Addition to the forced software registration: According to IK Multimedias EULA (as of May 2024) you can only transfer the license for the ARC Studio hardware to a new owner after 90 days of ownership. This effectively prevents you from selling the ARC Studio in less than 3 months from the point you registered it, as the new owner would not be able to register the product into their IK Account in that time frame. Art 9. Nr. 4: www.ikmultimedia.com/legal/index.php?R=license-agreement
@@JulianKrauseI'm sure you could find a way to make that topic interesting haha. One thing I'd love to see you do is review and evaluate a couple no name generic brand interfaces found on Amazon, eBay, etc. There are some interfaces literally named "2i2" basically trying to trick people into thinking it's a Focusrite product. I picked up a super weird interface called the Icon Pro Audio Duo 22 Live which has really impressive software, but I have no idea how the headphone amp, xlr inputs, noise floor compare to other interfaces.
On a more serious note, that was a complete no-go for me, from the start. I have a very bad room (because I'm just an amateur musician), and I would normally be interested in something like this, but I prefer stuff that's more reliable.
@@eklipseRomania I have a very bad room too, then there some options. Treatment for diffusion and reflection and bass traps, a nearfield speaker that has correction for placement close to walls and a front placement of the bass port. Then apply room correction, this can get pretty expensive. Cheaper solution is headphones corrected to the Harman target and a crosstalk plugin like can opener, or just get Slate VSX 😅
Now if only someone made this for headphones. The software solutions are unusably bad on windows. I just bodged my own solution using a stereo IR loader guitar pedal and a 20$ headphone amp, and it works!
How does this not have an integrated pre that is calibrated for use w the system like dBx does. If the preamp has coloration what do you do? I was looking forward to this to replace my aging dbx drive rack studio. Not so much now.
Hey, this is designed to be put between the output of your interface and your studio monitors. There is no preamp needed in this case, just run the line level signal from the interface into the ARC Studio and off you go.
@@JulianKrause still a calibrated preamp for the measurement would be nice. Again, dbx did it w the drive rack studio. Everything is internal. Was hoping they would have done the same. Using an external pre that is not calibrated to the system kind of defeats the purpose to me.
@@meistudiony Just to let you know, I looked around for some time and decided to go for the miniDSP DDRC-24 with Dirac and I'm very happy with it. The usb mic has calibration files with it and the results are superb. I use the second pair of outputs for correction of my headphone amp. Great little box, you can test Dirac Live for free for two weeks if you already own a measuring mic, I would definitely recommend testing it.
Having to essentially "activate" the hardware in the way you mention at 5:10 is an immediate fail for me. As you say this process essentially makes it a paperweight without the internet activation. This lack of trust in the consumer makes this a complete no-go IMHO.
I would not purchase ARC because of the registration process and the common practice of companies to change the terms and conditions of use later. Particularly, changes adding agreement to forced arbitration. If one does not agree to the changes, the company locks one out of updates and/or services. It begs the question have we purchased the item or not? The points you raised regarding the ARC makes me wonder about design decisions made by IK. For instance, the notorious small size barrel jack for the power supply connection that can fail with safe connection and even fall out of the socket on devices with the slightest cable movement. Wattage use is of concern for a modern device, it is like the behaviour of a vintage Class A iron transformer amp that continually draws full power even when no audio is present. Great review as per usual, Julian.
Giving a company all your personal data which they may or may not sell or store insecurely just to use a product that you already paid for is also an unnecessary risk to the consumer. We know a lot of companies like to assume that purchasing a product is 'consenting' to have your data used how they like until proven otherwise and sometimes like to deny service after opting out even after you've already 'bought' the product. Standing against this kind of practice is the best way to deter it from becoming the norm more than it already has no matter how good the product may be.
NO !!! to IK Multimedia forced registration policy and poor support + extra payment when selling hardware on the secondary market. It is a retrograde unfriendly policy. This company will fail if it doesn’t change their policy. Thanks for the honest review Julian
It's not that hard, IK.... Make the software unlock by connecting the hardware. It's not rocket science, all the technology required already exists. Geesh.
Currently YT is flooded with ARC videos. So it’s always good to see when Julian does a competent, un-influenced review. On this note: isn‘t it funny when other reviewers say „no money changed hand“ when they got the device for free? A couple of points. 1. this looks like a useful tool as it takes away some of the headaches of software-only solutions. 2. I would expect a better microphone at this price point 3. no standby is totally out of touch. I am against excessive regulation but this will be needed if companies ignore the sign o‘ the times. 4. I like the idea of audio interface manufactures integrating room correction.
If the IK downloader “needs” the standard download folder, it is already digging the OS API for %x% variables. It shouldn’t. The forced registration is a graft, normalised by prevalence. It shouldn’t. Rent is not always “money”, it may well be information of any kind. That means companies (SoMe, search, media, music…) should “pay” their users for it, and disclose what and why. They don’t. Capitalism is fine if we can just buy things, and own or second-hand sell them. If or when we can’t (EULA) - it’s not even capitalism, is it…? 🤓
I'm still amazed in this age of dirt cheap DSP power, that I still can't buy a cheap audio interface that has hardware DSP room correction. Plenty of cheap units with eq and dynamics and effects on the inputs, which I don't need cause I do all that in my DAW, but basically nothing with a universal hardware EQ on the outputs, that would cover output from all applications, with no need for plugins and software virtual audio device drivers and the problems that go with that, and no extra latency going from an interface to an external unit and then to the speakers through multiple sets of AD/DA conversion and buffers. Why oh why is it so hard?
Based on your report, I wouldn’t want this thing free. Price is not at the top of my list for buying decisions. Thank you for your fair and honest review, Julian.
What about phase correction, and level correction between right and left speakers ?! Stuff we find in like Sonarworks Soundid. Does the Arc correct that too, or only the frequency response ?!
Great review! Would love to see a sound comparison with Sonarworks SoundID Reference. IIRC Sonarwork's target curve is somewhat close to the Harman target in all but treble (inferring from the correction applied to the AKG K371 'phones), so maybe their "flat" curve for monitors is close as well!
Thank you for the video. I've noticed that the ARC Studio graph's lower end is 20 Hz. The IK Multimedia page states 120db(A) and a range from 0.5Hz to 40kHz. Is the processing only from 20Hz upwards ? I was thinking of changing my sub room correction with this, but if its lower end is 20 Hz its pretty much useless for me. The 3.5mm barrel jack without any form of locking like the 5.5mm with the 1/4 turn lock have is a joke. 50€ for this "measurement mic" also a joke.
Can you maybe explain more why you think we shouldnt aim for a flat curve? Or did you just mean for headphones (in which case the Harmann curve is obviously better, but for speakers I would have thought flat is the ideal one).
There is also a Harman speaker target, some people like to calibrate to that, others use a flat curve. You can try both and listen to which one you prefer. Personally I aim for the Harman target.
@@Studio22mix how though, that doesn't make sense. I thought the entire point of harman curves is to replicate the sound of flat speakers on other listening devices.
Thanks Julian! Looking for a hardware EQing solution myself. The ARC will certainly do a good job, but then a additional box on the desktop ... I wonder if there are some audio interfaces that have built in DSP EQ for the monitor out path?
I'm intending to use ARC4 software only (no rig) for live VST playing (no DAW though), does the ARC4 software add much latency besides sound interface¿? Thanks
Thumbs down to IK Multimedia and ARC Studio. Instructions (what instructions??) were a mystery. Their online registration & activation process is a bloody nightmare!! After a week of constant failures, I gave up in frustration and returned the product... and I'm NOT sorry.
The whole IK Multimedia software download and registration is a real pain and the reason I never used their software. Having said that, I do think this product is exactly what I was looking for in my home studio.
Big thumbs up but I stopped watching at 6:12. Already too much pain for me to consider the investment. Hopefully ARC Studio will look at your video seriously and up their game. You always provide very good feedback to vendors. Keep it up!
In a PC environment I think PEACE / APO is going to provide a better result for no money. ARC needs to work on their software/firmware to provide more robust eq.
Your advice on what USB port to use is not ideal. These days its not the shape of the port - its how its connected in the machine. Generally you want your audio rate gear connected to the USB ports that are part of the CPU, control rate (MIDI) gear downstream on a USB 2 hub from the chipset (normally part of the motherboard)
Yes the registration is a minor inconvenience and...just why? But that said so many whiny 'never buy' edgelords just because of that? I get the feeling the vast majority of you wouldn't buy it even if you didn't have to register.
It's not just IK Multimedia, but Arturia, Kontakt, Steinberg and perhaps many other companies are also requiring registered account and internet connection to download and manange their so software. It's all annoying and especially so users not having ideal connections to their servers. Hope this practice in the industry will change soon.
Clearly not worth the cost, and total agreement that forced registration for accessing software needed for using a hardware product (like forced upgrades and subscription softwares) is inexcusably user abusive -- a definite deal breaker and one of the many reasons I never run Windows any any of my systems. Sincere thanks for the evaluation, none the less.
I'm kinda puzzled why IK chose not to integrate a basic audio interface, or why they included a mic, yet no onboard mic input. anyone who spent more than $500 on speakers could benefit from room correction, and they aren't all content producers with Apogee Duets on their desk already. rooting for them to improve in the next one.
Yeah, the forced registration is a complete showstopper. I've been wanting a device like this for years, was happy to see it, but I will absolutely not pay for hardware that forces me to register for whatever bullshit reason.
That forced registration is a deal breaker for me. I was planning to buy one but not any more. Sadly, due to this, one day it will just become a paper weight, so for me not worth the money any more.
There is a major issue that many producers and sound engineers forget when they use $3k reference monitors and room correction when mixing: that is not the environment the consumer will be in when listening to the mix. I can't tell you how many "professional" recordings i have heard on my car stereo & home stereo only sounded good on a higher end sound system. most music isn't mixed for the consumer environment, though that is what is expected in the pristine, acoustically correct room of the engineer.
In my experience, full-time audio engineers are pretty judicious about a) having well-tuned speakers/room/equipment in order to have the best shot at a mix that translates as widely as possible, and b) keeping an alternate set or two of monitors connected so that you can 2x check things on more challenging equipment. There's no way to craft a mix that is going to sound perfect on AirPods, and nearfields, and soundbars of dubious quality, and random car stereo, a mono Sonos, and someone's set of Cerwin Vegas connected to a 25-year old Onkyo. The only thing you can do is go for a mix that can represent what the artist wants as well as possible on as many kinds of gear possible. Since you can't account for the enormous differences between various low-end gear, you have to presume a baseline quality of... something... and go from there. For example, there's no way to mix for a wide audience AND make sure that guy who has donut hole between 90hz and 250hz on his 2.1 system also has a great listening experience. Companies like Slate make things like the VSX headphone system that theoretically allows you to check you mix in a car, earbuds, Abbey Rd, etc. Even if you believe the simulations, your mix is going to suck on at least one of the scenarios... So we have to rely on the adaptability of the ear in those cases.
You do such a good job of analyzing so many considerations for the devices you review. It never fails that you'll bring up some aspect about a potential purchase that I might not have ever considered or maybe hadn't thought of how significant it was. Those little insights are peppered throughout leaving us much more informed than so many other reviewers. Your reviews are always great, I really enjoy them. Thanks!
Awesome video as usual. I would like you to try with an UMIK 1 or 2. I tried here (yes I provided the text file from my UMIK2) and the measurement results were not like the MEMS. (Tried with the 7 step on each mic just to try). You have better knowledge than me to tell how good it is if you try with these mics.
IK multimedia say that USB mics are not supported with this, but I have seen someone say that they got a UMIK working by using Flex ASIO. How did you get it working?
I have no issue with it being a MEMS mic, the issue is that the housing is out of very cheap plastic and the price of this mic alone is not competitive compared to better measurement mics.
Disappointed. I was hoping for a solution to add correction for my hearing loss as well as the room correction. I guess I am not the only musician out there having at least a little dip in the high frequencies. (I love the iPhones built in correction for hearing loss.)
Everyone older than say 20 years suffers from hearing loss in the high frequencies, it’s natural degradation. I think using reference tracks is the best way to avoid wrong mixing decisions. My ears are not so good either because of my age and the damage they took over the years but using reference tracks sure helps me a lot to not overcompensate the lacking frequencies. If you just want to listen to music then I would suggest a parametric equalizer 😊
@@Studio22mix But what if I manage better than the reference track? 😉 An eq would need to be placed after the room correction, so therefore i think including a post correction hearing correction eq would be a relevant feature.
@@pcAagenesyou could apply an eq yourself and could compensate for the frequencies your missing out on. I guess if you let a professional test your ears you can ask them the curves or maybe a hearing aid can help you with that.
Can I use a regular, non-measurement microphone instead of that plastic toy (IK Multimedia offers the Arc Studio on their website for 50€ off without the microphone)? Do you think a better microphone like the Audix-TM1 would improve results?
All measuring microphones are designed the same way, no coloration of the sound with flat responses. If you measure a lot like different venues and use it on the road a sturdier mic will be better but for once in a time use you won’t need that imo.
I got IK’s total studio when it was on sale last year for 200 US. It came with arc 3 and I’m finally getting around to using it. I need a mic and I was going to get the IK mic second hand. Should I be looking at other mics? Edit: I’d also like to say for anyone looking into getting any IK software. It’s ok but it can be a pain to use. When I first did installs it would once a week tell me that I didn’t have a license. That stopped with one of the product mangers updates. If you get anything with a sound library and don’t download something with in I believe 6 months you will have to pay for a download ticket that is like $10. Having the experience I have now I would still buy total studio for $200 but not for the regular price. I would not pay anymore than $100 for any smaller bundle that is full. Like buying T-Racks for $80 would be ok but buying one single compressor plugin for $100 would be a terrible idea.
Damn I didn't know about the forced registration thing. I was ready to pull the trigger on this but honestly you did get me thinking about either interfaces or speakers themselves simply integrating correction. (I have the original, non-connectable Neumanns right now but I know the newer ones have their own correction solution built in which is cool.) And definitely the idea of someone having to pay AGAIN if I decide to sell the unit down the road? Absolutely not. That's a real shame because the hardware box was a big selling point over Sonarworks but if I don't have an internet connection, then I don't get what I paid for? Nope.
As a musician and geek, one of my pet peeves is when hardware/software companies make using their products a chore. It ALWAYS tells me they did not likely have ANYONE try out the finalized products in the real world before delivering it. This is a cost saving measure that elicits endless frustrations to the user base. For the opposite experience, when I setup SimpliSafe home security at my house, the hardware and software took a total of 10 minutes to setup and I required NO technical know how to set it up. That shows SimpliSafe tested EVERY permutation of issues that the user would run into that would require a phone call to home base. The ARC seems like the opposite.
In my experience room correction is only good at frequencies below 1000 Hz or so: I run Audissey built into my Denon receiver, if I let it correct full range measurements look great, but the audio is unbearably bright. Audissey is great for integrating subwoofers though.
Do you know if this is acting like an AD/DA device by doing some sort of conversion? I talked to IK Multimedia, and they said it is NOT! I use all Lynx AD/DA devices and DO NOT want some crappy conversion going on afterwards! When I read the box, it seems it is doing something, as it is talking about the 120db Dynamic Range etc... What's up with this? I asked about this after they replied to my email and said it is NOT converting, with a follow-up question of why it is saying the 120db Dynamic Range info, and they stop responding! What is going on here?
Please check 03:00 in the video, there I go over the conversion and even show the chips that are used in the AD/DA conversion. So yes, when the correction is turned on, the audio is converted. This is necessary to make the corrections in the audio. That said, it's a high end conversion and you will not hear the additional AD/DA. But if you don't want additional AD/DA in your signal chain, there is probably no other choice then to run the audio from your Lynx output directly to your monitors.
@JulianKrause awww, yeah I figured. They flat out told me NO it is not doing conversion. I've had my ARC since February but have not hooked it up, only mounted it under my desk. I'm going to do some more looking into it to see if it's still worth it or not. Thnx for the reply.
Hey Julian - have you seen that Icon released an interface with Harrison (the 32Ci)? - it looks really promising on the paper but would love to see you do your magic with it.
Julian, my understanding is the "Harmon Curve" was designed mainly for headphone listening. I'm not sure if that would necessarily be advantageous through studio monitors? The LAST thing I'd want would be a lack of mids in the area of vocals, and perhaps snare.y not having a bit flatter curve for mixing and mastering, there is always a chance of overcompensating. From what I've gathered, as you pointed out, the so called corrected room somehow lacks some bottom, with slightly "crispy" higher frequencies. That said, for a couple of reasons, I'm looking at an alternative for my current go to, Sonarworks Reference ID. Yours is an excellent presentation, with much information to ponder. Thanks much.
Keep in mind, that there are multiple Harman curves. As you mentiond, there is one for headphone but there is also one called "subjectively-preferred steady-state room curve" if you want to have something to search for :)
I'm still stuck with my E MU sound card from the mid 00's, which has a DSP for hardware effects that can be applied anywhere in the signal chain. Apart from EQ on the output, I am using a hair of reverb and even the compressor can be useful for listening sessions at very low volumes deep into the night, while everybody's sleeping. It baffles me that modern interfaces not only lack these features, but also, every time I ask somebody if they know of a unit that features hardware EQ on the output, I am told that I shouldn't even require such a thing. As if studio monitors and our listening environments (also called homes) are absolutely perfect and there shouldn't be anything to compensate for. So while this one still does not do everything I'm looking for, at least it seems to steer things into the right direction of showing what we're missing for a long time.
Picked up one of these the day it was released with a $100 discount on Amazon (not sure how I managed that one) - testing was quick and results were (WOW). Really wish it had a standby or off switch. Not having the Harman curve was very strange but east to create a custom setting.
Usable - yes - but with much worse noise/distortion performance, and you'd have to make all corrections manually. There's software packages to help you with that, but they all take quite a bit of knowledge/reading up to use. If you use the 4x4mini in a preamp in-out loop (or somewhere before the main volume control of your system) you'd probably be fine.
@@AJBtheSuede Thanks for the insights. It would be between my interface and my powered monitors. But that might be a bad idea? Doing things manually is fine, I'm a drummer so I'm used to doing very manual adjustments to things :D
@@sortebill Depending on what routing you do otherwise in your interface, you might be better off buying something like a miniDSP 2x4 HD then... Putting an ARC/4x4mini after your current interface makes your signal chain: source-DAC-cable-ADC-processing-DAC-speaker, and if you use the source as main vol, EVERYTHING in that chain puts their max errors straight to the speaker elements at max gain. A miniDSP chain would be source-processing-DAC-speaker (if you use digital in on the miniDSP), so only one DAC conversion. For very good equipment, multiple ADC-DAC roundtrips can be ok, but especially with low budget, noisier ADC/DACs you should avoid it... It also increases the risk for ground loops (speaker hum)
@@AJBtheSuede So I just wanna do room correction for my momitors when using my computer. But I need it to work with asio because i use it for making music.. My interface is an ssl 12 so no digital output sadly. Only balanced jacks.. So im looking for either a software solution or a dsp solution that does balanced. I have an old minidsp but its unbalanced rca comnectors.
Excellent review, as usual, Julian. And I totally agree that these obligations to have to enter your details in order to download the software are extremely annoying and I encourage customers to enter fake details so that their database becomes completely useless.
Is it of any interest to select one of the listed speakers at 07:19 while choosing a correction name ? Or is it only a visual avatar for the parameters ?
very entry level piece of gear, you don want to add an extra AD/DA in your signal path. if you dont have digital in/out on your interface and monitors assuming you have digital monitors you better use something like EQapo or sonarworks.
An Extra AD/DA in the signal path is no big deal. Converters these days recreate waves nearly perfectly. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UqiBJbREUgU.html
Julian it was a great video, again! Have you tried measuring back the corrected sound? After all, it is an external DSP EQ box, although I don't understand how in linear phase mode the delay can be 44.1ms, which contradicts the fact that it is a DSP. What kind of EQ is it using then?
Linear phase EQs always have latency. All EQs intoduce phase shifting, which in minimum phase EQs only happens around the processed frequencies, but with linear phase EQs happens equally on all frequencies. This is what creates the latency.
Personally I would never leave my full digital speaker management system (phase perfect XO, per-driver FIR correction, full system house presets and then room correction on top), but the subscription-style software registration would probably top me from recommending the ARC even to a casual listener asking for a room correction module. I'd recommend something with Dirac/Audessey even at four times the price. BTW, my NUC endpoint draws on average 11W while processing 6+2 frequency channels with full FIR control and about 1W on PL6 ("sleep") while waiting for input signal.
Boosting the valley’s will cause the problem to shift to different areas. The best way to solve this is with acoustic panels and bass traps and speaker placement. It’s much better to cut frequencies when applying correction.
