"Finally a hardware acoustic correction solution at a low price! Used intelligently , this solution can greatly help to correct the modal resonances of a room and the defects of certain speakers." - Victor Malvolti aka Boring Vic
Acoustic monitoring processor
The new ARC Studio is a physical piece of hardware that integrates IK Multimedia's new ARC 4 software.
For several years IK has been offering its software solution in VST and system-wide software to be inserted in its DAW or on its OS to correct acoustic defects in its room and its monitoring speakers after a measurement with the dedicated microphone.
Those who use these acoustic optimization solutions know: a 100% software solution comes with its share of technical constraints. The ARC Studio and its physical box allow you to no longer worry about these constraints and it should be placed just before your monitoring speakers. Whatever the source: your computer, a console or a second computer brought by a customer, the ARC Studio is always there!
The box operates via two pairs of analog inputs and outputs. In 2024, the quality of the converters makes it possible to not worry about the losses caused by these AD/DA conversions.
My tips for using ARC Studio well
"This well-known EQ optimization solution is criticized by some and adored by others. Personally, I have heard very good corrections made by ARC Studio (and its well-known competitor) but also plenty of situations where it was a catastrophe which distorted listening. I recommend the following practice: correct only the bottom of the spectrum, more precisely below the Schroeder frequency, where the room modes dominate. Often this frequency is between 100 and 400Hz. Above, I advise you to pay attention to the corrections proposed. Very often, I think that you should avoid them and not carry out a correction. The ARC Studio software allows you to choose the frequency zone to correct, my suggestion not to correct that the bottom of the spectrum is made possible here!” -Victor Malvolti aka Boring Vic
