Sure treament is necesary. But the treatment is mostly to get the room dry. While the monitor calibration is for frequency correction. Sure they go both hand in hand and treatments are although for smother frequencies in your room. But i belive you wont get a nice bass in your room without a monitor calibration. And how do you know your room sounds good after your treament? If you dont messure it ? Your ears can fool you easily. Even great big comercial studio calibrates their monitors.
It is allways a combination between calibrating or meassureing and treatments.

And if you use something like ARC in an untreated room. You easily see on the correction curve the problems of your room. So you can try to correct an exact problem of your room.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 9, 2017

ARC can make a huge difference in an untreated room. From a undefined and boomy mess of sound, to being clear and balanced. It's actually pretty crazy to hear the difference with it on.

Just use it as a tool though. Have it on or off when you start your mix, then flip it on and off throughout the song. It will be a good reference to use. I remember the phantom center for me becoming really defined, and issues in the 4khz and sibilant areas became really revealing with ARC on. With it off it would be easier to let some harshness fly in the mix, and my mono/side balance could be off a bit.

It has eq curves for some other speakers too. Never used them much, but kind of cool to hear the mix as if it was playing through a boombox, tv, or ns10s.

 

Finally I have both soft and the mic - glad its weekend So............

Tomorrow I´ll fire up the ARC2 with the mic and see if it change anything here at all!

Raport will be added as soon everything has been tested!

Cheers

 

No, treatment is not (only or mostly) to get the room dry! It is to get rid of standing waves, resonances etc., which dramatically distort the perceived EQ characteristics of monitors, especially below 500 Hz.

Many people (including myself in the past) search many years for some miracle speakers, constantly selling and buying new models.

Also, many people see the IKM ARC as a magical cure against problems caused by standing waves. And no - it will NOT cure it. (Unless you pin your head to certain point and will never move even a few centimeters.)

 

I´ll do the test next week and let you know!!!

Cheers