Anthem Room Correction (ARC Genesis)

Measurement Methodology

ARC Genesis begins by playing short tone sweeps through each speaker, capturing the impulse response (a measurement of how sound behaves in the listening space). This impulse response is converted to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), which produces a detailed model of each loudspeaker's frequency characteristics. By capturing multiple measurements across the listening area, ARC Genesis builds a comprehensive acoustic map of the room, revealing how sound interacts with walls, furniture, and layout.

The system varies microphone height across measurement positions, with measurements taken 6 to 12 inches below and above the initial reference point, to provide a three-dimensional view of the room's acoustic signature. This multi-dimensional sampling accounts for standing waves, resonances, and reflections that vary vertically throughout the space.

Correction Architecture: Minimum-Phase Filters

ARC Genesis generates minimum-phase digital filters to correct measured frequency response. Minimum-phase filters produce quick impulse responses with minimal sustained ringing, mimicking how natural acoustic events decay in real rooms. This design choice specifically avoids pre-ringing artifacts, backward echoes that occur with mixed-phase equalization approaches.

Pre-ringing is particularly problematic at low frequencies, where the long time delays necessary to create equalization introduce audible backward-echo coloration. Digital-domain processing achieves correction precision using 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit, or higher bit-depth representation, enabling exact frequency correction points without the component tolerances (1–5% variance) that limit analog filters.

Technical Capabilities

Frequency Range: ARC Genesis provides full-range room correction from 20 Hz to 20 kHz for each set of speakers.

Microphone Calibration: Some ARC microphones feature a 6-digit serial number that allows the ARC software to download that specific microphone's individual response calibration curve, compensating for unit-to-unit variations in microphone frequency response.

Multiple Measurement Sets: Depending on the device, you can create up to four independent measurement sets. This is useful when significant changes in room configuration predictably occur, for example, when furniture is rearranged or the space is repurposed.

Professional Mode: Advanced users can adjust target curves using room gain, deep bass boost, and tilt controls. Individual speaker sets allow adjustment of high-frequency roll-off and crossover frequencies/slopes. Subwoofers can be adjusted for high-frequency extension, low-frequency extension, and low-frequency extension slope, enabling fine-tuned calibration for specific acoustic goals.

Product Support and Compatibility

ARC Genesis is included in Anthem's high-end receiver line, including the MRX 540, MRX 740, and MRX 1140 models, which feature refreshed electronics platforms supporting up to 15.2 channels. The system is also available in Anthem's AVM-series processors. ARC Genesis is backward compatible with many Anthem, Paradigm, and MartinLogan products that are ARC- or PBK-enabled from earlier generations.

Room Acoustics Context

Room size, shape, construction, furnishings, and layout create standing waves, resonances, and reflections that color the sound played by loudspeakers. These acoustic phenomena are location-dependent: the same speaker pair will sound different in different rooms due to these boundary and modal effects. ARC Genesis measures these room-specific colorations and applies correction filters to mitigate them, improving tonal balance and clarity throughout the listening area.