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IK Multimedia offers a wide range of creative tools tailor-made for musicians and producers, from analog-modeled plug-ins to world-class studio monitors, and everything in between. The IK Multimedia ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ room correction systems combine the brand’s innovative ARC X monitor calibration software with a MEMS measurement microphone and a dedicated desktop hardware processor to optimize your speakers’ frequency response for your room, ensuring your mixes translate seamlessly to any playback system.
While the ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ share many key features, they differ in a few ways. The standard ARC Studio is designed for smaller studios with stereo setups, while the ARC Studio+ supports larger 2.1 systems and offers integrated subwoofer management. Read on to learn more about the IK Multimedia ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ room correction systems, and how they can streamline your workflow.
IK Multimedia ARC Studio and ARC Studio+
The IK Multimedia ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ are hardware-based room correction systems that help you mix more accurately by compensating for the acoustic problems in your listening environment.
Using advanced 3D modeling technology, IK’s award-winning ARC technology identifies frequency imbalances at the listening position. ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ measure and correct these issues, ensuring your work translates properly to any set of speakers.
This correction is applied to all of your computer’s audio output, not just your DAW, making it easy to quickly check reference mixes in other apps. Plus, since ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ are stand-alone processors, they can also be used with hardware and console-based studios.
Finally, ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ include more than 20 preset monitor profiles, allowing you to emulate the frequency response of classic monitors with the touch of a button.
What’s The Difference Between ARC Studio And ARC Studio+?
The biggest difference between ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ is that ARC Studio supports stereo monitoring systems, while ARC Studio+ features a dedicated subwoofer output and integrated subwoofer management for 2.1 playback systems.
While both models feature USB-C ports for connecting to a computer, ARC Studio+ also features optical S/PDIF inputs and outputs for connecting all of your favorite digital studio gear, and a dedicated measurement microphone input for improved performance.
Now that you know what IK Multimedia’s ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ systems are all about, let’s learn how they work.
How It Works
The first step in optimizing your playback system is analyzing your listening environment using the new ARC X software and included MEMS measurement microphone. Simply connect the microphone to your audio interface and engage phantom power.
The ARC software will provide step-by-step instructions for capturing a series of measurements across your listening position. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes and can be repeated for multiple pairs of monitors or listening positions.
Once the measurement process is complete, ARC Studio applies a correction curve to your studio monitors for latency-free optimization.
ARC Studio And ARC Studio+ Specs
Your monitoring chain is the last place you want to skimp on quality. That’s why IK outfitted ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ with mastering-grade converters to ensure total sonic accuracy and transparency. Oh, and did we mention they also include IK’s ultra-stable clocking technology for vanishingly low jitter?
ARC Studio and ARC Studio+ offer an impressive 120 dB(A) dynamic range (analog input to analog output) and a frequency response of .5 Hz to 40 kHz. That’s more than enough to support most popular studio monitors. Plus, both models feature a power-safe, relay-based hard bypass, so when it’s bypassed, it’s completely removed from your signal chain, and you’re protected from sudden power-related pops.
