Anthem Room Correction

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I searched for a thread on Anthem Room Correction and found none. I know eq is a controversial subject. Purchased Anthem MRX 520 recently in spite of bad review on this site. I simply needed and desired a different correction software. I have purchased Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, etc. Every room correction sucked. I calibrated the AVR recently and results were stunning. An old boomer needed help from his 15 year old son. This AVR required hard wire connection from receiver to router. Update to receiver is antiquated. Update to a USB drive off of computer or laptop for Anthem download Download to AVR with USB drive. Hardwire connect from microphone to computer or laptop. If using computer make sure you have long cable to microphone. If router is too far away from AVR to router may be out of luck. I think on more expensive models not a problem. Regardless, these problems can be overcome. Only eq comparable is Dirac. Have not used so cannot compare. Anthem strength is sub woofer integration. I think the integration is more complex. For. DD on movies the blend with all speakers is magical. I can finally hear the surrounds and center. No bumping of center and surrounds. I can watch movie on low without disturbing family. Yet the sharp sounds are not muted. And thank God not subjected to high distortion rumbling, shaking or other earthquake effects. Buy a JBL PA if you want a thump in your chest from 50 feet. So, that is my take. Like to hear the inevitable vociferous response.

 

[Promit]

I think more people should measure what their room correction is actually doing to the speakers. The audyssey pro app is a big step in that direction - not sure what ARC reports about its curves.

 

[JDragon]

ARC gives you a cool PDF report of all the changes it made. Subjectively, I feel ARC does a better job of room correction than Audyssey on my Denon receiver.

 

[QMuse]

ARC gives you a cool PDF report of all the changes it made. Subjectively, I feel ARC does a better job of room correction than Audyssey on my Denon receiver.

In most cases predicted corrected response would be quite close to the measured actual corrected response, but generally speaking @Promit is right - it's best to measure it.

 

[spacevector]

Here are some measurements I made in my living room. Infinity R162 LR and SVS subwoofer.
L and R with ARC on/off are shown. Also shown are ARC's own results.
Measurement was made using REW and moving mic technique at the MLP.
This is ARC1M BTW - AVR is MRX300. I limited ARC to 1kHz for this go-around.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Here are some measurements I made in my living room. Infinity R162 LR and SVS subwoofer.
L and R with ARC on/off are shown. Also shown are ARC's own results.
Measurement was made using REW and moving mic technique at the MLP.
This is ARC1M BTW - AVR is MRX300. I limited ARC to 1kHz for this go-around.

View attachment 62546View attachment 62547View attachment 62548

View attachment 62546View attachment 62547View attachment 62548

What is your opinion on the measurements?

 

[spacevector]

Seems to do all the right things to me:

• Bass peaks are appropriately reduced in a targeted fashion
• Bass nulls are filled in to some extent
• Target curve has nice little bass boost
• 700Hz peak which is due to speaker - is reduced
• ARC results seem to match mine fairly closely. They dont seem to lie like Audyssey does. I wish I knew how to overlay images - would give better idea.
• It sounds better compared to ARC off (wife kitchen yada yada)

One thing I am not sure about is subwoofer integration. The low bass response seems wacky but that could be me making the measurement at too soft volume.

I think this is the first incarnation of ARC - I imagine newer implementations are better still.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Here are some measurements I made in my living room. Infinity R162 LR and SVS subwoofer.
L and R with ARC on/off are shown. Also shown are ARC's own results.
Measurement was made using REW and moving mic technique at the MLP.
This is ARC1M BTW - AVR is MRX300. I limited ARC to 1kHz for this go-around.

View attachment 62546View attachment 62547View attachment 62548

View attachment 62546View attachment 62547View attachment 62548

What is your opinion on the measurements

Seems to do all the right things to me:

• Bass peaks are appropriately reduced in a targeted fashion
• Bass nulls are filled in to some extent
• Target curve has nice little bass boost
• 700Hz peak which is due to speaker - is reduced
• ARC results seem to match mine fairly closely. They dont seem to lie like Audyssey does. I wish I knew how to overlay images - would give better idea.
• It sounds better compared to ARC off (wife kitchen yada yada)

One thing I am not sure about is subwoofer integration. The low bass response seems wacky but that could be me making the measurement at too soft volume.

I think this is the first incarnation of ARC - I imagine newer implementations are better still.

My version allows quick correction so you can move sub to different locations to compare prior to full correction. Does your version? Might help.

 

[spacevector]

Yeah I think ARC1 also has measurement mode for placement help but the layout is pretty much locked for me. Bass sounds pretty good actually - measurements be damned lol.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Yeah I think ARC1 also has measurement mode for placement help but the layout is pretty much locked for me. Bass sounds pretty good actually - measurements be damned lol.

My Sub location cannot be changed. I could add second Sub on opposite wall. I am using Rhythmic. SVS also excellent Sub.

 

[cbrents73]

I searched for a thread on Anthem Room Correction and found none. I know eq is a controversial subject. Purchased Anthem MRX 520 recently in spite of bad review on this site. I simply needed and desired a different correction software. I have purchased Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, etc. Every room correction sucked. I calibrated the AVR recently and results were stunning. An old boomer needed help from his 15 year old son. This AVR required hard wire connection from receiver to router. Update to receiver is antiquated. Update to a USB drive off of computer or laptop for Anthem download Download to AVR with USB drive. Hardwire connect from microphone to computer or laptop. If using computer make sure you have long cable to microphone. If router is too far away from AVR to router may be out of luck. I think on more expensive models not a problem. Regardless, these problems can be overcome. Only eq comparable is Dirac. Have not used so cannot compare. Anthem strength is sub woofer integration. I think the integration is more complex. For. DD on movies the blend with all speakers is magical. I can finally hear the surrounds and center. No bumping of center and surrounds. I can watch movie on low without disturbing family. Yet the sharp sounds are not muted. And thank God not subjected to high distortion rumbling, shaking or other earthquake effects. Buy a JBL PA if you want a thump in your chest from 50 feet. So, that is my take. Like to hear the inevitable vociferous response.

Hello, I just wanted to say thank you for choosing our MRX520, we appreciate your business! Though our Room Correction Software is the icing on the cake, we strive to make great electronics before the Room Correction is ever applied. If you strip away all of the correction software from products that have it and just listen to them based on build quality, ours exceed a lot of expectations and it's that build quality that primarily affects what you're hearing (and not hearing). As you pointed out, all the detail at lower volume. That is the essence of higher performing equipment!

Sounding great at low or more listenable volume without the need to turn it up to hear what's in the recording. Better equipment also brings out the flaws/differences in the quality of recordings whether it's music or movies.
As we design our products, our goal is to simply get out of the way of the recording and pass the information that has been mixed, mastered, engineered, EQ'd and produced, and not wreck or change it - it really is that simple. I wanted to point out that we do have a dedicated site for Anthem Room Correction that is often overlooked, but gives a good history and the science of how we developed it and who was involved. I'd be happy to give you any tips & tricks regarding the unit along with how to measure the room more accurately with Microphone placement and other things that ARC Genesis is capable of that most people aren't aware of.

ARC is not about changing how your speakers sound/work, or how your other electronics sound/work, or how the room actually sounds, it's about correcting for the room anomalies. The room is the biggest obstacle in the way, but your room has a natural sound to it and we want to leave that part in tact, but just correct the problems within it. While others go for a "flat" response, we don't want your room, which has a predictable sound, to try and sound like an anechoic chamber. That is part of the secret sauce to our correction and is the single most misinterpreted thing related to how we correct problems in the room.

Pulling down the peaks is easy, but we build the only Room Correction Software that can correct for and raise the dips, or "bass suck-outs" (limited to +6dB) - it takes a lot of added power to lift those levels and not wreck or compress everything else at the expense of doing that. This is all based on science and data collected over a couple of decades and as room designs and construction changes and evolves, so does our software. We are always collecting new data that assists in improving our algorithms thereby allowing us to improve ARC's functionality over time - ARC is software in your computer, not a chip in our products. As computers improve, so will our Software. What we had figured out a decade ago, many are only just now beginning to discover - we have a huge head-start! Thanks again for your purchase and appreciate your time.

Here's direct links to the history and science of Anthem Room Correction on our dedicated website:
https://www.anthemarc.com/advanced-topics/the-science-of-arc.php
https://www.anthemarc.com/advanced-topics/the-history-of-arc.php

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Descartes]

Hello Chris, It would be great if you could make a series of YouTube videos to show how to use ARC Genesis and advance setting!

 

[nathan]

That would be awesome.

 

[Descartes]

Here is one:

But we need more to finesse our EQ

 

[Descartes]

This is a bit outdated but useful
https://hometheaterhifi.com/technical/technical-reviews/super-geek-guide-tweaking-arc-2/

 

[nathan]

Thanks for that. Good stuff.

I am hoping Anthem does a series of such videos.

 

[Thomas savage]

Hello, I just wanted to say thank you for choosing our MRX520, we appreciate your business! Though our Room Correction Software is the icing on the cake, we strive to make great electronics before the Room Correction is ever applied. If you strip away all of the correction software from products that have it and just listen to them based on build quality, ours exceed a lot of expectations and it's that build quality that primarily affects what you're hearing (and not hearing). As you pointed out, all the detail at lower volume. That is the essence of higher performing equipment!

Sounding great at low or more listenable volume without the need to turn it up to hear what's in the recording. Better equipment also brings out the flaws/differences in the quality of recordings whether it's music or movies.
As we design our products, our goal is to simply get out of the way of the recording and pass the information that has been mixed, mastered, engineered, EQ'd and produced, and not wreck or change it - it really is that simple. I wanted to point out that we do have a dedicated site for Anthem Room Correction that is often overlooked, but gives a good history and the science of how we developed it and who was involved. I'd be happy to give you any tips & tricks regarding the unit along with how to measure the room more accurately with Microphone placement and other things that ARC Genesis is capable of that most people aren't aware of.

ARC is not about changing how your speakers sound/work, or how your other electronics sound/work, or how the room actually sounds, it's about correcting for the room anomalies. The room is the biggest obstacle in the way, but your room has a natural sound to it and we want to leave that part in tact, but just correct the problems within it. While others go for a "flat" response, we don't want your room, which has a predictable sound, to try and sound like an anechoic chamber. That is part of the secret sauce to our correction and is the single most misinterpreted thing related to how we correct problems in the room.

Pulling down the peaks is easy, but we build the only Room Correction Software that can correct for and raise the dips, or "bass suck-outs" (limited to +6dB) - it takes a lot of added power to lift those levels and not wreck or compress everything else at the expense of doing that. This is all based on science and data collected over a couple of decades and as room designs and construction changes and evolves, so does our software. We are always collecting new data that assists in improving our algorithms thereby allowing us to improve ARC's functionality over time - ARC is software in your computer, not a chip in our products. As computers improve, so will our Software. What we had figured out a decade ago, many are only just now beginning to discover - we have a huge head-start! Thanks again for your purchase and appreciate your time.

Here's direct links to the history and science of Anthem Room Correction on our dedicated website:
https://www.anthemarc.com/advanced-topics/the-science-of-arc.php
https://www.anthemarc.com/advanced-topics/the-history-of-arc.php

Cheers,
Chris

Hi Chris,

I recently had to send back my STR preamp after it stopped functioning in one channel after id updated some settings through the genesis software.

Iv done this numerous times and certainly didn't switch off the left channel so what might of caused that ?

Apparently the repair center in the UK just reset it to factory defaults and its now fine so was some kind of software issue . Strangely id tried that with no success but they seem to believe i hadn't. All they had to say was it didn't like a setting I had made but that explanation seems rather vague and surly its impossible to send the preamp a ' bad ' setting from the anthem computer software . The repair guy seemed to belive i ran the software with one channel turned off lol so must be assuming I'm a complete idiot .

Obviously this is quite strange and sending it back costs a fortune so I'd appreciate someone looking into the software as there's seems to be a glitch . I'm happy with my software setting , its still saved on my computer and plan to simply reload it .

I hope nothing weird happens lol

 

[dougi]

I've been considering "upgrading" my room correction to gain more EQ customisation for 2 channel either to the Anthem STR PRE or the NAD C-658 pre/dac but the bugs are seriously turning me off. I think I'll stick with my Lyngdorf DPA-1 for the medium term although there are some local discounts on the C-658 at the moment.

 

[abdo123]

• Bass nulls are filled in to some extent

This is theoretically impossible, what's happening is that there is a low Q boost raising the entire floor up, and high Q boost bringing the peaks down.

It's a nice strategy to do on your own with REW too.

Edit: I just realized this is months old thread.

 

[Pdxwayne]

Hi Chris,

I recently had to send back my STR preamp after it stopped functioning in one channel after id updated some settings through the genesis software.

Iv done this numerous times and certainly didn't switch off the left channel so what might of caused that ?

Apparently the repair center in the UK just reset it to factory defaults and its now fine so was some kind of software issue . Strangely id tried that with no success but they seem to believe i hadn't. All they had to say was it didn't like a setting I had made but that explanation seems rather vague and surly its impossible to send the preamp a ' bad ' setting from the anthem computer software . The repair guy seemed to belive i ran the software with one channel turned off lol so must be assuming I'm a complete idiot .

Obviously this is quite strange and sending it back costs a fortune so I'd appreciate someone looking into the software as there's seems to be a glitch . I'm happy with my software setting , its still saved on my computer and plan to simply reload it .

I hope nothing weird happens lol

May I know for music, so far the STR is the best you have so far? For me, using AVR, AV preamp, and minidsp HD 2x4 was not as clean as using DAC direct to amp. I am looking for something clean, even after eq and crossover....Thx!