Web Exclusive: Arcam irDAC digital converter

We’ve been running very late with some of our more value-led reviews, in part because things that are easy to lift tend to get moved out of the way when hernia-inducing high-end products get hefted into place, and in part because we’ve been sitting round enjoying them too much. In fact, we have such an embarrassment of audio riches now, we either put reviews exclusively to our website, or have them wait for years to see the printed page.

Such is the case with the Arcam irDAC. Launched early last year as the replacement to the popular rDAC, this £399 wired converter is one of Arcam’s core products today. Although Arcam still makes two disc-players in its music oriented FMJ range (and a Blu-ray player for home theatre), the change in fortunes for spinning disc has meant this little DAC is Arcam’s prime digital audio mover. And what a great little mover it is, too.

Taken at face value, there isn’t a great deal to get extremely excited about with the irDAC. It features the good, solid performance of the Texas Instruments PCM1796 converter, which is capable of supporting 24-bit, 768kHz off the chip, but is held at 24bit, 192kHz precision here. It features two coaxial and two optical S/PDIF inputs, a USB type B input (with a DIP switch that flits from Class I to Class II USB Audio, depending on your system), and a USB type A for a wired iDevice. It has a single coaxial S/PDIF digital output, and a pair of gold phonos to connect to an amplifier. It typically draws power from a plug-top (‘wall-wart’) supply, with different snap-in plug configurations for US, UK, and EU power sockets. The DAC can rack through its inputs from a button on the top, or through the same remote supplied with the D33. This also indicates the presence of filter adjustment and an AES/EBU input, but don’t get your hopes up; these are not present on the irDAC, and you cannot power down the irDAC from the remote.

What is missing from the irDAC is any wireless connectivity, where its predecessor had an optional Kleer Wireless connection. In fact, wireless has been handed over to Arcam’s airDAC, which swaps the USB connections and the second optical and coaxial S/PDIF inputs for an Ethernet connection and a wireless aerial for Airplay and UPnP connections. That’s arguably a better way to approach the task than trying to make a product that does all things for all people, and I suspect the irDAC is going to be the better seller of the two because of its ‘Mac & DAC’ connectivity (it works just as well with PCs, but that doesn’t rhyme so well).

The important thing is not the specs. It’s the sound. When I looked at the Arcam D33 DAC, I felt it was like a set of training wheels for dCS. The irDAC is the gateway drug to the D33. It’s one of the smoothest-sounding (without sounding ‘botoxed’) DACs you can find for the money. It’s detailed, refined, precise, calm, and collected. There’s a short period where it’s none of these things, and is instead just shouty at the top end and shut-in everywhere else. But give it a day, and that melts away, and the result is excellent.

This refinement and precision really brings out the vocal intonation of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy singing ‘I See A Darkness’ from the relatively lo-fi album of the same name. On more sublimely recorded material, such as ‘Both Sides Now’ from the Herbie Hancock album River: The Joni Letters, the Arcam DAC provides a rich and subtle environment for the interplay between musicians to pass unimpeded, and creates a wide and deep image in the process.

Arcam has something like a house sound going on here. The DAC has a lot in common with the D33, and it’s like a better version of the rDAC, but it also sounds a lot like the A19 integrated. That house sound isn’t for everyone; some will find it pale and wan, with a foreshortened soundstage, and a lack of energy and drama. Others will find it delightfully honest, refined, and neutral. In a way, it’s biggest problem is it’s a mature product at an immature price point. People buying a £399 DAC are on often on their first or second rung on the digital ladder, and want impressiveness and fireworks. This is a more considered, cerebral sound; exactly the kind of thing the high-end listeners crave.

Arcam’s irDAC doesn’t necessarily have giant killing properties, but it scrubs up well. This is a very good £399 DAC that is just as happy being partnered with an Audio Research VSi75 as it does with its obvious Arcam A19 integrated amp buddy (with the right cable, you can take a feed straight from the A19s onboard power supply, obviating the need for the irDAC’s supplied wall-wart).

This last combination is fascinating, especially when you factor in a pair of KEF LS50s on good stands in a moderate room. What’s surprising here is just how much you get from the system; not just in terms of frequency response, headroom, signal/noise ratio, or any other objective term. No, it’s just how much bloody fun it is. I did a series of columns for Hi-Fi+ (before I took over the reins) about how low you can go and still get good high-end performance. Well, the answer is here; it’s the Arcam irDAC, the A19, and a pair of KEF LS50. As a turnkey package, it’s good enough to use as is, or if you want to treat you and your system to an elaborate series of presents, you could spend a small fortune on resonance control, cable systems, and the full nine yards. It can take it if you want it, but it sounds good enough on its own. In a world of dictator grade audio costing as much as a small island, a system of this simplicity and relatively low price should be an amuse-bouche, but (deep bass aside) it’s the whole damn banquet. In fact, I’ve been so taken by this little system that I’ve commissioned a review of the complete package in its own right for the magazine.

Back to the irDAC. I knew it was something special when I put it back in the box and immediately regretted the decision to send it back. That shouldn’t be a surprise. Arcam is no stranger to making good DACs, it was one of the first standalone affordable DAC makers on the scene, with its original Black Box from 1989. It has retained a reputation for good digital conversion ever since; even when DACs were off the map, Arcam’s CD players were always highly praised for good sound at a reasonable price. That sounds like faint praise in today’s more febrile market, but it’s not. The irDAC offers good sound at a reasonable price. There are better DACs out there, but not at the price. In its weight class, it goes blow for blow with the best of them. You could buy this and comfortably sign yourself off buying another DAC until you had an absolutely hyper-pure audio system that cost as much as a powerboat, and then you’d need to be looking at some serious digital firepower as a replacement.

Technical Specifications

• DAC: TI PCM1796
• Inputs: USB, S/PDIF, optical, iPod
• Frequency response: 10Hz — 20kHz, ±0.1dB
• Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise: 0.002%
• Signal-to-noise ratio (A –Weighted): 112dB (24-bit)
• Line output level: 2.2Vrms
• Supported sample rates: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 192kHz
• Supported bit depths: 16-bit, 24-bit
• Power requirements: 7W max
• Dimensions (WxDxH): 190 x 120 x 44mm
• Price: £399

Manufacturer: Arcam

www.arcam.co.uk

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