The ultimate low cost solution for room correction?

[Count Arthur]

Guys, I am looking for a room correction system matching the criteria:
1. Ease of use. Ideally, I don't want to learn the science behind it, just position the microphone as instructed on the screen a few times and be done with it
2. The output needs to be loadable into a system-wide application, such as APO Equalizer. And the one, that doesn't crash or has audible latency or other ill-effects on the sound like I know some of these things do.
3. It should not require any additional hardware to be connected to my speakers/audio interface at all times.

Is there anything like that currently in existence?

There are now versions of ARC, with just the software and the VST plugin, or just the software and the microphone:

IK MULTIMEDIA. SOUND BETTER.

IK MULTIMEDIA. SOUND BETTER.

www.ikmultimedia.com

 

[dimedrol]

I've seen that but I've also heard applying those corrections system-wide is a pain in the butt. I'd like something as simple as applying a curve in APO.

 

[dimedrol]

You can try REW + EqAPO. Instructions here.

REW has always seemed unnecessarily complicated to me. The more buttons and switches that I can't account for the higher are the chances of messing something up. And it seems to have a lot of those. I'd like something simplified at the user level. I like the way ARC 4 wizard looks. But it seems like I can't just simply export the results to EAPO.

 

[Keith_W]

REW has always seemed unnecessarily complicated to me. The more buttons and switches that I can't account for the higher are the chances of messing something up. And it seems to have a lot of those. I'd like something simplified at the user level. I like the way ARC 4 wizard looks. But it seems like I can't just simply export the results to EAPO.

REW only seems complicated because it offers a lot of features. But if all you want to do is what you describe, you only need THREE buttons: Preferences, Measurement, and EQ. That's it. You could generate a filter within 10 minutes if you know what you're doing. But if it's your first time, maybe an hour. MiniDSP has an easy to follow guide which you can read here. The only difference is that you do not select "MiniDSP" from the drop down box, you select "Generic". Otherwise the process is the same.

You can't beat the price.

 

[dimedrol]

REW only seems complicated because it offers a lot of features. But if all you want to do is what you describe, you only need THREE buttons: Preferences, Measurement, and EQ. That's it. You could generate a filter within 10 minutes if you know what you're doing. But if it's your first time, maybe an hour. MiniDSP has an easy to follow guide which you can read here. The only difference is that you do not select "MiniDSP" from the drop down box, you select "Generic". Otherwise the process is the same.

You can't beat the price.

I guess I'm gonna give it a try then! Thanks!

 

[Mark 911t]

Hi got the arc going
I have to say what a night and day difference
I know I've got a bad room loads of glass
But a great view over a lake
So I'm not covering the windows any time soon
This little box is amazing
For those of us who live in the real world with our rooms its well worth a try

 

[F1Fan72]

Hi got the arc going
I have to say what a night and day difference
I know I've got a bad room loads of glass
But a great view over a lake
So I'm not covering the windows any time soon
This little box is amazing
For those of us who live in the real world with our rooms its well worth a try

Fantastic.. how did you connect it all together ?

 

[Mark 911t]

As Arthur said you need an interface
I used a focusrite scarlet to connect
The mic to
Which was usb to the laptop
Then from the scarlet 1/4 inch to XLR adaptor then to my atc 100s
This was for the measurements
After you save the measurements to the arc studio it's easy just put between preamp
And amp (active atc in my case)
The only problem you may have is no XLR connections
But you could easily get cables made up
The bypass button is great to switch in and out to hear the difference
In my case not small!
Mark

 

[F1Fan72]

As Arthur said you need an interface
I used a focusrite scarlet to connect
The mic to
Which was usb to the laptop
Then from the scarlet 1/4 inch to XLR adaptor then to my atc 100s
This was for the measurements
After you save the measurements to the arc studio it's easy just put between preamp
And amp (active atc in my case)
The only problem you may have is no XLR connections
But you could easily get cables made up
The bypass button is great to switch in and out to hear the difference
In my case not small!
Mark

Thanks Mark..

Just interested to known if this is possible to use a UMIK-1without the interface ..

 

[Mark 911t]

I think you need an interface for any mic that you connect
I bought mine off the bay
£40

 

[Count Arthur]

Thanks Mark..

Just interested to known if this is possible to use a UMIK-1without the interface ..

It should be. USB microphones effectively have a built in audio interface. The only thing I'm not sure about is how you would go about setting the gain/level - presumably through Windows.

I'll try it tomorrow; although no promises, I currently have a really bad, almost certainly terminal, case of man-flu and might not not make it through the night.

 

[F1Fan72]

It should be. USB microphones effectively have a built in audio interface. The only thing I'm not sure about is how you would go about setting the gain/level - presumably through Windows.

I'll try it tomorrow; although no promises, I currently have a really bad, almost certainly terminal, case of man-flu and might not not make it through the night.

Thank you and I’ll be praying for you

 

[F1Fan72]

Hi got the arc going
I have to say what a night and day difference
I know I've got a bad room loads of glass
But a great view over a lake
So I'm not covering the windows any time soon
This little box is amazing
For those of us who live in the real world with our rooms its well worth a try

So it really worth it and made a difference?

 

[Mark 911t]

Put it this way I've had my speakers 20 yrs
They have been updated over the time to the latest spec by atc
This is the best I've ever heard them
Atc take note lol

 

[F1Fan72]

Put it this way I've had my speakers 20 yrs
They have been updated over the time to the latest spec by atc
This is the best I've ever heard them
Atc take note lol

I’m so on the verge of buying one. Hopefully @Count Arthur can kindly test using a UMIK without an interface .. if it works, I’ll be on Amazon later..

 

[Mark 911t]

Got mine on Amazon for £199 with mic

 

[500Homeruns]

From the World Wide Web:
“Yes, the UMIK (both UMIK-1 and UMIK-2) is essentially a built-in USB audio interface. It converts the microphone's analog signal into a digital signal that your computer can understand via the USB connection. This means you don't need a separate audio interface to use the UMIK“

 

[Count Arthur]

OK, I've tried using the UMIK-1.

I can load the calibration file, no problem:

However, I don't seem to able to select the UMIK-1 as an input:

Even though the UMIK-1 shows up in the Windows system settings:

If I change the output in my system settings, to the motherboards Realtek sound, I can select that for input and output in ARC, and I get a microphone signal:

However, when I get to the next step, I still have microphone signal, but I don't get any sound from my speakers:

Also, ARC won't let me select ASIO Madiface USB as an output device and Realtek ASIO as an input device.

I suspect this is something peculiar to my system, because I have the RME Madiface USB/ASIO driver installed, which is somehow messing with things and that everything might work on a different set-up, but I can't be absolutely certain.

 

[Keith_W]

@Count Arthur ASIO only lets you use one device at a time. So if you want to use (say) ASIO Madiface as your output, you can only use ASIO Madiface as your input. You can't have output on one device and input from another. There are two workarounds:

1. Use WASAPI Exclusive if the software lets you.
2. Use VB-Audio Matrix. The idea is: use VB Matrix to aggregate all your inputs and outputs. It presents itself to your software as a "super device". You then set VB Matrix as your output and input, and VB Matrix routes audio to/from the correct device. It's easy to use if you know your way around a mixer. But not so easy to use if it's your first time.

The problem with both solutions is variable latency, especially with USB mics. So if you want to take a timing measurement, the time reference and measurement have to be on the same impulse response. You can not take one measurement and compare it with another without a time reference.

 

[F1Fan72]

OK, I've tried using the UMIK-1.

I can load the calibration file, no problem:

View attachment 450306


However, I don't seem to able to select the UMIK-1 as an input:

View attachment 450307


Even though the UMIK-1 shows up in the Windows system settings:

View attachment 450308


If I change the output in my system settings, to the motherboards Realtek sound, I can select that for input and output in ARC, and I get a microphone signal:

View attachment 450309

However, when I get to the next step, I still have microphone signal, but I don't get any sound from my speakers:

View attachment 450310

Also, ARC won't let me select ASIO Madiface USB as an output device and Realtek ASIO as an input device.

I suspect this is something peculiar to my system, because I have the RME Madiface USB/ASIO driver installed, which is somehow messing with things and that everything might work on a different set-up, but I can't be absolutely certain.

Thank you so a interface is definitely needed..