try and determine the importance of high-quality capacitors in the signal path. This article details the results of his tests with different capacitor types. This article was originally published in audioXpress, May 2020.

For the Test & Measurement Focus published in audioXpress March 2018, two of our authors tackled IK Multimedia’s ARC 2.5 room correction system. Ron Tipton investigated IK Multimedia’s claims that the new ARC 2.5 improves the audio monitoring accuracy of speakers in any studio or listening room, while Stuart Yaniger tested the new MEMS measurement microphone available with IK Multimedia’s ARC 2.5 System. In this section of the review, Ron Tipton looks in-depth at how to make the best use of the acoustic room correction possibilities of the ARC System.

Following his original 2008 essay on sound pressure level (SPL) meters, in this article for audioXpress published in March 2015, Ethan Winer considers some practical applications for a basic SPL meter, such as calibrating loudspeaker levels and measuring room acoustics, using a simple Galaxy Audio CM-130 SPL Meter as an example. He then moves on to a more sophisticated model, the NTi Audio XL2.