Am using an Anthem STR preamp with HT pass through to an older Marantz 7.1 prepro (7102?) for TV/Movies. My room is odd and there is little I can do acoustically, so I need DSP help. Short story is that I tried Audessey on the Marantz, didn’t like the results at all. Used ARC on the STR (which I use for 2 channel critical listening) and the results are jaw dropping good. The client software for measuring the room and adjusting curve targets is not completely obvious to use, but I figured it out.
I’ve measured my room many times, after changing components, moving speakers, etc. Never did the volume get loud or seem in danger of damaging my speakers.
Regarding ARC support, I had some trouble getting their USB mic to work with the old MacBook I use to run the ARC client and stream using Roon. Took a couple of days, but I ended talking to a guy from their help desk in Canada who helped me troubleshoot the problem. (In this case, a screw loose behind the keyboard. 😉)