4.- Setting up REW for macOS Preferences.
Now that we have the Mac recognizing the receiver/processor and the UMIK-1 mic and it's totally configured audio and video wise for REW, we need to configure REW Preferences accordingly.
As of today, the latest version or REW for macOS Mojave is 5.20 Beta 13 and that is the version I'm using for this tutorial.
After REW for macOS is installed, as soon you open it, it should detect your UMIK-1 mic and it's going to ask you if you want to use it as a measurement device. A window like this will pop up:
Then it will ask for the UMIK-1 calibration file:
Look on your Mac for your calibration file and select it. Make sure it's stored in your local SSD or HDD and not on a USB memory stick:
Now that the UMIK-1 is selected, go to REW Preferences to configure OUTPUT and INPUT devices. In this window you can see that the rate is 48KHz, which match with what we selected previously on Audio Midi Setup. For the OUPUT DEVICE select HDMI if your Mac has HDMI port or DisplayPort if you are using an external hub or Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter.
For the OUTPUT select SPEAKER:
If you open the SPEAKER drop down menu, you will see your 7.1 speakers available if you have a 7.1 speaker setup. They will show up labeled by name and not by numbers like they do on REW for Windows.
For "Timing Reference Output" you can use any speaker you want, not the subwoofer (LFE). Most people uses one of the Surround speakers. I always use Main Left (L). Always use the same speaker for all measurements as this is very important at the time of checking Impulse Response overlays.
For the INPUT DEVICE, select UMIK-1 mic from the drop down menu:
This next steep is very important. For the INPUT, you have to select MICROPHONE and NOT Default Input. If you select Default Input, even if in your Mac Preferences Audio settings UMIK-1 is selected as Default Input, the readings from the UMIK-1 mic will be off by about 40dB. This bug only affects Macs running macOS 10.14 Mojave and REW 5.20.
As a last checking steep, go to Preferences "Mic/Meter" and make sure you calibration file shows up:
At this point you are ready to take measurements with your REW for macOS gig. Open Measure window and you will see the window where you can select the speaker you want to measure, the frequency range, and all the common settings we have been using in other versions of REW.
I hope this tutorial help others Mac users or Windows users that want to experience REW for macOS. Please, feel free to post your comments and suggestions to improve this tutorial.
Now that we have the Mac recognizing the receiver/processor and the UMIK-1 mic and it's totally configured audio and video wise for REW, we need to configure REW Preferences accordingly.
As of today, the latest version or REW for macOS Mojave is 5.20 Beta 13 and that is the version I'm using for this tutorial.
After REW for macOS is installed, as soon you open it, it should detect your UMIK-1 mic and it's going to ask you if you want to use it as a measurement device. A window like this will pop up:
Then it will ask for the UMIK-1 calibration file:
Look on your Mac for your calibration file and select it. Make sure it's stored in your local SSD or HDD and not on a USB memory stick:
Now that the UMIK-1 is selected, go to REW Preferences to configure OUTPUT and INPUT devices. In this window you can see that the rate is 48KHz, which match with what we selected previously on Audio Midi Setup. For the OUPUT DEVICE select HDMI if your Mac has HDMI port or DisplayPort if you are using an external hub or Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter.
For the OUTPUT select SPEAKER:
If you open the SPEAKER drop down menu, you will see your 7.1 speakers available if you have a 7.1 speaker setup. They will show up labeled by name and not by numbers like they do on REW for Windows.
For "Timing Reference Output" you can use any speaker you want, not the subwoofer (LFE). Most people uses one of the Surround speakers. I always use Main Left (L). Always use the same speaker for all measurements as this is very important at the time of checking Impulse Response overlays.
For the INPUT DEVICE, select UMIK-1 mic from the drop down menu:
This next steep is very important. For the INPUT, you have to select MICROPHONE and NOT Default Input. If you select Default Input, even if in your Mac Preferences Audio settings UMIK-1 is selected as Default Input, the readings from the UMIK-1 mic will be off by about 40dB. This bug only affects Macs running macOS 10.14 Mojave and REW 5.20.
As a last checking steep, go to Preferences "Mic/Meter" and make sure you calibration file shows up:
At this point you are ready to take measurements with your REW for macOS gig. Open Measure window and you will see the window where you can select the speaker you want to measure, the frequency range, and all the common settings we have been using in other versions of REW.
I hope this tutorial help others Mac users or Windows users that want to experience REW for macOS. Please, feel free to post your comments and suggestions to improve this tutorial.