IK Multimedia ARC Studio: What is it?
Any space will have a ‘sound’ of its own. This is dictated by size, the materials used on the floors and walls, the ceiling height and even the amount of ‘stuff’ in the room. While your monitor speakers might be touted as flat frequency, all of these factors could be colouring the sound that reaches your ears.
Enter room correction. While we’d advocate the first step being acoustic room treatment, with baffles or foam, there are also some interesting software solutions which, through measurement, calibration and compensation, attempt to mitigate these external factors and provide as close-to-flat frequency response as it’s possible to create. You can then produce, mix and master safe in the knowledge that any peaks and troughs you’re hearing are from the mix itself, not the room.
ARC Studio, from IK Multimedia, offers a neat solution. The package includes a calibration mic, software running IK’s proprietary correction algorithms and a hardware box onto which you load your saved profiles of corrected rooms/speakers. Once the profiles are created, you can pack away the mic and feasibly never need to reload the software app again.
IK Multimedia ARC Studio: Performance and verdict
Setting up is straightforward and, dare we say it, fun. An intuitive wizard in the software app guides you through the process, which starts with setting the calibration mic at different locations and heights. It then plays a series of test tones, which measure and analyse the frequency response of the room, and your speakers, creating a personalised profile with everything nicely levelled off.
Remember the goal here is accuracy – this isn’t a device you’ll use to enhance your mixes, nor will it magically transform an inexpensive set of speakers to pro-level. It will, however, ensure the mix you’re hearing is consistent from one listening environment to another.
Once your room has been analysed, you can see visually where any problem areas reside. The app will try to resolve these automatically, though an edit function allows you, within reason, to manually tweak specific areas along the frequency spectrum. We found this offered only broad-brush tweaks, but we did welcome its inclusion.
With your correction profile created, you simply need to transfer this over to the ARC Studio hardware box via USB. We loved this, because once your profile is synced to the box, you don’t require any drivers or CPU-hogging plugins within your DAW, and there is zero latency. You send the output from your audio interface into the ARC Studio hardware box, and from there out to your speakers. All processing or correction is carried out within the box itself. It’s the ultimate set-and-forget device.
As with all of IK’s gear, the user experience is slick and well thought out. The results speak for themselves too, delivering clarity and accuracy which means you can mix your tracks with confidence. When you consider that advanced room correction systems can run into the thousands, this sub-£300 package becomes a very attractive proposition indeed, and an easy one to recommend.
MusicRadar verdict: One of the most innovative solutions we’ve seen for recording perfectionists, all for under £300 as well. Highly recommended.
IK Multimedia ARC Studio: The web says
"IK Multimedia's ARC Studio offers a bridge to achieving studio-grade sound without needing a high-end, acoustically-treated room. It's a testament to the idea that extraordinary music can be made anywhere with the right tools."
Magnetic Magazine
IK Multimedia ARC Studio: Hands-on demos
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DJcityTV
Sweetwater
Audio Sorcerer
IK Multimedia ARC Studio: Specifications
- KEY FEATURES: Sampling rate: 96 kHz Audio resolution: 24-bit Internal processing resolution: 32-bit float Frequency Response: 2Hz-45.0 kHz Dynamic Range: 120dB.
- DIMENSIONS: 144mm x 120mm x 45mm.
- WEIGHT: 465g.
- CONTACT: IK Multimedia
