Game changer for dialing presets!

[Pagzy]

Here ya go mate, my DBX VENU360 to CLR flat EQ calibration IR attached!

For a bit of info the VENU360 calibration was taken with two active CLR Neo MkII's, about 2.8m apart (a bit over 9ft), on speaker stands with the coaxial tweeter approximately 1.75m high (nearly 6ft), (they are close to some walls so you might have some different bass response, you could tweak to taste though). I used a calibrated Sonarworks mic the same distance out in front of the speakers as they are apart, and again a third of the way closer as per the VENU360's AutoEQ wizard. I can't remember if I did the 3rd and 4th position. I also added the calibration curve of the mic because the AutoEQ would have flattened that out as well.

Hope it works for you or someone out there!

Hey @warlockII or anyone else trying the IR I posted above, I had a loud rehearsal on the weekend and one preset in particular started maxxing out the CLR with too much bass, all the others were fine though. The IR was originally going to my CLR's and a sub with a crossover set to 100Hz 12dB Linkwitz Riley type curve. So if you have too much bass response at loud volumes add a 100Hz low cut with a 12dB curve in a PEQ or try flicking the sub switch on the back of your CLR (this is set at 120Hz though). I'll make another IR that includes this cut soon.

 

[warlockII]

Hey @warlockII or anyone else trying the IR I posted above, I had a loud rehearsal on the weekend and one preset in particular started maxxing out the CLR with too much bass, all the others were fine though. The IR was originally going to my CLR's and a sub with a crossover set to 100Hz 12dB Linkwitz Riley type curve. So if you have too much bass response at loud volumes add a 100Hz low cut with a 12dB curve in a PEQ or try flicking the sub switch on the back of your CLR (this is set at 120Hz though). I'll make another IR that includes this cut soon.

I just got back in town. I'll upload it today and take it for a spin.

 

[Andy Eagle]

So there’s hope for my Headrush speakers ?

Only landfill .

 

[hensh!n_vfs]

So I just set this up with my monitors over the weekend and the difference is night and day. Even between Sonarworks which is admittedly software only, I never realized how much of the sonic spectrum was missing due to my monitoring setup and room acoustics. It's kind of like hearing everything for the first time. With that being said, the things I mixed prior still held up very well. Perhaps the takeaway is if your fundamentals and methodology are strong, your material will sound good regardless. But the Arc will save you a lot of time and guesswork.

 

[Dirty145]

So I just set this up with my monitors over the weekend and the difference is night and day. Even between Sonarworks which is admittedly software only, I never realized how much of the sonic spectrum was missing due to my monitoring setup and room acoustics. It's kind of like hearing everything for the first time. With that being said, the things I mixed prior still held up very well. Perhaps the takeaway is if your fundamentals and methodology are strong, your material will sound good regardless. But the Arc will save you a lot of time and guesswork.

My experience was much the same!! Glad you are enjoying it as well.

 

[TheRedDevil]

i have exactly that issue in my current room , there's a huge boost around 130hz (i think in part due to the big desk i have) , and there's some dips below 100hz , i ended up using REW and using EQ to fix that issue , it's a small cube style room with windows as well which doesn't help,
i always leave the door open too, otherwise that build up is even worse

i also mix/produce retrowave style electronic music, so adding a bit of room treatment definitely helped as well, but the huge resonance from the desk, is still the main issue, which is what EQ is correcting for , i'd say it definitely helps in dialing in tones for playing out live etc..
and it also makes a really nice bit of difference to the overall listening experience of music etc..in said room

if money is a concern, REW software is free, you can buy a measuring mic for under 50 euros (i use a Behringer ECM8000) just need a stand to go with it, and then you can apply EQ via your DAW and if you like with EQO for system wide

Julian Krause made a really good video on how to do it, in case anyone is interested

Thank you. That video helps a lot. Do you have an extra XLR-MIC-Preamp to connect the Mic with the PC or Axe FX? I like the Mic in the video incl. USB Interface but I also prefer a cheaper one incl.calibration file. Is it possible to connect your mic to AXE FX directly? I don't think so.

 

[Paul Bradshaw]

Thank you. That video helps a lot. Do you have an extra XLR-MIC-Preamp to connect the Mic with the PC or Axe FX? I like the Mic in the video incl. USB Interface but I also prefer a cheaper one incl.calibration file. Is it possible to connect your mic to AXE FX directly? I don't think so.

i don't think you can connect your mic to the axe fx to do the calibration

i used the behringer mic connected via XLR to my audio interface

if you don't have an audio interface with XLR, i think there are USB microphones that can be used as well

 

[TheRedDevil]

I read a bit about these mics. It's useless because also the calibration files are not correct or too extreme. Calibrating stereo also doesn't work or just sound coming from front. The mics also don't support the required frequency band. Well, anyone who measures much, measures crap I thing you need a lot of experience and very good material.

 

[GlennO]

Is it possible to connect your mic to AXE FX directly?

There's no reason why not. The mic pre to use for measurement isn't particularly important.

I've been using Arc Studio this week and I find it liberating to know there's no need to run any computer software to perform the correction. At the same time, the UI in the app is really nice for doing measurements or altering the correction. I'd like to see a wider selection of virtual listening environments, for example a car. Maybe there will be updates for that.

 

[TheRedDevil]

But phantom voltage is needed, or? In Axe FX manual a mic preamp is always shown.

 

[GlennO]

But phantom voltage is needed, or? In Axe FX manual a mic preamp is always shown.

Yes, the reference mic that comes with Arc Studio requires phantom power, so if you want to use it with an Axe-FX you'd need a cable adapter and a phantom power supply (Rolls makes one).

 

[weird guitar person]

Somebody really needs to combine a room correction dsp module like this with an audio interface to avoid the extra a/d/a conversions.

Tl,dr, on posts since. I'll generally prefer separate units connectable via digital I/O. If this works with ultra low latency and USB, then I suppose your aggregate solution would suffice. I've a hard time beating the latency on my primary interface.

 

[unFILTERed]

Sort of...there are others available too, including from IK and Adam, where the monitors include room correction, but those lock you into a monitor and in some cases don't even have digital input. If the room correction could be built into an audio interface it would both avoid the extra a/d/a conversion and would allow you to use the studio monitors of your choice. I'm sure somebody will make one eventually. IK is probably already working on such a thing.

you would need measurement/correction for each speaker set.

 

[GlennO]

you would need measurement/correction for each speaker set.

That's how room correction works. You measure for a specific set of speakers in a specific room at a specific listening position. If you have multiple sets of speakers, you measure each set and select the appropriate correction for whichever set is in use.

 

[unFILTERed]

That's how room correction works. You measure for a specific set of speakers in a specific room at a specific listening position. If you have multiple sets of speakers, you measure each set and select the appropriate correction for whichever set is in use.

I own Neumann KH710 Sub in my studio since 3 years or so. It has the onboard dsp room correction which you run with an app/software. As you mentioned latency becomes an issue when you add digital devices in the chain. But in my case, from axe fx to the speaker all my connections are digital. So there is no extra stage of conversion. Maybe you have this option also with Arc Studio and your monitors?

 

[cnaufel]

So I just took delivery of this unit and what a difference. Initially, I thought it was only for studio monitors, but it can be used for FRFR systems as well. I’m using it with my QSC 12.2. Took about 10 minutes to do the readings and I was ready to rock. I run my fractal into the box and then the box into my QSC. Turn on the correction and it was night and day. Basically takes the room out of the equation and the bonus is that you don’t need to be in a DAW or use software to apply the correction. I highly recommend checking this out!

That was an amazing tip! I am an old Fractal user and was never able to use the presets “as is”. Just bought the ARC STUDIO and implemented it. I used an exotic mix of an Roland JC-40 amp in the left side and a FRFR Alto speaker on the right side. After doing the measurements with this setup and applying the correction curves to the ARC unit the result was OUTSTANDING!! Never ever get such a HUGE sound with minimal to no adjustments. The blankets over the speaker were removed. I really endorse the use of such powerful tool!

 

[Dr No]

Hi, looks very interesting to me. Would the arc also work in different situations than studio room with studio monitors? In my case, I am curious whether this product would help me to flatten my redsound mf10 speakers in our rehearsal space, positioned close to the wall (they sound great, but are not flat and miss high end, compared to the dynacord axm 12a, which I also have; I don't trust my presets sounding good through foh, when dialing them in on the mf10).

Or will it only do more harm than good and is it wiser to just use some eq instead? (I found suggestions in this forum for that as well; inceasing high frequencies definitely improves fender clean sounds).

Thanks!

 

[Jarick]

I got one of these over a week ago and it's fantastic. Really easy to set up and use (once you figure out which apps it tells you to open). Sonically it was night and day for both my Yamaha HS8 and Genelec 8020 speakers. Being able to see the frequency response in the room is really helpful. Really wish I had one of these a long time ago.

It does add a tiny bit of latency, maybe a couple ms worth. It's not a major issue but it's there. I will say having a hardware device to do correction is so much better for me than software (especially Sonarworks which was a complete buggy useless nightmare).

It's not a replacement for proper room treatment and speaker positioning. I'm planning to build some panels and bass traps and will be able to measure the before and after effects. Also helping me to experiment with speaker placement for optimum sound.

Also this is really intended for basically studio use, if you're sitting in one spot with studio monitors. If you move a couple feet in any direction it's probably going to sound worse than if you didn't use correction. In that case you would want to just use EQ as well. I would suggest if you can, get a measurement microphone (USB powered if you don't have an interface) and free software like Room EQ Wizard which will help you measure the room to figure out what to do.

 

[Dr No]

Thanks! I will have a look at REW and look for a measurement mic. Eq-ing seems then the way to go, to prevent risk of overfitting (though I understood with arc studio there are options to apply less granular, more crude corrections). Regarding latency, I think it should be possible to shoot an IR of the arc studio with the correction applied, by putting it in the loop of axe fx (similar as capturing a factory cab, see the wiki). Then replacing the hardware of arc studio by loading the ir in the ir player within the axe fx should eliminate the additional latency.

 

[GlennO]

Also this is really intended for basically studio use, if you're sitting in one spot with studio monitors. If you move a couple feet in any direction it's probably going to sound worse than if you didn't use correction. In that case you would want to just use EQ as well.

If you have multiple listening positions, you can do a measurement for each position, then load the appropriate one depending on where you're sitting.