IK ARC 4

What’s new

• All-new more natural correction algorithm for incredible results
• Expanded virtual monitoring adds 20+ iconic studio monitors profiles
• “Quick Mode” for room processing with just 7 measurement points
• Updated graphics and user interface with dark and light mode options
• Ability to manage and switch profiles on ARC Studio hardware

Trust what you hear

A room can have a big impact on how you hear your music. Walls, furniture, and other objects reflect and absorb sound, creating complex artifacts that change the frequency balance and stereo imaging, and can cause your carefully balanced mix to fall apart in other spaces.

With ARC, you can detect and account for these issues without expensive room treatment. ARC precisely measures the sound of your room in moments, then generates a correction profile you can load into the ARC plug-in for your DAW or the new ARC Studio hardware, which operates independently from your computer, to ensure what you’re hearing is how your music really sounds.

An all-new listening experience

ARC 4 uses a brand-new and more natural analysis and correction algorithm that delivers results you can’t find in other digital room correction systems. By measuring your room across a 3D space around the listening position, IK’s award-winning VRM™ (Volumetric Response Modeling) technology creates a 3D snapshot of your room, identifying problematic issues without over-processing the sound.

You have the choice of going through a 21-point ultra-accurate measurement process or a 7-point quicker one. Both will sound great. The longer measurement is more adequate for fixed installations and permanent setups, while the shorter measurement is ideal for on-the-go or ad-hoc setups, making it possible to measure the room in less than a minute.

The result is an incredibly natural-sounding correction like you’ve never heard. ARC 4 recreates the feeling of working in a properly-tuned room, without sounding “corrected.”

Measure quickly and precisely

Just connect a measurement mic to your interface and launch the step-by-step room analysis software. You’ll be guided through a series of measurements across your listening position, and with ARC’s flexible placement options you can create measurements of multiple monitors and listening positions, so you can virtually adjust the sweet spot for clients or different setups.

Instantly apply correction

Once you’ve generated your profiles, open your DAW and insert ARC 4 across the master bus. ARC applies a precise correction filter using advanced processing to compensate for your room’s acoustics with a higher level of accuracy than ever before.

Now you’re hearing your music free of the impact of room acoustics. You can work confident you’re hearing exactly what was recorded, and your work will translate to other rooms and systems better than ever.

Deep control to fine-tune your correction

Customize your setup for ideal performance no matter your preference. ARC 4 offers deep control over each profile so it always sounds its best:

Target curves

   ARC 4 comes with 9 factory tailored target curves suitable for most situations. The default curve offers optimally balanced results with Flat and other specific curves for different needs or setups.

Adjustable correction range

By default, ARC corrects the entire frequency spectrum, but you can define limits to both upper and lower correction ranges separately. This is useful if you want to preserve the unique voicing of your monitors or are just looking to correct a certain frequency range.

Variable resolution and smoothing

Adjust the resolution of the correction filter to use more or fewer frequency bands. Depending on your room’s unique sound, this lets you achieve more surgical correction, or a broader, smoother balance.

2 Phase Modes

Natural and Linear phase modes ensure precise stereo imaging. Natural mode improves the phase response, while linear phase maintains the original inter-channel phase response, which may be preferable in certain rooms and conditions.

Over 20 studio monitor emulations

ARC 4 emulates the frequency and phase response of the most famous studio monitors on the market, working in tandem with the ARC settings for the best possible sound in any listening environment. This is ideal for testing a mix on different reference systems quickly, without ever leaving the sweet spot and ARC’s calibration.

You can also use virtual monitoring to intentionally shape your sound to emulate devices like TVs and car audio systems, as well as many popular studio monitors, to quickly listen to your mix on other “virtual” systems to ensure a perfect sound translation.