Are the older ARC microphones (silver metal models) still good for ARC 3?

With normal “recording” microphones the accuracy of the frequency response down to the dB or fraction of dB is not that crucial, but for measurement microphones it’s a fundamental aspect.

There were two models of the original ARC condenser microphone, one with an orange ring at its base, one without; the first model is from 2007 and it’s the one without the orange ring.

Condenser microphones tend to vary their response with environmental conditions and with age.

In 2009 that mic was replaced with the second model (with the orange ring) to improve the stability with time and temperature.

So, if you own one of the original ring-less microphones that was sold between 2007 and 2009, while you can for sure use and see the results, there are chances that its reliability is not great at today (11+ years later), making the precision of the ARC 3 correction less accurate.

The second model was more stable, but even that one is surpassed in terms of precision and stability with environment and age by the ARC 3 MEMS microphone.

So, if you’re after a great level of accuracy from your monitoring system, make sure to use the ARC 3 MEMS microphone for the room analysis phase.

 
FAQ ID: 1331