Here’s my speaker and subwoofer distance after ARC calibration. Notice my Surround Back Right channel is set at 0 ft.
Here’s my phase setting for my subwoofers.
With the AVM90 coming soon… I believe HDMI2.1 board upgrade will be coming soon as well. Its not free though. I wonder TEG will charge how much.
I for one wud do not see any motivation to upgrade atm. Nothing in terms of sound or video based on my consumption source channels needed this new standard. I think the biggest driver would be coming from gaming consoles.
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the distance can be easily obtained through REW, but not the phase, interesting.
Same here…no intention to upgrade the board for gaming. Projector just ain’t cut it for such a task.
I guess it is another way of looking at “glass is half full vs glass is half empty”. It is the acoustic distance instead of the usual physical distance that most of us are familiar with. If Anthem want to avoid any confusion, they should consider changing the nomenclature of the word “distance” to something like “measured delay in ms”.
This is a consolidation post on what’s happening in the last 72hrs after the release of the new ARC Genesis ver 1.6.1 Beta. The biggest draw for this particular firmware is the addition of automated phase alignment, distance, and delay for multiple subwoofers. This is a huge deal since earlier version of ARC Genesis omitted those features which forced many users to either use the REW with miniDSP to get the time alignment, distance and phase right. This is an onerous undertaking for the newbies. While Anthem sound is great, it can be better and the time has arrived!
1) Firmware Update on your hardware
You are required to update your AVR/AVM firmware first before you can interface with the new ARC Genesis (v1.6.1). Some users have encountered problems in updating the firmware. For those who are unable to update to the latest beta firmware for your MRX AVR 740/1140 or AVM70. Many people make the mistake of trying to do an update via the AVR or AVM directly by simply invoking the “Check for Update” on the Settings page. This is not going to work. Instead, go to the web UI (http://192.168.X.X) and check for updates. You can see that a new firmware for my MRX1140 appears as “1.108.160 XXXX”.
Click the button and let it download the bin file onto your AVR/AVM. Wait for it (unfortunately, there is no indicator of any sort to tell you the firmware bin file is ready). Once the download is finished, you will see that the update will automatically apply to your AVR/AVM.
After the firmware update is completed, go to the Setting menu to verify that you have the latest firmware version like the one below:
2) Download ARC Genesis Beta v1.6.1
Next, go here to download the latest beta firmware. For those “kiasi” type, rest assured this beta firmware is perfectly safe, It will also retain the previous calibrated ARC files you have had saved and you can continue to make adjustments to your old ARC file if you choose to. However, to reap the benefits of the new features like auto phase correction, delay, and distance computation, you will need to do a new ARC calibration measurement due to the “new” algorithm implemented in the ARC calibration process to calculate relative delay (distance) of all the speakers and subwoofer(s) using the left speaker as the baseline.
3) New Calibration Process
Before you dive in to calibrate, make sure you to remove the previous ARC calibration setting in your AVR/AVM. Next, do a Quick measurement on the subwoofer(s) to ensure that the SPL reads 75dB (for a single subwoofer) or around 70dB (for two or more subwoofers). The calibration Master Volume (MV) remains at 37.5dB but the test tone emitted at this particular MV level is NOT at 75dB (reference level) but at a much lower SPL that hovers around 67dB. This is the reason why we will never get a negative trim value for the speakers and the subwoofer(s). This is something that Anthem has not corrected since the last ARC Genesis (v1.5.4).
Something to note for the seasoned user. Recall previously that the workaround to attain a neg trim value is to slowly increase the MV until the SPL reading reached 75dB. In my case, it will be around 32.5dB (around +5dB from the default MV level set by Anthem). UNFORTUNATELY, in this latest iteration of the ARC Genesis firmware, it breaks this feature where users can alter the MV before the start of the calibration process. This is something that I’ll have to live with it. Nothing serious, just that the user can no longer listen at the playback volume at -15dB or -10dB when watching movies. It will get plenty loud at around -25dB.
Something new in this firmware is the calculation of delay for each speaker, including the subwoofer at mic 1 position (MLP). This is a very important position as it calculates the relative distance (delay) of each speaker in relation to the left speaker. The distance will be added to the setting after you upload it to the AVR/AVM.
4) New Auto-Phase calibration
You can only perform auto phase correction AFTER you have uploaded the ARC setting to your AVR/AVM. The AVR/AVM will emit a series of test tones to determine the optimum crossover between the Mains and the subwoofer(s) at different phases - e.g. 0 degree, 5 degree, 10 degree, 15 degree, 60 degree, 120 degree so and and forth. The goal here is to derive the highest SPL in each of these phases. You will see something like the one below:
Once completed, you will see the changes been reflected in this segment of the Web UI:
There is no need for you to perform another uploading to the AVR/AVM as it will automatically be added iinto the setting when the auto phase correction is completed.
5) Play with your Room Gain and/or Deep Bass Boost in ARC Genesis
After phase calibration, you may feel the bass is anemic (weak) as ARC has now get rid of the boominess (spike) at different frequency range. This is something that user will need to to give it some time to get used to, especially for those “bass-heads”. To recover the bass at the modal frequency region, user can increase the Room Gain to say around 4dB and add a 1dB deep bass boost for that tactile bass (important for those with bass shakers installed under their seats). YMMV, so pls do experiment until you get what your are looking for.
6) Second Profile for Music
Like the previous version of ARC Genesis, if you have a second profile for say your music listening, you will need to copy the speaker and the subwoofer distance (delay) from your primary profile to the second profile. Do take note of that.
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Gene from Audioholics giving his benchmark reviews on the MRX740/1140.
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To do a proper calibration, mic positioning at your seat is important. Here’s a depiction of how you should place your calibration mic. I’m using a 2-seater but yours maybe a L-shaped couch or a single recliner etc. The key is to place the mic right in the middle with equidistant to the speakers as far as possible.
Mic 1 (MLP) position
Mic 2 (MLP) position
Mic 3 (MLP) position
Mic 4 (MLP) position
Mic 5 (MLP) position
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Detail and useful guide here.
Thanks!
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Bingo. I used the same mic 5 positions too as per my earlier drawing.
Nice sharing there.
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Unfortunately after 3 tries, I still do not like the results from this new upgrade 
Sounds ok (acceptable) for music - though kinda “sterile” and without warmth…
But for movies - urgh… lost the “excitement”, punch and rumble… push the room gain and boost, some improvement but not uniform. ie in the prev settings I get more or less what I want in all the test material, this time round it works for some but the others … just not quite there. 
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Hmmm…have you played with other settings if the auto calibration process didn’t seem to work for you?
Yep,… max room gain and the boost help but too much boost it became muddy/blurry. I’m missing that tight solid “thud” vs now it’s more of “blub” 
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I totally agreed with you on this observation…I also found any increase (even a mere 0.125dB) to the deep bass boost will immediately cause the bass to be “muddy”. It has a big impact on the overall audio presentation where the whole sound stage becomes “bloated” and “dull”. In fact, you should only boost Room Gain instead and leave the Deep Bass Boost intact at “0 dB”.
Received my 740 yesterday, hooked up to my system, upgraded to latest firmware and ARC, did one round of quick 5 point cal (just a quick one to familiarise with Anthem calibration, didn’t do any REW measurement and sub alignment), first impression is: bass is tight and clean, but high frequency too bright. will do more serious calibration these two days if got time. overall user experience: very stable web user interface, and smooth operation, ARC calibration is much faster than Audyssey…good job Anthem!
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By the way, can you post your settings after the phase calibration.
Yes. You need to do more experimentation as the result is room dependent. It may sound good in one room but not in another layout.
My nth attempt 
Back to the drawing board… experimenting on moving the subs around to get the “best” response ie minimal spike and dips. I literally lift, push, pull and drag the subs to test every inch of the back wall, 2/3 of the the side walls and 1/4 of the front…
Using the measure function in ARC in continous loop, I was able to see the response in real time as I moved the sub. The snapshot feature is very useful as I can superimpose and compare multiple locations.
After 1.5 day, I zeroed in on 3 of the best spots (I have 3 subs);
Front wall, abt 1m out
Both side walls, inline with the sitting position.
Once fixed, I reran the Cal and Phase align…
The result is much better and closer to my 3rd or 4th ARC without the phase alignment.
It did not have as much “Oomph!” but the bass lines are very clean.
I still ended up with 5dB gain and 2dB boost.
