howsbayou wrote: ARC sets my Triton ones to 80 hz (I understand I need to change that to Flat), and am using sub Xover setting of 120 or 160 to make sure T1 is driving subwoofer frequencies. Is my understanding of this correct?
ARC also sets Supersat 60's to 130, which seems high to me. Should I change this to something else? (THX recommendation of 80?) I understand center recommendations for Xover are 60-80 hz. ARC chooses 80. Is there now a recommendation for optimal setting for this as well?

Triton Ones should be set to full range, no crossover.

If you are running separate LFE cables and setting sub to Yes, then the sub crossover should be 120Hz or bypass.

SuperSat 60's will be best in a Triton One based system with a 120Hz crossover.

Center at 80Hz is fine, so is 60Hz, but the 80Hz will allow it to play louder.

Remember, you need to make these changes in ARC (on your computer, not the receiver) and then re-process (not re-measure) and re-upload. You can't just go into the receiver menu and make these changes.

Regarding room correction, I've had the opportunity to work with all three room correction suites - ARC (Anthem MRX 700), Audysee mult eq 32 (Onkyo TX-NR3010), and Dirac Live (full on Emotiva XMC-1). I can't quite claim a pure apples to apples comparison because with each change in processor, I also had different speaker configurations. For ARC and Mult EQ 32, I had T2's as my LR and for Dirac I have T1's.

But with that disclaimer, I do have overall before/after impression with each tool (pros and cons are relative to the other tools, not necessarily absolute pros/cons):

All three will improve the 'sphere of sound' concept, where the point sources of the speakers are less pronounced, except as expected for single channel sounds.

Audysee Mult EQ 32:
pros:
* easiest to run, and as such, promotes quick re calibration in the room.
* In-processor, so no external pc needed
* Full calibration turnaround is around 20 minutes with 10 measurement points
cons:
* no parametric tweaking, you get what you get.
* Of the three, does the most 'damage' to nuance and flattens the overall dynamic experience.
* may or may not be an improvement depending on the quality of your speakers

Anthem Room Correction (ARC):
pros:
* best overall improvement for my setups in a before/after comparison.
* Most useful graph output.
* Reasonable degree of parametic tweaking for the hard-core.
* Easy to use once the pc is actually connected.
* Best mic/mic stand configuration that comes with the processor
cons:
* need a windows pc to do the actual measurment (mac wasn't support at time, but might be now)
* for the mrx 700, connection to the processor was USB/with a serial adapter (ie. RS232, feeling very 1990s), and consequently, uploads into the processor are pretty slow (if memory serves, it takes a solid 5 or so minutes per upload)
* total turnaround time upwards of 40 minutes

Dirac Live (full version):
pros:
* at least as good/maybe better mid-bass/midrange correction as ARC.
* Blows away mult eq 32.
* Full version provides graphical interface to tweak correction filters by moving points on a graph.
* Enables both serial (usb direct) and network based connectivity to the processor (XMC-1 in my case).
cons:
* requires separate pc to perform measurements - versions for both Windows and Mac
* speaker distance from main seating must be manually entered. The other two calculate distances automatically for you.
* most clunky and time consuming to run of the three IMHO (although the UI is the prettiest). Its pretty easy to mess up a calibration run and have to start over (Hint: save your measure project after EVERY measurement, don't wait til the end. You can reload after a crash or mistake and pick up where you left off)
* Measurement app on MAC CRASHES: Total POS from a reliablity standpoint on a MAC (was/is developed for a Windows PC, so reliability is likely much better on that platform). I don't think I've ever run an end-to-end measurement->filter tweak->upload without it crashing. Consequently, I've done very few actual filter tweaks and experiments.
* Eats bass response: The out of the box filter really eats low end response. The full version gives you the ability to manipulate and create additional filters, but none that I tried ever recovered the bass satisfactorily. Because of the crashing issue above, I gave up trying out of four-letter-word-laden frustration.
* While the upper mid bass correction was great, it didn't offset the low end bass loss, so I run the XMC-1 w/o any correction.

Side note: I've only tried correction with my T1's using Dirac. In all my experiments with Dirac/T1s, any little bit of correction actually denegrates the T1's overall sound and nuance reproduction. The T1's seem to be so good in terms of their room response, that processing algorithms just don't help, they actually hurt. I should try ARC at some point (still have and use my MRX 700 in another room) just to see if ARC would help. But I suspect even ARC may not improve the T1s overall. I should try it and see, but for now the T1s souund their best in Reference Stereo mode. For home theater, I run Direct Mode for blurays.

Of course, the standard Wayne W. disclaimer applies: YMMV

Thanks, Brad. That's a great report and comparison. I have not used Dirac, but my experience with Audessey and ARC certainly fit your description except that ARC2 is pretty easy to connect with. It's simply a USB from my laptop to the microphone. From there, the whole process is wireless. Since the first morning trying to get the program running, it has been pretty smooth.

I ran ARC a few times today and play with positioning, frequency ranges, and cutoff frequencies. I settled on the 80Hz setting for all surrounds and my center, full range for my T1s, and 100 Hz for the sub. I set ARC to equalize from 1,000 Hz and below. I had a fair amount of undulations in my frequency response up to around that point. I'm definitely going to need a consult to figure out what my issues are in terms of acoustics, but until I get my finishing a sorted out, I'm I pretty good shape. Thanks, Moderator Dude, for the tips. I definitely prefer the lower frequency limit for correction. Going out to 5,000 Hz did not sound as good as the lower settings.

Home theater continues to impress with the AVM 60. I've read on another forum that people were having issues with sub output and in running ARC. No such issues here. With my gain knobs about midrange, I have to set my sub levels in the -5 to -10 range in my Anthem settings. I'm still running a little higher than the calibrated level. Probably about an extra 5 dB.

I watched Spectre and Crimson peak this weekend and the sound on both films was good. Spectre was actually very good and the first 5 to 10 minutes of the movie are certainly demo worthy. I continue to be impressed by the vocals on the AVM 60. Particularly after calibration. With my Integra, setting my center crossover higher than 70 Hz presented very unnatural and bloated vocals. Not so on the Anthem. My next upgrade will certainly be my surround speakers so that I have a full GET sound field except for my Paradigm sub. That should provide a significant improvement in my surround setup.

Cheers,

T Cobe

T Cobe, I have extensive experience with Audyssey, but none with Dirac, but I agree the latest implementation of Anthem ARC is very fast, effective, and simple other than the need for PC (I run bootcamp with no problems however). I also like the fact that one can set more than one profile. I have set my settings right now based upon GEt recommendations, and have been very happy. I've also boosted gain on the T1 LFE after running ARC as moderator suggested and am even more happy. LFE setting is now around Noon, but I may cut back about a half notch. Usage is 50/50 music and movies.
I'm going to mimic your ARC settings as profile 2. I set up a small macro on my Logitech Harmony Ultimate remote, so that I can more quickly and easily toggle back and forth. I do another macro for ARC on or off. Macros aren't immediate toggles but faster than I could adjust manually using the Anthem remote.

I just ordered an AVM-60 through my dealer (who also happens to be my GEt dealer). Should be here in about a week.

Congrats, Imahawki! Do you get an audition first? Curious to hear your thoughts.

Cheers,

T Cobe