ARC of Triumph

ANTHEM AVM SERIES preamplifier/processors have been part of my home theater toolkit going back as long as I can remember. Though they perform A/V switching, audio processing, and video upscaling as well as anything else on the market, the main feature I’ve come to depend on is the company’s proprietary ARC (Anthem Room Correction), a Windows and iOS/Android app that lets you measure the effect of your listening environment on your speakers using either a calibrated microphone or the one built into your phone or tablet. The software then creates correction filters that you upload to the processor to eliminate problems caused by standing waves, reflections, and other room-based anomalies. ARC can be configured to cover the full audio band (the default setting is 5,000 Hz, though that can be pushed higher or lower during the measurement and setup process), but its most notable contribution is made at the low frequency range. For systems that include one or more subwoofers, the effects of ARC can be instantly heard and appreciated.

Details of Anthem’s proprietary processing have already been covered in detail in numerous reviews. What’s new for ARC is an update to ARC-2 status and its appearance in stereo-only components like the company’s STR preamplifier and STR