ARC Studio Makes any studio monitor sound better
IK Multimedia releases ARC Studio, a unique out-of-the-box hardware acoustic room correction system that instantly upgrades traditional studio monitors with breathtaking results. The system includes a standalone hardware processor, new ARC 4 software for analyzing and correcting the listening environment with additional controls and a precision MEMS measurement microphone. For the first time in the recording industry, an affordable hardware processor can be used as a correction and calibration system for any type of studio without the limitations of a software-based system.
With the included microphone connected to an audio interface, the I Multimedia ARC 4 software guides the user through a quick process of measuring the acoustic response within his listening position. IK’s award-winning ARC technology uses this 3D snapshot to identify and fully correct any issues that degrade a monitor’s performance. ARC 4 stores the correction profile and loads it into the ARC Studio hardware processor, which sits invisibly between the interface and the monitors to apply it to all incoming signals.
ARC Studio hardware eliminates the need to insert the ARC 4 plug-in on a project’s master bus and maintains zero-latency monitoring setups. In addition, users can listen to their favorite streaming service with acoustically corrected monitoring without messing with system drivers. With ARC 4, profiles can be created and saved for any configuration, listening position or even monitor pair and quickly recalled or loaded to the processor at any time.
The ARC Studio hardware has a dynamic range of 120 dB(A) from analog input to analog output, a frequency response of 0.5 Hz to 40 kHz and an ultra-stable clock for extremely low jitter, providing total sonic transparency and accuracy found only in mastering-quality audio converters. The processor unit is connected to the studio and monitors via balanced XLRs with a current-safe relay-based hard bypass – so when this bypass is engaged, everything is protected from sudden current-related pops.
ARC Studio can be immediately reloaded with new settings using ARC 4 software. ARC 4 now has a monitor emulation function that transforms any monitor system into iconic studio monitors, plus popular hi-fi speakers and mobile devices, with breathtakingly faithful results, accurately reproducing the frequency and phase response of the originals. With more than 20 profiles in ARC 4, users can now use one pair of monitors to quickly test a mix on different reference systems, without ever having to go to the car or buy additional pairs of monitors
