TwilightOdyssey
Darkness on the edge of Tone
Quick review of the IK Multimedia ARC System 2 room correction plugin in my primary mix space: my Dining Room table. 
First, I used a 12"x12" mirror to find the primary reflection points in my dining area. The room has kind of a weird shape in that it's just inside the front door to my apartment and really only has about 2-1/2 walls. If you are sitting at the table in the listening position, the front door is at 2 o'clock. The right wall is only about 3 feet long and then opens to a hallway. The rear wall opens to the living room and the back left corner is a small double french door that leads to the (tiny) kitchen. So, with the kitchen doors open, there are few parallel surfaces.
I applied 12x12x3" Auralex tiles behind and between the monitors, on the left and right reflection points, and on the rear wall across from the speakers. (No way to make a cloud for this room)
The monitors were placed on IsoAcoustic stands using the long (8") poles and placed horizontally. That put the tweeters at ear level. They were 40" apart from each other and the primary listening position and about 12" from the back wall.
The first thing I did was set up a track in Logic with a pink noise generator and I placed an EQ on the track that cut off everything below 500 Hz and above 2kHz. I then used my analog Radio Shack spl meter (set for C weight and Slow) and set my reference level at 75 dB.
I then placed the ARC measurement mic at the listening position and ran the calibration test. I measured from 7 different positions. Took less than 10 minutes.
After the test was done, it creates a plugin that you name.
I went back into Logic and imported one of my mixes. I then placed ARC in the master bus. The EQ curve didn't tell me anything I didn't know: nasty bump around 160Hz and a pretty big spike around 7k. The corrected curve was for a flat response.
How did it sound? First, I will tell you that the stands and high frequency absorbers definitely improved things, but not as drastically as I would have guessed. With the ARC engaged, however, it was night and day! Since it corrects phase as well as frequency, the overall effect was more like taking my monitors and placing them in a real control room. The bass was extended and authoritative, but also really tight. The mids in particular were cleaner with better imaging. The only slight negative was a very slight warming and toning down of the treble response, but I was kind of expecting that as I had read in reviews that the ARC can soften the sound a bit.
Overall, though, I am pleased as punch and it goes to show that the room is probably more important than your choice in monitor. I was really surprised at how swank it made my inexpensive 5" monitors sound!
And that's my story. An unreserved recommendation for anyone NOT mixng in a dedicated space!
First, I used a 12"x12" mirror to find the primary reflection points in my dining area. The room has kind of a weird shape in that it's just inside the front door to my apartment and really only has about 2-1/2 walls. If you are sitting at the table in the listening position, the front door is at 2 o'clock. The right wall is only about 3 feet long and then opens to a hallway. The rear wall opens to the living room and the back left corner is a small double french door that leads to the (tiny) kitchen. So, with the kitchen doors open, there are few parallel surfaces.
I applied 12x12x3" Auralex tiles behind and between the monitors, on the left and right reflection points, and on the rear wall across from the speakers. (No way to make a cloud for this room)
The monitors were placed on IsoAcoustic stands using the long (8") poles and placed horizontally. That put the tweeters at ear level. They were 40" apart from each other and the primary listening position and about 12" from the back wall.
The first thing I did was set up a track in Logic with a pink noise generator and I placed an EQ on the track that cut off everything below 500 Hz and above 2kHz. I then used my analog Radio Shack spl meter (set for C weight and Slow) and set my reference level at 75 dB.
I then placed the ARC measurement mic at the listening position and ran the calibration test. I measured from 7 different positions. Took less than 10 minutes.
After the test was done, it creates a plugin that you name.
I went back into Logic and imported one of my mixes. I then placed ARC in the master bus. The EQ curve didn't tell me anything I didn't know: nasty bump around 160Hz and a pretty big spike around 7k. The corrected curve was for a flat response.
How did it sound? First, I will tell you that the stands and high frequency absorbers definitely improved things, but not as drastically as I would have guessed. With the ARC engaged, however, it was night and day! Since it corrects phase as well as frequency, the overall effect was more like taking my monitors and placing them in a real control room. The bass was extended and authoritative, but also really tight. The mids in particular were cleaner with better imaging. The only slight negative was a very slight warming and toning down of the treble response, but I was kind of expecting that as I had read in reviews that the ARC can soften the sound a bit.
Overall, though, I am pleased as punch and it goes to show that the room is probably more important than your choice in monitor. I was really surprised at how swank it made my inexpensive 5" monitors sound!
And that's my story. An unreserved recommendation for anyone NOT mixng in a dedicated space!
