Sonarworks Vs. ARC

2017/03/24 16:36:17

mikedocy

I own ARC and have enjoyed using it over the years but the Sonarworks bundle is making me consider replacing ARC.
It Calibrates your room and speakers (like ARC), it also has headphone calibration (ARC doe not), and for extra $, has a new software that will route your internet audio through the Sonarworks calibration software (ARC does not). The price for the speaker/headphone/microphone bundle is decent, and it includes an individually calibrated microphone.

I will get the Sonarworks demo and try it myself, but in the meantime...
Anyone prefer Arc over Sonarworks for any technical reasons?
Do they both calibrate your speakers about the same, or do you prefer the results of one over the other?

2017/03/24 16:54:54

BobF

ARC2 is far superior because that's what I invested in

Their new gadget is cool, but I found VB Audio + PB2 to be painless to set up.

If I ever decide to go with headphone calibration, I'll prolly switch unless ARC2 adds that bit of it.

2017/03/24 17:08:58

smallstonefan

I had ARC but sold it once I tried Sonarworks - there was a huge difference between the two in my experience...

2017/03/24 17:48:39

Slugbaby

I've never tried ARC, but am pretty happy with the Sonarworks Headphone Calibration.
I'm not lucky enough to have monitors, if I did I'd buy their Room Calibration too.

2017/03/27 10:36:01

Hatstand

+ for Sonarworks here, I have the headphone calibration and bought the mic. I then downloaded the speaker calibration to eq the room and saved the profile. Did the room eq a few times to make sure the results were consistent. I also have the new systemwide add-on which comes in handy for listening to streaming audio, reference tracks etc.
The first thing to get used to is listening to sounds flat but once your ears adjust it is invaluable for ensuring the end result does not have erroneous artifacts (unless that is what you are aiming for).