IK Multimedia ARC Studio & ARC 4 – Room Correction Done Right?
4,6 / 5,0 | 
IK Multimedia ARC Studio · Source: IK Multimedia
IK Multimedia ARC 4 Analysis · Source: IK Multimedia
IK Multimedia ARC 4 Correction · Source: IK Multimedia
IK Multimedia ARC Studio · Source: IK Multimedia
IK Multimedia ARC 4 Correction · Source: IK Multimedia
IK Multimedia ARC 4 Speaker Emulations · Source: IK Multimedia
IK Multimedia ARC Studio & MEMS Mic · Source: IK Multimedia
IK Multimedia’s new ARC Studio hardware and ARC 4 software might be setting a new benchmark for room correction software. Are the days of multiple monitors and plugins for ARC gone?
Do you remember seeing pictures of studio control rooms with a variety of speakers on top of the console? A pair of Yamaha NS-10‘s. A single Auratone Sound Cube dead centre? It was all well and good if your mix sounded amazing through the control room’s main speaker rig, but that was never representative of how the music would be heard outside of the studio.
In The Good Old Days
Many artists or producers would finish a mix, dub it to a cassette and then jump in their car to see how well it sounded there. If it sounded good in your Ford Sierra, you knew you had nailed it. Today, we have so many listening mediums of which some are good, some are great and some are downright awful. I mean, what is it with young people listening to music through their mobile phones? (waves fist at sky!)
So how does the music producer on a budget ensure their mixes will sound good on an iPhone and a well-appointed HiFi? The answer is room correction software and speaker modelling. IK Multimedia have just made that even easier to do than ever before.
IK Multimedia ARC Studio to the Rescue
ARC Studio is a hardware solution. All of the processing is done, latency-free, in a separate box. The benefit of this is that you no longer have to insert an ARC plugin within your DAW environment. Using the supplied ARC 4 Analysis software and ARC microphone, you measure your room’s environment.
The software emits a series of audio signals and the microphone, placed in the position that your head normally resides at your desk, measures the room’s responses to these sounds. Using this data, it is uploaded to your ARC Studio. This is where the magic happens.
All in the Box
Now that the box knows the sonic characteristics of your room, it can make corrections to ensure the most accurate response. Furthermore, the software has a range of virtual speaker models. Drop down the list and choose from a range of speakers to hear what your mix sounds like. Want to know what your mix sounds like on a flat screen TV? Check. Smartphone? Check. Floor-standing HiFi speakers? Check. There are also a ton of well-known studio monitors for you to choose from.
Once you’ve got everything set, just simply upload the profile to your ARC Studio and that’s it. The ARC Studio sits in between your audio interface outputs and monitors using the XLR connections on the rear. Data is transferred to the unit via a USB-C connection and the unit is mains powered.
The Verdict?
The results are astounding with zero CPU hit as the hardware does all the heavy lifting. I’ve been testing this for some time and my little IK Multimedia iLoud’s, impressive in their own right, have never sounded better.
More Information
IK Multimedia’s ARC Studio is available now for just €349 EUR which includes the hardware processor, MEMS microphone and ARC 4 correction software. The ARC 4 correction software with the MEMS mic is available separately for €229 EUR.
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