Arcam rDAC

[lovejoy]

In a fit of 'I want a new toy' itchyness, I picked up an Arcam rDAC from Richer Sounds yesterday. It's a rather nicely built piece of kit and the first 24 hours of listening are going rather well. A full review to come when I've had a bit more time to enjoy what it's doing.

[lovejoy]

Ok, 24 hours in (not of straight listening, that would be madness) and I'm getting a good feel for what this DAC is capable of.

I'd been intrigued about the idea of asynchronous USB connections for some time. Regular readers may remember that I ran a Macbook Pro for a good while and was never really satisfied with the sound, which spurred me into building a dedicated audio PC running a stripped back Windows XP installation, an ASIO capable sound card for digital out and a copy of the CMP player - This is an awesome set up and really got the best out of my Caiman. The problem now was the fact that I had to keep two separate music libraries as CMP won't read ALAC files. Then there's the noise from the PC - Amazing how the definition of 'silent' has been altered to mean 'somewhere around 30dB of noise' by PC PSU manufacturers. Then there's the fact that it's not the prettiest of boxes and lastly that CMP isn't the greatest user interface, at least not when you've been using iTunes for some time.

So the big question on my mind was would asynchronous USB finally allow my Macbook to sound as good as my PC?

I chanced across a copy of this month's Hi-Fi Choice on my way to Cardiff yesterday and read the review of the rDAC. It's a rather attractive review and when they mentioned that it was the dCS implementation of the asynchronous USB that Arcam were using I thought it was probably going to be pretty good. So getting off the train at Cardiff I made straight for the nearest Arcam retailer for a listen. This turned out to be Richer Sounds and unfortunately being a rather small shop they didn't have any proper demonstration facilities. "No problem" said the sales guy "Try it for the weekend at home" - so that's what I did.

Getting it home and taking it out of the box the first thing that strikes you is that for it's size (which is a little smaller than a Caiman) it's quite a hefty little brick, put together rather nicely and its brushed aluminium finish matches the Macbook Pro perfectly (was this done on purpose I wonder). The only other things in the box are a rather thin quick start guide, warranty card and horrible tiny wallwart 6V power supply.

The back panel sports DC input, 1x coax, 1x optical, 1x USB, phono analogue output, power switch and currently blanked off socket for future use with the wireless dongle due to be released soon AFAIK.

So time to connect up and play some tunes. Yesterday evening was spent with it connected to the music PC playing lossless tunes from the hard drive and a bit of Spotify. From cold, it sounded good - nothing earth shattering, or anything to note particularly. It wasn't doing anything wrong, it was perfectly enjoyable, but then it wasn't doing anything better than I am used to either. This was confirmed track after track for the rest of the evening and I went to bed thinking "hmmm, yes it's OK I guess", I left it on overnight to get it warming up some more.

This morning I woke up with the thought that it was likely to get returned on Monday but I was going to spend a good few more hours with it. Today's task was to test the asynchronous USB and whether it could enable the Macbook to approach the quality of the dedicated audio PC. If it could do that, it was probably worth keeping as I miss having one library for everything and I have to admit, I miss the iTunes interface.

So on to the Mac for a few tunes from the library... The first thing that struck me was the incredible amount of detail it was suddenly digging out of everything. More detail in a lot of recordings than I have ever heard before. Then there was the sense of ease with which it allowed you to listen to every single layer within the most complex recordings. Piano sounds lush and full and weighty - a complaint I've always had with digital is that piano generally sounds quite thin and lacking in the sense of weight being pushed into the keys - acoustic guitar has this beautiful resonance and instruments in general have a sense of realism I'd certainly never heard out of a Mac before. The soundstage is massive and the sense of scale from some recordings is tremendous and completely enveloping. It has this ability to really draw you into a recording. If you're one of those people who likes to flick between tracks like you're flicking through channels on your Sky remote, then this will ween you off that habit.

Overall tonality is on the smooth side of neutral, which from my experience of Arcam is pretty much their house sound, but there's still plenty of dynamics and excitement to be had. Playing anything with a bit of raucous electric guitar keeps you increasing the volume...

Which brings me to it's main strength... There's not a trace of digital hardness or glare, no sibilance, no over brightness, nothing. Considering I have Shahinian Arc Mark 1 speakers that's saying something as these are probably some of the most unforgiving speakers when it comes to digital audio that you could own, which explains why I've hated CD so much for so many years.

So after a bit of warming up it sounds great. Time to move to the PC for comparison. Using the USB connection, there's nothing really to tell between the Mac and the PC. That's one very big box ticked. I can go back to using iTunes on a Mac that makes no noise, I can close the lid of the Macbook, put it on the rack next to the DAC where it looks rather smart and control my iTunes library and my Spotify browsing via my iPhone. Result! But there's another massive bonus to come...

I no longer have to quit iTunes and change audio MIDI settings whenever I want to listen to hi-res recordings. I can now leave audio MIDI set to 24/96 to play everything and it all sounds fantastic. That is a huge boon, or at least it will be when I've got more than the current 5 24/96 recordings ;-).

if there are any criticisms to be made so far (and bearing in mind that it's not yet run in), it's that the bass doesn't have quite the extension that I am used to and sometimes you feel that it's just being that little tiny bit polite in loud passages, but the bass problem is forgotten as the rest of the spectrum just draws you in and holds your attention and doesn't let go. I'll check in again in another week and update how the sound has changed after some further running in.

Of course, it can't be allowed to continue on that horrible little wall wart forever. The question as to what happens when you fit it with a good linear supply has to be answered, but that's for another day. For now, time to sit back and really enjoy some music from my Macbook - I can't tell you how pleased I am to be able to utter that sentence.

In short, Richer Sounds won't be seeing their DAC back ;-).

[colinB]

Great review. Im surprised Richer are doing it when thet have their own DAC magic to sell.

[roob]

I am sure I have seen somewhere on t'internet that a better psu is a worthwhile investment for this dac.

[webby]

Rich, are you gonna pay for it? :lolsign:

[lovejoy]

:lolsign:

I already have. I thought that question might arise. Richer Sounds even gave me one of their new mugs. Now I need some new tunes to celebrate.

[Ali Tait]

I noted the comment about a better PS.Does it use a wall-wart?

[lovejoy]

I noted the comment about a better PS.Does it use a wall-wart?

Yeah, it's a tiny thing and weighs next to nothing. Considering how much it weighs I'm surprised there are any components in there at all. Even so, it's still sounds great in stock form, but given such a lightweight PSU, a good linear is bound to elevate it further is it not?

[Ali Tait]

Possibly.Certainly worth trying.What's the input voltage?

[Vincent Kars]

As both the iMac and the rDac have USB and optical, how does async USB compare to Toslink?

[lovejoy]

The input is 6V, which means I can't just plug in the supply I built for the Caiman unfortunately, but no rush on that front.

I have to admit I've not tried the TOSLINK connection as yet Vincent, mostly due to the fact that my Mac's optical out never sounded any good to my ears with any other DACs, but I'll be sure to give it a go this week.

[Vincent Kars]

Thanks

Toslink is in general considered to be pour on jitter performance and async USB is supposed to almost eliminate input jitter.
Your experiment will a very interesting one.

[DSJR]

Why not ask Arcam about supplies before "assuming" that the wall-wart isn't good enough. They'll probably agree with you, but wise to check first :)

[Ali Tait]

The input is 6V, which means I can't just plug in the supply I built for the Caiman unfortunately, but no rush on that front.

I have to admit I've not tried the TOSLINK connection as yet Vincent, mostly due to the fact that my Mac's optical out never sounded any good to my ears with any other DACs, but I'll be sure to give it a go this week.

Cheers.I may try one from Richer as I have some regulated linear supplies.

[technobear]

I was going to wait for the Audiolab MDAC but that is still 4 months away and this is soooooooooooo tempting http://www.technobear.btinternet.co.uk/emoticons/hmmm.gif

It could really wake up my headphone rig which is currently served by an SB3, Caiman and Burson HA-160. It's right by the computer so feeding the rDAC with lovely asynchronous USB would be no problem. What's more, if I sold the SB3 and the Caiman, it would cover a very good chunk of the cost of an rDAC :)

This could be a shortcut to headphonic bliss http://www.technobear.btinternet.co.uk/emoticons/phones.gif

[lovejoy]

I was going to wait for the Audiolab MDAC but that is still 4 months away and this is soooooooooooo tempting

That was EXACTLY my thinking, I just couldn't resist it.

[technobear]

So how is the rDAC coming along?

Have you had chance to compare the SPDIF input to a Caiman?

(Sorry, can't recall if you have a Caiman)

[Audiocom AV]

Cheers.I may try one from Richer as I have some regulated linear supplies.

Hello

We have a Teddy Pardo power supply for the rDac, some details yet to be confirmed but the price will be similar to the Squeezebox Duet & SB3 supplies.

Cheers,
Mark

[lovejoy]

So how is the rDAC coming along?

Have you had chance to compare the SPDIF input to a Caiman?

(Sorry, can't recall if you have a Caiman)

Yep, I have a Caiman.

Comparing the optical out of the Mac into the Caiman and into the rDac, I have to admit, I'm having a hard time differentiating them. I think I'd fail miserably in a blind A/B test. There's really nothing in it. It's the async USB connection that's making the rDac sound rather special.

Tonight it's time to venture into the realms of insanity.. I have a Kimber USB cable to try out :stalks:

The Teddy Pardo PSU sounds most interesting. Put me on the list for one.

[Ali Tait]

Hello

We have a Teddy Pardo power supply for the rDac, some details yet to be confirmed but the price will be similar to the Squeezebox Duet & SB3 supplies.

Cheers,
Mark

Thanks Mark,the supplies I have are pretty good,and since I liberated them from work,were free!

[technobear]

Tonight it's time to venture into the realms of insanity.. I have a Kimber USB cable to try out :stalks:


So how did it go?

Are you still loving the rDAC?

[lovejoy]

It's been a most interesting journey the past few weeks. I had prepared my findings twice into a new post and then things ended up changing again. I think everything has pretty much settled down now though. I guess it didn't help too much that I upgraded my amplifiers a couple of weeks ago in terms of gauging just how good this DAC was sounding, but yes, I'm still loving the rDAC.

The burn-in process was rather fraught to say the least. The first few nights of listening after purchase were utter bliss. Rarely have I enjoyed digital audio this much and it was thoroughly addictive. Then about a week in, something changed. All of a sudden there was a raggedness - an uneasy edge in the top end. It had lost it's amazing insight and massive amounts of microdetail. It still sounded *GOOD* but it was no longer breathtaking.

It took around another 2 weeks for this raggedness to die away and for the detail and the sweet treble to return. I still don't think it's as stunning as it sounded when I first bought it. Those tiny little bits of detail you never heard before on songs you've been familiar with for years that make you smile seem to have faded into the background somewhat, but apart from this, all of the other qualities I mentioned in my first post are there. It's a minor niggle and one I should really contact Arcam to ask about. I'm still enjoying digital audio hugely.

As to the USB cables. I'd love to say that it was all bunk and there's no difference, which is something I strongly believed before trying the Kimber USB cable out, but irritatingly there is a difference and the Kimber (over a certified but unbadged USB2.0 cable I was using) gave a sense of ease to the music where there was a slight edge with the standard cable. Very much a less 'digital' sound. The drawback however is that the Kimber cable gives a bit of bloom to the lower registers, so couple this with the fact that the Arcam is on the warm side of neutral too and an element of boom crept in, which became irritating after a short while. No matter though, as a trip to my local Tesco revealed some 'Technica high quality USB2.0 cables'. I thought these looked very suspiciously like the Belkin Pro cables I'd heard some good things about and thought that at £4.99 they had to be worth a punt.. Bingo! Ok, they're not quite as effortless sounding as the Kimber, but the bloom has gone making them overall much more enjoyable. I think there may be some more experimentation to be done with USB cables, or alternatively I may just go for the wireless option for the rDAC which should circumvent the problem altogether.

All in all, I'm very pleased with it. The only thing I'm lacking currently is the time to sit down and listen to it more.

[Welder]

Hi lovejoy.

Of course, its complete nonsense to believe USB cables can make the slightest bit of difference :doh:
I didn’t get on with the Kimber either. The wireworld ultraviolet is worth a try.
My favorite so far, 1.6 metre Belkin Gold :scratch:

(Just don’t ask. I am a convicted objectivist after all) :lol:

[Clive]

I hope USB cables don't make a difference but now I'm concerned. My situation is a little more extreme as I'm using 2 USB cables so one is an active repeater cable. When I used my 7520 as standard I could not detect any difference between a 1m USB and the 2 cables with repeater. Now that I have done the passive mod on the 7520 the difference between the cables is [I]really[I] obvious.

[technobear]

Sounds good. I am so tempted to grab one of these until the Audiolab arrives - especially as we now know that the 8200DQ won't be readily available until some time in January and the MDAC will be April.

Who'd have thunk that USB cables could still make a difference even when it's asynchronous USB. Can't be 1's and 0's. Can't be jitter. Must be noise somehow.

[StanleyB]

Not forgetting the Caiman upgrade around summer 2011 as well...
Anyone with an rDAC close to me? Won't mind sounding it out to see how it stacks up.

[Ali Tait]

Can you give us any details Stan?

[roob]

Will it have aysnc usb Stanley?