Anthem D2/D2v/AVM50/AVM50v/ARC1 tweaking guide - Page 497

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau

Cool! I still haven't spotted anything on their web site.

It's also good to see they have the AVM-40 upgrade on the same date as the AVM-50 upgrade.

Did you by any chance get info from your dealer on what the bundle price (and availability) might be for someone ordering a *NEW* AVM-40 or AVM-50 with ARC?

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My understanding is that any Anthem dealer who was able to handle the old AVM-20 DSP board swap out should also be able to handle the swap out for the AVM-40 and AVM-50 ARC upgrade. So there's no need to send the unit to the factory.
--Bob

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau

There will always be some residual variation between listening positions even with ARC, but ARC works to minimize that -- minimizing in particular the components of that which result from "room modes".

ARC sets a series of room correction steps in motion. Of course ARC can't predict where you will actually sit down in the listening room so the same room correction parameters are applied to the output of any given speaker without regard to where you are sitting. By taking measurements at several mic positions, ARC can detect the patterns of room response variation -- the room modes -- which would be expected to recur even at listening positions distinct from the specific set of mic locations you used. By reducing those, ARC increases the chance that EVERY seating position (in the area where you did the measurements) will give you the same good results -- barring of course the slight variations in volume and sound arrival timing when you sit closer or further from any given speaker.

The room correction stuff is just math of course.

That means it is possible to mathematically model what those correction parameters will do to any given frequency response curve coming out of each speaker. It is my understanding that the ARC "Calculated" curve does just that -- using the averaged Measurement curve as the one to evaluate. I.e., the ARC application feeds that averaged Measurement curve into the math it has set up as Room Correction parameters for that speaker. And the Calculated curve is what results.

So if you happened to sit in a portion of the room that heard precisely that Measurement curve from that speaker then the Calculated curve shows what you would now hear with ARC turned on. Of course since the Measurement curve is an average, it doesn't show what you would expect to hear from ANY seating position. But the combination of the Measurement curve and the resulting Calculated curve gives you a basis for seeing how well ARC is able to apply its resources to the problems inherent in your listening room.
--Bob

Originally Posted by bluemark81

This is what was told to me by my sales person:

"Just received an e-mail from Anthem announcing their soon to be available
new ARC-1 Kit Plus for existing AVM 40's and AVM 50's! They are saying mid
July for availability. Based on the info we have now, your price will be
$709.95 Each kit ordered requires the serial # of the processor it is to be
installed in. I am not sure yet if we can do the upgrade here or if the
pre/pro has to be sent to them, but I will find out and let you know."

Originally Posted by benleeys

One thought comes to mind. Surely this can also be simply done with a digital equaliser feature, much like the Velodyne SMS-1 which seems a lot more user friendly?

Originally Posted by bluemark81

This is what was told to me by my sales person:

"Just received an e-mail from Anthem announcing their soon to be available
new ARC-1 Kit Plus for existing AVM 40's and AVM 50's! They are saying mid
July for availability. Based on the info we have now, your price will be
$709.95 Each kit ordered requires the serial # of the processor it is to be
installed in. I am not sure yet if we can do the upgrade here or if the
pre/pro has to be sent to them, but I will find out and let you know."

Originally Posted by benleeys

Thanks, Bob, for the clarification.

If I understand you correctly, the various mic positions are simply data collecting maneuvers to determine room characteristics which are then compared to an ideal setting. The resultant differences are then applied to correct the current data (much like feedback correction in amps?). The end result is an improvement in terms of frequency response, with all its accompanying benefits (imaging, etc.), within the listening area, but doesn't necessarily change the physical charateristics (extension) of the area's 'sweet spot'.

Originally Posted by darkvisionsinc

Anyone know if they are going to include the AVM 30's in this?

Originally Posted by barhoram

Now that I've run ARC a few time in my theater...I've got to thinking. I calibrate it with just the mike and stand in the theater room. However, 50% of use in the room is movie watching with just me added to the equation. 25% of use is movie watching with my wife and I, and 25% of movie watching is a full house of 6 people. Wonding how up to 6 extra bodies affect the results. Not that I would do this...but could one store 3 data sets in the software and update as the situation calls for? I may have to get some dummy seat fillers

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau

...... Trust your ears ....

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau

.....As to your SMS-1 question, ..... still not even close to as good as what ARC produces.

Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson

Yes and no. The live readouts are wonderful but they are limited display resolution. Also, one must add the multimic kit to sample more than one position with the SMS-1. Also, time-domain effects of the SMS-1 are not assessable with the provided equipment. Finally, SMS-1 is limited to the subwoofer channel.

Originally Posted by tngiloy

Hi Guys,
I know you've touched on this subject before, but could you explain again the logic behind running the ARC only to the 5kHz level.
Logically, since we hear from @ 20Hz to 20kHz it would seem to make sense to do the calibration spanning the normal hearing range.
What am I missing?
How many of you all have tried running ARC at more than 5kHz, and what were your impressions?
Tom

Originally Posted by benleeys

Agreed, Kal, but I was just, for the sake of discussion, using the SMS-1 as an example. To do a ARC-1 style will of course require an equaliser that covers the whole frequency spectrum and a lot more freq adjustment points. I don't know if you're ancient enough to remember the SAE eq/preamp unit which I used to own. Digital didn't quite exist as yet and all we had was our pair of ears.-Ben

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau

Anyway, that's the theory. Various posters (including me) are starting to experiment with a higher frequency Target. Nick at Anthem remain quite firm in his advice that you should *NOT* raise the Max EQ Frequency Target above 5KHz. Even though raising it may make the Calculated curves look better, that result can be misleading if ARC is basing its calculations on bad data -- variations at the mic positions due to directionality.

Originally Posted by zzzzdoc

BTW, flipping through the setup menus yesterday and thought of a question. Is it necessary to input the distances from speakers to listening areas if you are using ARC?

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau

Kal,
How high up did you end up going? And did you spot any issues (in the charts or by ear) in the lower frequencies as a consequence?
--Bob

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau

Other settings such as Center EQ, Room Resonance Filter, and THX Ultra2 Subwoofer (with Boundary Gain Compensation) are ignored for sources where ARC is active (i.e, where Room EQ = ON is set). The ARC stuff supersedes those simpler correction tools.

Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson

Can I add a Room Resonance Filter to the ARC corrections? (I will try this weekend, anyway.)

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau

I haven't done the experiment to confirm this, but the updated V1.3x manual (Section 3.15) says that the Room Resonance Filter is one of the things that is automatically disabled (i.e., the settings are ignored) for sources where Room EQ = ON is set.
--Bob

Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson

I will try it. My LF waterfalls show that, while ARC has a substantially positive effect on room modes, an additional single frequency reduction would be useful.

Originally Posted by benleeys

Agreed, Kal, but I was just, for the sake of discussion, using the SMS-1 as an example. To do a ARC-1 style will of course require an equaliser that covers the whole frequency spectrum and a lot more freq adjustment points. I don't know if you're ancient enough to remember the SAE eq/preamp unit which I used to own. Digital didn't quite exist as yet and all we had was our pair of ears.
-Ben

Originally Posted by gdc

I think Kal's point was the TIME-domain stuff - which simple EQ does not affect (much) - may be the key differentiator in the Arc-1.

Or maybe that's just my belief and I'm projecting.