How to add low-end after Anthem ARC calibration

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paulzhere

Junior Audioholic
Hi all

I have an Anthem MRX 500 in a 5.2 setup. I level and phase matched my subs with my trusted radioshack SPL meter before running the ARC calibration. So although I am really impressed with ARC I cannot help noticing a lack of bass after the ARC calibration. Well I know that means that earlier, with my previous receiver, I was having some bloated bass somewhere in the frequency range which ARC has now flattened out. But now, after ARC the low-end seems quite lacking. A little more bass will make me happier :) Now the MRX500 seems to have 3 ways to increase the low end: 1) Increase it through the Bass control on the remote/receiver, 2) Increase the subwoofer level through the receiver or 3) Increase the room gain in the ARC software and then upload the resulting calculation. I am confused as to which of the above to apply so that the bass blends the best with the rest of the frequency range and is the least bloated and invasive. In other words, which of the above would give the most seamless transition between the bass and the higher frequencies. I have rummaged around and read in some forum that option 3) above is the best solution. I have tried that but wasn't impressed with the results. The low-end seemed bloated to me after increasing the room gain in the ARC calculation. So, am I doing something wrong? Would love to hear your suggestions and experiences with ARC. Thanks in anticipation,

Cheers
Paul
 
WaynePflughaupt

WaynePflughaupt

Audioholic Samurai
The easiest thing to do would be to simply increase the gain on the sub until you’re happy with the level.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
The easiest thing to do would be to simply increase the gain on the sub until you’re happy with the level.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
And raising sub level in the avr is an easier way to do that and a more precise way of returning to the calibrated level.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
Why not do a manual check for levels of each channel with the internal test tone and spl meter and see how well channels are level matched. It almost seems that after the auto EQ, levels may not have been matched.

As stated, you can always increase the trim for the LFE/ sub channel.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Thought from what I've read of ARC there were some house curve options....maybe just employ different sub-schroeder eq then run ARC
 
P

paulzhere

Junior Audioholic
Hi all

Thanks for the suggestions.

@WaynePflughaupt : Increasing the sub level is a solution but I would not like to throw the balance of the ARC calibration out of the park. So yes, I need to be careful.

@mtrycrafts : that sounds right. One problem (if I may call it so) with ARC is that although it gives you the predicted result that it can achieve, it does not verify whether these results have been actually achieved after the calibration has been made. Doing a manual level check might help.

@lovinthehd : Where can I find these "house curves" for the ARC? In the software, I can only set certain parameters, like the room gain and crossovers. But it seems to me as though I cannot tailor the target curve to whatever I want. Sorry for my ignorance, but I'm totally new to ARC.

Btw, I noticed that increasing the Bass control in the receiver by 2-3dBs works well to fill up the low end without any bloat and keeps things tight and punchy. I am wondering what the bass and treble settings in a receiver actually do? Do they change the eq curve in some way? or does the bass increase and decrease the level of the sub? Just curious.

Cheers
Paul
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Haven't used ARC but thought I"d read it had that capability. The bass control is a form of eq, the specific center frequency and slope might be in the avr manual specs.
 
Last edited:
WineOfTheVeins

WineOfTheVeins

Audioholic
I'm not sure what the controls look like on the MRX, but on my Anthem STR, after I did the ARC correction, I was able to adjust high mid and low. I would recommend option 1, it worked fine for me. I do not have a sub, there is a sub option, but there is also a bass option that did jack up the lows on my Electra's. However; I do like to keep in direct mode, so everything is set to 0 after ARCorrection. The reality is, a lot of recordings are light on bass, and that's the way it was meant to be heard. It is a treat when I run into an album that has punchy, chest-kicking bass right outta the can. Try putting +3dB on Bass, if that doesn't help as much as you want, 0 that back off and add some points to the Sub settings.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
...

@mtrycrafts : that sounds right. One problem (if I may call it so) with ARC is that although it gives you the predicted result that it can achieve, it does not verify whether these results have been actually achieved after the calibration has been made. Doing a manual level check might help.

[...

Btw, I noticed that increasing the Bass control in the receiver by 2-3dBs works well to fill up the low end without any bloat and keeps things tight and punchy. I am wondering what the bass and treble settings in a receiver actually do? Do they change the eq curve in some way? or does the bass increase and decrease the level of the sub? Just curious.

Cheers
Paul
I would think using bass controls after the auto EQ will modify the bass controls on top. However, if you check how the channel levels are and increase the sub, all you are doing is increasing the overall volume of that channel without altering the EQ.

Let us know after you do the manual check. That will also inform how well the auto EQ level matches.
 
Dmantis10

Dmantis10

Audioholic
I think your not use to a properly balanced System. You should not notice the subwoofer or woofers at all in the room. They should blend in perfectly with the other channels and make the experience ONE.
I Say run ARC again, make sure you follow the proper placement of the MIC and live with it for a week. I bet you will enjoy your system more calibrated then a jacked up bass disaster.
 
P

paulzhere

Junior Audioholic
Hi guys

Thanks again for the responses. I hope to manage some time to do a rough manual check with my SPL meter post ARC. Till then I'll use one of the options 1) or 2) above because the 3rd option of increasing the room gain simply seems to muddy up everything. @WineOfTheVeins : you're quite right about different mixes having different levels on bass. I notice the difference on different input sources too.

@Dmantis10 : it's true I am an amateur but I'm not at all a bass head, far from it. But I do know that a good and surefooted low-end forms the base for all music and movies. Right now on my system, even the canon barrel drums of metallica sounds like small tin cans, after the ARC calibration. I'm sure the recording engineers of metallica did not intend it to be that way!
 
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paulzhere

Junior Audioholic
Update: Re-ran ARC with my fronts crossed over and 80Hz (ARC was defaulting them to 60Hz previously) and a reference value of -1dB for all the channels (I was using 0dB before). These seems to have made all the difference and I'm totally happy with the low-end now. It's beautifully integrated and I don't find any need to add any more low-end.
 

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