A Way to never have to bypass ARC

[datastream]

Today I installed Audio Hijack Pro. It allows me to install the ARC plugin in an effects slot and to route all system audio through it. My Logic output(post bounce), finder playback through preview, iTunes, youtube, EVERYTHING. I'll never have to remember to bypass ARC again or try to explain why the mix sounds different in my studio when I play it back outside of Logic or if my client wants to hear the bounce in realtime.

[lukebredin]

So is this a programme outside of Logic that your running and all audio through your whole system is going through it?

Thats great, might have to look into that!! Thanks

[datastream]

Yes thats right. To capture ALL system audio you also need a utility called Sound Flower from Cycling74, the Pluggo and Max people. Its free. With just Audio Hijack alone though, you can still select audio out of LOGIC as your hijack input, but you'll need to change hijack inputs setting to monitor out of finder or iTunes etc. With Soundflower you can set the hijack input to be all system audio. I'll never have to bounce a mix over again because I forgot to bypass the plugin in Logic.

[lukebredin]

Haha I have done that a few times, worst is when you just hit bounce and realise straoght away, then you got to wait for it to finish before tunring it off and doing it again!!

Thanks for the info, will be looking into that soon me thinks!!!

[datastream]

You can abort a bounce in Logic by holding the "apple" and "period" keys.

[lukebredin]

Now that I didn't know!!

Thanks for the tip

[datastream]

I have set audio hijack to launch on login. It saves all the settings so all I have to do is hit the hijack button and I'm set for a day of sessions... However, after about 2 hours yesterday latency had built up to about a half a second. I toggled the "hijack" button off and back on and the latency returned to normal.

[blackkeeper]

Does anybody know if there's a program that can be used for the same purpose on a pc?

Is it possible that IK Multimedia could make it as a stand-alone program that could process all audio?

Would be nice, as it would save me the hassle of opening music up in my sequencer to hear it with room correction. It is a little counterproductive for your ears to listen to ARC-processed sound in the studio sessions and then listen to music in all other circumstances without it. Makes it hard to adapt to the "true" sound.

[lukebredin]

Great idea to see if there would be a stand alone version of it to correct everything like what was described here. Hopefully they will pick up on that soon.

Do you listen to much music normally in your studio? I don't tend to, and if I do it is usually quiet when I have admin to sort so don't really hear the music, it kind of acts as background noise in the end!!! Do you own T-Racks? If I need to compare something I usually just drag commercial music into T-Racks, that automatically has the ARC correction on it. And most of my comparing comes at the mastering stage so usually in T-Racks stand alone as it is.

But yeah defiantly a great idea, seems like the logical progression for the programme.

[blackkeeper]

That sounds like a nice idea just dragging it into T-racks.
Given that the system is sweet-spot oriented, it might of course only be suitable to use it when you sit in the perfect position. Perhaps listening to the system from an arbitrary point in the room would give an even more incorrect sonic picture. So I guess if it only can be used for really focused listening, I might as well use T-racks to drag it in, it would only be a minor inconvenience then.

I have a home-studio, and it would of course be ideal to listen to all music on that stereo under the same conditions, so the ARC-processed sound won't seem to be in a loss of low mid frequencies (I have a natural amplification of 120-150 Hz in my room).

But I guess comparing commercial tracks and your own tracks in ARC-processed mastering might be sufficient.

Anyway, a stand-alone version would make focused listening right from the cd easier.

[lukebredin]

Yeah defiantly would be nice to have a sort of stand alone application that all audio is routed through.

The good thing about the ARC is you can make the sweet spot bigger. Take a set of measurements around the main working position but then take some more measurements in other parts of the room. Say you have another chair in the room that you sit in a lot to listen to your music (or like a client couch), take some measurements around that spot too. You could have a measurement set solely for when you working on your own ie around your desk but then make another set of measurements say 18 around your working position and another 12 around your chair. The ARC will correct both parts of the room at the same time. So you could be sitting in either position and be hearing what you should be.

[imdrecordings]

Today I installed Audio Hijack Pro. It allows me to install the ARC plugin in an effects slot and to route all system audio through it. My Logic output(post bounce), finder playback through preview, iTunes, youtube, EVERYTHING. I'll never have to remember to bypass ARC again or try to explain why the mix sounds different in my studio when I play it back outside of Logic or if my client wants to hear the bounce in realtime.

Thanks for posting this, David!

I've been looking for a way to use ARC with iTunes, etc!

[vincegaetano]

I'm really liking this ! I have only had ARC about a month and it really takes getting used to the new, more accurate sound. Now when previewing tracks on Beatport or on my desktop they are all treated with ARC. I have it set to system so ALL sound out of my mac is treated. This will be key in learning how your room sounds over time

Thanks David !

[brianbane]

For a Windows equivalent, try Virtual Audio Cables or Total Recorder.

[etto]

You can abort a bounce in Logic by holding the "apple" and "period" keys.

the 'esc' key works as well