Subs with room correction DSP?

Martin Logan and Paradigm subs both use Anthem’s ARC Genesis software and a USB mic for room correction. The software can be downloaded for free but I think you have to buy the “Perfect Bass Kit” to get the mic.

The ARC "kit" and SW is a joke. Absolute garbage hardware.

You might start by researching the value of two, or more subwoofers vs. one.

This is what I did. Assuming you are not building a home theatre, using 2 subs as bass extensions of your mains is relatively easy. No subwoofer crawl or gimmicky software with "special" mics required.

Alternatively, buy a miniDSP 2x4HD, UMIK-1 and download REW and any sub can be room corrected.

Nonsense. No room correction solution can "room correct" a sub that is in a room that is an acoustic nightmare, which is the case for many of us without purpose built rooms.   

I agree a remote for my RELs would have been nice though.

@m-db I didn’t say the sub crawl was a gimmick, it is not and I have done it and understand it. What I was suggesting is that it is not necessary if you use 2 subs as an extension of each speaker for 2 channel. You can see my set up in my profile but you are correct in terms of l placement. Also I went with 2 REL T/9x because they are advertised as low bass extensions and not so much a true subwoofer

For a multi channel home theatre set up where very low frequency special effects are in play it’s a different story.

My set up is ideal for 2 channel and a compromise for my 5.2 system. (Which shares the mains and the RELs)

FWIW, the REL crossovers are set to 48Hz, the mains are rated at 50Hz, and the gain is just 5 clicks so they are barely breathing.

Always wear your sunscreen !

@doctors11 My experience was with a single ML Dynamo 1100X and the Perfect Bass Kit. I have a very difficult room to deal with - 60 ft wide, 20 ft deep, 8ft ceiling, open floor plan, lots of glass.

I tried front and downward firing, and had the wireless kit so I could try any location in the room. I had the iOS app which provides a lot of control - perhaps too much, and you can toggle the ARC setting on an off to hear exactly what ARC does (or doesn't do in my case).

The Perfect Bass Kit is a joke. The hardware and cables are cheap, I had to tape the connection to the mic and hold the USB connector in the PC just right to get it to recognize the mic. 

When I finally did get it to work and loaded the ARC file to the sub, it made zero difference. I tried ARC with the sub in multiple locations on the room. Total waste of time.

I sold the ML and replaced it with 2 REL T/9x which are shared with my 2 channel and 5.2 channel HT system. Set phase to 0, played with gain and crossover until I was happy and I'm done. Bass sounds rich, full, controlled, and there is no longer a massive overload of bass in one corner of the room (not sure what you call that but there is a term for it)

btw I did a video consult with an acoustic treatment "expert" and he basically said he wouldn't touch my room because it would be both expensive and ugly and not pass WAF (think panels on wheels). I've done a lot with rugs, furniture and panels on walls though. He told me that room correction software in general, and especially dialing in subwoofer phase, really only works in rooms with decent acoustics & dimensions. Basically he told me that I was wasting my time with ARC, which I already knew at that point.    

Note the T/9x is slightly cheaper than ML 1100X and IMO are much better if 2 channel is your priority. I'm a firm believer in using 2. 1 just doesn't make sense for 2 channel audio - you are summing L and R output into one speaker. 

Note I just replaced the high-level speakon connectors supplied with the RELs with a pair from designacable dot com. I was surprised at how much these improved the sound. $190 for the pair - I wish I'd done this sooner. The stock cables are clearly crap. I'll write up more on this in a separate post later.  

Hope that helps.

@doctors11 You're welcome. Personally, I've never bought anything primarily based on a professional review. I do read them though. Sometimes after the purchase.

Reading commentary from actual users and asking questions, mostly here, has served me well - Zavfino cables and my Rogers amp are 2 examples.