Premier Rock Forum

Kniferide wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 5:39 pm

cakes wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 4:12 pm I came across this video and thought it was interesting to share. Some of you guys would probably poo-poo the hardware, but it seemed worth sharing because it's a relatively inexpensive and non-technical way to manage your crappy home-studio room for sound treatment.

I've been using ARC since V2, it has definitely gotten a lot better. I have 4 with the box and if you are going to use ARC, I say absolutely use the hardware box. It is frustrating to not be able to listen to your mixes, or spotify, or whatever without your room curve and almost every solution for that sucks. The box is easy. You load your curve and do not have to run a plugin, their is a true bypass on the front, and everything from your computer can go through it. It's better. After the last run of adding treatment to my room and with my newest set of monitors ARC is almost doing nothing when it is on anymore, I copied the curve to my monitors internal DSP and mostly just use that now. I thought about getting rid of it, but now I use it to "simulate" a second set of shitty speakers, it has models of like yamahas and stuff. Still pretty cool thing to have around.

If you can't mix without this or Sonarworks etc... you have bigger problems than an EQ can solve, but it is good to like dip 200hz a coupla dB.

cakes wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 8:21 pm

Kniferide wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 5:39 pm

cakes wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 4:12 pm I came across this video and thought it was interesting to share. Some of you guys would probably poo-poo the hardware, but it seemed worth sharing because it's a relatively inexpensive and non-technical way to manage your crappy home-studio room for sound treatment.

I've been using ARC since V2, it has definitely gotten a lot better. I have 4 with the box and if you are going to use ARC, I say absolutely use the hardware box. It is frustrating to not be able to listen to your mixes, or spotify, or whatever without your room curve and almost every solution for that sucks. The box is easy. You load your curve and do not have to run a plugin, their is a true bypass on the front, and everything from your computer can go through it. It's better. After the last run of adding treatment to my room and with my newest set of monitors ARC is almost doing nothing when it is on anymore, I copied the curve to my monitors internal DSP and mostly just use that now. I thought about getting rid of it, but now I use it to "simulate" a second set of shitty speakers, it has models of like yamahas and stuff. Still pretty cool thing to have around.

If you can't mix without this or Sonarworks etc... you have bigger problems than an EQ can solve, but it is good to like dip 200hz a coupla dB.

Do you use it with powered speakers?

Kniferide wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 9:48 pm

cakes wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 8:21 pm

Kniferide wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 5:39 pm

I've been using ARC since V2, it has definitely gotten a lot better. I have 4 with the box and if you are going to use ARC, I say absolutely use the hardware box. It is frustrating to not be able to listen to your mixes, or spotify, or whatever without your room curve and almost every solution for that sucks. The box is easy. You load your curve and do not have to run a plugin, their is a true bypass on the front, and everything from your computer can go through it. It's better. After the last run of adding treatment to my room and with my newest set of monitors ARC is almost doing nothing when it is on anymore, I copied the curve to my monitors internal DSP and mostly just use that now. I thought about getting rid of it, but now I use it to "simulate" a second set of shitty speakers, it has models of like yamahas and stuff. Still pretty cool thing to have around.

If you can't mix without this or Sonarworks etc... you have bigger problems than an EQ can solve, but it is good to like dip 200hz a coupla dB.

Do you use it with powered speakers?

I've used it with Yamaha NS10's, Fluid Audio FX80's, Adam T7V's with an Adam 7" sub, and now with PMC 6-02's. I think I've been using ARC for about 5 years? At first I got into the Update cycle and felt I couldn't afford to drop it and try something else, but V3 got a little better and the Hardware box pulled me back in. V4 definitely sounds better than the older versions and now I think it is a plenty fine tool for room correction. Nice to not have a Bypass button and not have to run a plugin.

thecr4ne wrote: Fri Apr 11, 2025 10:36 am Not necessarily as pretty or all-inclusive as the ARC setup, but REW (it's free) is another route to the same results https://www.roomeqwizard.com/.
You can use a calibrated measurement microphone, and potentially another external DSP box or outboard eq to get you to the same place. I haven't done a cost comparison so I can't say which is cheaper, hardware wise, but the fundamental process is the same.

Kniferide wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 9:48 pm

cakes wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 8:21 pm

Do you use it with powered speakers?

I've used it with Yamaha NS10's, Fluid Audio FX80's, Adam T7V's with an Adam 7" sub, and now with PMC 6-02's. I think I've been using ARC for about 5 years? At first I got into the Update cycle and felt I couldn't afford to drop it and try something else, but V3 got a little better and the Hardware box pulled me back in. V4 definitely sounds better than the older versions and now I think it is a plenty fine tool for room correction. Nice to not have a Bypass button and not have to run a plugin.

cakes wrote: Fri Apr 11, 2025 11:17 am

thecr4ne wrote: Fri Apr 11, 2025 10:36 am Not necessarily as pretty or all-inclusive as the ARC setup, but REW (it's free) is another route to the same results https://www.roomeqwizard.com/.
You can use a calibrated measurement microphone, and potentially another external DSP box or outboard eq to get you to the same place. I haven't done a cost comparison so I can't say which is cheaper, hardware wise, but the fundamental process is the same.

Kniferide wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 9:48 pm

I've used it with Yamaha NS10's, Fluid Audio FX80's, Adam T7V's with an Adam 7" sub, and now with PMC 6-02's. I think I've been using ARC for about 5 years? At first I got into the Update cycle and felt I couldn't afford to drop it and try something else, but V3 got a little better and the Hardware box pulled me back in. V4 definitely sounds better than the older versions and now I think it is a plenty fine tool for room correction. Nice to not have a Bypass button and not have to run a plugin.

Yes, we've actually talked about Room Wizard on this thread. A ref microphone costs like $50. I'm not sure what other costs would be. Assuming you'd need some software in the middle for the frequency corrections?

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Apr 14, 2025 6:44 pm I bought the EA Ballou drum plugin and it's nice to be able to just say "okay this is my drum plugin, I exist in this world and nothing beyond it"

cakes wrote: Mon Apr 14, 2025 7:06 pm

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Apr 14, 2025 6:44 pm I bought the EA Ballou drum plugin and it's nice to be able to just say "okay this is my drum plugin, I exist in this world and nothing beyond it"

Oh nice. Which plug-in is that for?

Superior Drummer/EZ Drummer Alternative Pack is also EA. JSP says the timpanis are actually the Silkworm drums. I have this one, but haven't gotten to use it yet.

Fun!

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Apr 14, 2025 7:23 pm it's for Kontakt which I already had one of my synth plugins in so was fine with that (although kind of runs like a pig.) Guy I'm recording with here in San Diego (what up https://www.instagram.com/sunsickstudio/) is using the ballou drums so I got it so I can clean up at home