ARC drums up bass from MP3s
HEARING IS believing in the case of the latest software addition - Virtual Bass - to ARC's Sonic Focus digital audio technologies. It makes listening to MP3s enjoyable again.
Essentially ARC has been quietly integrating the technology it gained when it acquired Sonic Focus back in February 2008.
Ignoring the vast improvement in sound quality, the company also claims its technology increases playback times from around 30 hours to 100 hours.
The benefits to chip makers are also claimed to be considerable. How about $3 million in manufacturing cost savings over the life of a product for OEMs and $1 million savings in silicon costs over the life of a system-on-chip (SoC) product development?
The full package available immediately from ARC includes: - The underlying silicon solution that cuts chip size and lowers power consumption; a complete set of software to provide playback of any digital music format; all the tools needed to develop a chip solution; plus the complete Sonic Focus audio enrichment technology suite.
ARC's Marco Jacobs explained to the INQ that other techniques for enhancing bass response from digital recording have severe side-effects. Essentially, you get a 'booming' sound that distorts the vocals.
The litmus test was to supply Jacobs with a favourite MP3 track of the INQ's - a Cuban Son recording. With virtual Bass switched on, it was suddenly possible to distinguish the double bass being played in the background.
Try clicking here for ARC's Youtube video that attempts to convey the improvement in sound quality.
Obviously musicphone and MP3 player manufacturers will be interested in this technology but the surprise alternative market is for flat screen manufacturers. The casings are so thin these days that the bass response is usually pathetic. µ
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A few people have been banging on for years that MP3 is a crappy playback experience. The masses say that they can’t tell the difference. Now enough of a difference can be discerned that ARC have been developing a silicon solution.

That is called polishing a turd.

That is what you get for tolerating on line downloads at sub par quality.

What everyone gets is shit production and no thought to the artistic process of making music. We all have to share in sub standard production because no sucker can tell the difference when listening to MP3. If you saved your money and purchased decent equipment, then your investment is buggered because nobody seems to be willing to put the effort into production anymore. It’s all for the lowest common denominator and a demographic that has deafened themselves on shite iPuke’s that don’t even come with a volume control.

So when some company comes along and says it makes Mp3 sound better it makes my blood boil! Music sounded better in the first place, it’s only because Mp3 sound so shit that people are even considering making chips.

“With virtual Bass switched on, it was suddenly possible to distinguish the double bass being played in the background”

Well welcome to the 1980’s of music enjoyment folks. I wonder, what was I thinking, paying ~£1500 fifteen years ago for a hi-fi that still sounds great today. I don’t need a sodding chip to do it; all I need is some production that makes an effort.

I suppose you reap what you sow :(
Great work shat.. Totally ignoring the fact that it consumes 1/3 the power of todays solutions... and probably 1/333 the power that your 1993 system comsumes.

I suppose you reap what you sow:(

Your monitor must be from 1993 as well - i recon it's interlaced because you only read 1/2 the article.

let's all remain in 1993, shall we?
I'm feelin fiesty!
So they've bought themselves a Vitalizer huh?
You can't recreate in an mp3 what's been taken out of it, gone = gone.
And 99% of music listeners are used to mp3s now anyway.