ARC 2 Advanced Room Correction System is now available from IK Multimedia

[Compyfox]

I think the demo will hit "after" the deal. Great again...


Another thing that I kind of miss is a promotion email. I know I've signed up, yet I don't get anything from IKM anymore. Then again, I have KVR, so no need for a mailing list.

[blueman]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for listening to all the feedback wrt ARC 2 upgrade from IKM's customers......doing the Jam Points up to 25% discount was a great gesture & as soon as I saw that it then made the purchase happen as far as I was concerned. So again thanks!

I have been a huge fan of ARC......so I am particularly looking forward to seeing the improvements in ARC 2 with low end response.

+1

Thank you for listening IKM!

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

You're welcome, we'll keep you posted on any other news on ARC 2. There has been an overwhelmingly positive response (even on another forum not known for its love of room correction in ANY way!) and it is sincerely appreciated. The great genius laser pointer (and great comparison) post and some quotes from that "other forum" can be found here: http://www.ikmultimedia.com/news/?item_id=1369 since not everybody seems to be receiving emails from IK.

[Compyfox]

That "other board" wouldn't be GearSlutz by any chance?

[lotus2035]

OK did some marketplace wizardry and got the update without using my creditcard.
I've had V1 a year now and haven't tried it out, Will get set up in October though.

[jeff_free69]

Since the target profile is flat, you shouldn't worry about overtaxing the bass with it.

Thanks for the response, but technically i'm not sure how it makes complete sense . Of course the target is flat. But if room cancellations are sucking up the sound and causing a 10-15 db null at a particular frequency range, then boosting there to compensate will definitely make my woofer work harder. I know, no such thing as a free lunch.

The mics are calibrated. You need one of the mics that shipped with ARC for it to work properly. When you create your measurements, the first thing you do is select which of the two mics you have.

It doesn't sound like you're saying they're individually calibrated
Having only 2 settings for the mic calibrations (old or new) relies on perfectly matched mics from production runs over the years. i might expect that from a couple of $2000 mics, but is it realistic for these? Anybody compare measurements using 2 "new" mics or 2 "old" mics ? An individually calibrated mic seems a much better idea, considering its economically feasible for $50 retail, you would just load the calibration file into the system.

[Compyfox]

Sorry that I have to drift into sarcasm mode, but...


Dude, you don't get it. It's a specific bundled microphone. One that one is "suitable" for ARC since ARC is "calibrated" to it. It doesn't matter if 50 out of 100 mics have slight differences - it's still the official mics. Others don't work!



What do you think?
Of course it's working with other mics, not only in theory. But IKM/Audyssey doesn't sell it that way. And you can't rule out problems or "alterations" of the sound with your AD/DA either. Else there would be a need for a shipped mic/preamp combo.


Grain of salt, remember?

[Brian @ IK Multimedia]

Since the target profile is flat, you shouldn't worry about overtaxing the bass with it.

Thanks for the response, but technically i'm not sure how it makes complete sense . Of course the target is flat. But if room cancellations are sucking up the sound and causing a 10-15 db null at a particular frequency range, then boosting there to compensate will definitely make my woofer work harder. I know, no such thing as a free lunch.

I think I misunderstood what you were saying. I thought you were talking about compensating for a weak bass response from your monitors, not a null in your room.

In this case, it would depend on your room and your speakers. Perhaps if your room is like the Bermuda Triangle of bass, and you're turning the volume way up on some particularly under-powered speakers. Otherwise, I don't think you have to worry.

The mics are calibrated. You need one of the mics that shipped with ARC for it to work properly. When you create your measurements, the first thing you do is select which of the two mics you have.

It doesn't sound like you're saying they're individually calibrated
Having only 2 settings for the mic calibrations (old or new) relies on perfectly matched mics from production runs over the years. i might expect that from a couple of $2000 mics, but is it realistic for these? Anybody compare measurements using 2 "new" mics or 2 "old" mics ? An individually calibrated mic seems a much better idea, considering its economically feasible for $50 retail, you would just load the calibration file into the system.

The mics are not individually hand calibrated, but neither is it necessary. There is no such thing as absolutely perfectly flat. Instead, you get within a range. And here, measurement precision is +/- 1.5dB when using the ARC System mic.

We cannot guarantee that level of accuracy with other mics.

[Compyfox]

As company, of course you can't.

But if you compare frequency plots from different measurement microphones with each other, the +/- 1,5dB tollerance can be taken into consideration. And here I'm not even talking about the sound shaping of a mic preamp or the ADC.


I'm not saying "sell it without the microphone to new users". But this emphasises my point again regarding the upgrade, a demo version for all users and maybe even a price reduced one for those that don't need a microphone.

I could see three price models actually:
99 to 129 quids as upgrade for former users
299 quids for new users that already have(!) a measurement microphone
399-449 quids for new users that want the "carefree" pack (meaning: including mic, etc)

By quids I mean Euro, and by Euro I mean (ideally) including VAT.

And as special bonus, for 200 quids a hardware box (external) like the "ERGO" from the competition, where we can load our presets on there to take the load off of the PC/Mac and use it for other stuff as well.


I know this will probably never happen, but I can at least dream.

[twisted-space]

And as special bonus, for 200 quids a hardware box (external) like the "ERGO" from the competition, where we can load our presets on there to take the load off of the PC/Mac and use it for other stuff as well.

Has anyone tried running ARC/ARC2 on a V-Machine? The SM Pro compatibility chart lists a fair bit of IK's product range, but not ARC.

192 quids (actually 160 quid with delivery) @ Thomann is very tempting

[Mushy Mushy]

And as special bonus, for 200 quids a hardware box (external) like the "ERGO" from the competition, where we can load our presets on there to take the load off of the PC/Mac and use it for other stuff as well.

Has anyone tried running ARC/ARC2 on a V-Machine? The SM Pro compatibility chart lists a fair bit of IK's product range, but not ARC.

192 quids (actually 160 quid with delivery) @ Thomann is very tempting

Does V-Machine have audio in?

Plus +1,000,0000 for an external ARC solution though.

[twisted-space]

Does V-Machine have audio in?

Plus +1,000,0000 for an external ARC solution though.

Yep, only on a 3.5mm jack though.

[Compyfox]

Then it's unbalanced (so you'll introduce a volume drop). But still an alternative and grabbing an adapter cable or soldering one yourself is simple as well.


Never thought of using V-Machine for that purpose. The thing is... how do you get the "analysis" on there? And the power consumption is an issue (it's basically a mini-PC).



EDIT:
Wait - just found this on the dev's page:

Code: Select all

    Audio line out (2x TS 6.35mm): line level -10dB
    1 x MIDI in (5-pin female DIN)
    1 audio input (1x mini jack 3.5mm stereo)

I take it that the input is mono but balanced, or stereo but line level (as is the output).


EDIT 2:
Street Price is currently 199EUR at Thomann. A 400bucks drop of the MSRP of 600EUR. While this sounds tempting, I have two feelings: a) module will be discontinued at some point and it didn't sell that well - hence the low sale, b) the same undersale crash will happen as with old Hartmann Neuron VS

Whatever happens, it's an alternative for standalone usage and without messing with virtual audio/MIDI cables.

[twisted-space]

^ 12v 2A power adaptor, so it's not very power hungry. It has usb host ports I'd imagine the calibration file could be imported from there.


My concern is that the calibration file is in the program files(x86)/IK Multi.../Arc System/ folder on my x64 pc. I doubt that exists on a V-Machine.

[LGK_Dude]

Any definitive word on if a demo will be able to be released with enough time for us to actually demo it before the end of the month?