I’m curious if anyone has tried IK’s Arc studio software/hardware room correction, or other room correction stuff. My recording space is one of the small bedrooms in my house that also serves as my office, filled with all my gear, shelves, desks, etc. and minimally treated (just some bass traps in the corners by the ceiling). A few years back I got a pair of Adam Audio A7X monitors and a subwoofer, which have made for huge improvements in the quality of my mixes, but I’m wondering how much room correction might help as well. Has anyone tried Arc Studio? I like the concept of having hardware sitting between the interface and speakers, rather than having to run a plug-in on the master bus. If anyone’s tried this or something similar in their own small, home studios, I’d be interested in hearing about your experiences.
Been using the ARC3 system a while back. But ended up reverting back to Sonarworks.
ARC is a great piece of software, but I found it not so accurate when compared to, say, Sonarworks.
ARC4 seems great.
And the ARC system provides an ok fix to your room issues.
But in the end, it introduces latency, is buggy at times, not so accurate in its analysis and is not the most transparent solution.
Granted, buying acoustic panels and bass traps is gonna set you back a greater deal than ARC.
But it’s unbeatable.
ARC is worth the try. But I wouldn’t trust it as a serious lasting solution.
Just my two cents, tho.
Thanks for the details! Yea, latency was one of the things I was worried about. Unfortunately in my space a few foam bass traps are the best I can do for treatment, which is one of the reasons I was looking at the ARC. I appreciate the feedback about it!
The new standalone system sounds cool. And IK advertises a very low latency.
It is still a software solution. And for all monitoring purposes, I’m not a big fan. But that’s just me.
ARC will probably fix most of your issues and then some.
And you might even be sorted out with the ARC3 system too. There may be no need for the ARC4.
There are some monitors with room correction embedded in. But they still are on the pricey side of things.
Just keep in mind that IK is, to my experience and knowledge, some kind of master of none in the sense that they try to play ball in way to many areas and end up in the lowest tier almost each time.
We’re talking about a company that makes pricey, plastic-y monitors that produce some plastic rumbles at some frequency points. They have noisy preamps on their interfaces, they have some issues with some gears (the rig i/o series is a weird one based on an amazing concept). Well. You get the idea. They seem to only make half the job on every release.
There again, just my experience. So worth asking around, watching reviews, etc.
You can still try other options. There are some more options when it comes to room correction. Dirac, SoundID, Slates and Waves, etc. Might be worth comparing them all as some may be best suited to your needs.
I’m advising that because I’ve seen way too many people going for the wrong solution and ending making things worst.
In the IK forums it’s the first time that somebody delete my post. As a loyal customer through the years of ARC, there isn’t a discount for me. And they delete my post.
Yea, I was a little surprised to see this product from them as it didn’t seem like the type of thing in their wheelhouse. Although, as you say, their wheelhouse may be a bit too broad and not focused enough.
In any case, I really appreciate the advice. I’ll keep my eyes/ears pealed!