+1
And it might be obvious but make sure you do both sets of measurements exactly in the same pattern and sequence. Even a few inches off will make a difference in the image and response curve.

Im another satisfied user of ARC. I have read those KVR and GS threads where  the detractors flame ARC as snake oil, interestingly enough, one protagonist is a room treatment (panels and traps) vendor.

I noticed a big difference in my mixes, but I am planning on adding some room treatment  as a final touch.

BTW make sure you ARC owners have the latest version downloaded and installed.

When making the measurements don't forget that many of them will be made in the "Sweet Sppot" which is where you will be seated during mixing and mastering, but you and your chair and the measurement mic can't be in the same space at the same time. Also you need to press the go button for each measurement so obviously you have to enter the sweet spot area often.

Actually its been such a long time since I've done some measurements I think it might be time to refresh myself about what goes on.

No idea Paul!

I wish ARC could be used in a surround setup - but then of course, Sonar would not be able to use it...grrr....

Have been sitting on the fence about getting ARC for a while now but went ahead and bought it on Sunday.
Just got it today and in my excitement, I did a quick test of 15 measurements and OMG, what a great tool!!!
I'm now on the official ARC fan list!

This may be out in left field but does anyone know of a way that ARC can be loaded in a standalone host so I can send the main outs of Sonar into the standalone host of ARC and ARC into my sound device?
This way any sound off the internet, media players, etc. can run through ARC.
(Yes I know about foobar2000 and the vst capabilities of it)

So this thing is a VST plug?  How is it on CPU usage? 

Is it possible to run muliple instances of it on say.. different busses?

I don't think you can use a parametric to duplicate what ARC does, because I believe ARC also performs phase correction.  I'm not totally sure about that, since I don't know it's inner workings, but I do know that ARC has improved my mixes.

Before ARC, I'd take what I thought was a killer mix to a client, and it would sound wrong on their system. With ARC, my mixes sound like I expect them to on just about any system.

In a nutshell, ARC compensates for what your room is doing to the sound coming from your speakers. It truly lets you hear the music, and not what the room is doing to the music.

It's just a thing that sit on my master bus at all times. I've really forgotten all about it.

I've been running it since the day I installed it and did the first calibration and that was 18 months ago.

I don't see any reason why you can't run it on another bus going to some other amp and speakers but of course you'll have to calibrate it. Then agfain its been 18 months since I spent any time with ARC. It's sort of like my speakers they are just there and after I set them up I haven't had to make any changes.

If you're using itunes for wav or mp3 playback, try foobar2000.
There is a component available for foobar2000 that will host vst plugins so you can listen through ARC.

Update on using ARC (or any vst) in foobar2000 for mp3, wav, etc. playback.
I changed to this vst adapter for use with foobar2000 since the old one didn't work perfectly with the latest foobar2000 update and it's quite seamless.

Atsuko
Hi, Guys,
 
is there anyone who can answer to 2 questions I have about ARC System 2?
 
1) Why do we have to turn off ARC when we're in the process of mixing down?
 
2) To simply listen to a song, will we have to disable ARC or is it ok to have it turned on all the time, except when mixing down?
 
Thanks!
 
Ane Atsuko

1.  By "mixing down" do you mean exporting the audio?   ARC makes adjustments to what you hear in your room.  When ARC is ON it helps you make mixing decisions on your Sonar tracks that you would not otherwise do, becuase your room is not letting you hear the audio as it really is.   So, before exporting the audio, you need to turn ARC2 OFF, and the resulting audio will be (hopefully) a mix that translates better in other rooms.   For example, if your room is low in bass, without ARC you might be mixing the bass to high.   With ARC on, you will not be mixing that bass so high.   Turn ARC2 OFF before export, and the resulting master file should not sound too bassy in other rooms.   Having ARC2 ON, is just for you in your room at that time.
 
2.  Keep ARC2 ON whenevr you are mixing, from the very start of your project to the moment you "export", then turn it OFF (or bypass it).   (There is another great thread where it shows how to put ARC on its own Bus:   see http://forum.cakewalk.com/gain-staging-and-ARC2-m2959895.aspx)