ARCAM rDAC

It should be right up your alley mate.

Mine is just about sold now in any event.

Cheers and happy hi fi.

Don't you think it's too much to ask for $479 DAC to reproduce music that is complicated? I think even a decent $4k bookshelf speaker will crumble if tested to such degree.. just a thought!

Jason

I'm using the rDac with a pair of $4k speakers. Dali Helicon 300 MKII's. So far as it breaks in, they are a match in heaven. The warmth of the Dac is bringing out the low end of the speaker I had not heard till now. I am very pleased with this.

Mark,
It's great that you are having such good success with this unit.
Having looked over description and specs of the rDAC and having owned several Arcam sources, I am wondering if this unit might not benefit from:
- a better DC power source (e.g., a battery) than the relatively inferior switching pwr supply provided;
- isolation and vibration damping.

Wondering if by chance you might have tried either of these in achieving your good results.

I just hit around 245 hours running it full time. Been an interesting trip.
0-3 hours start-up, VERY warm sound, My helicon 300 MKII's never sounded better. Highs were a hair overly crisp. The detail was good.
70-100 hour point, extension of the bass is gone. High end seems a little distorted. The detail was still present. Listened in 30-45 minute segments a few times during this burn-in time.
157 hour point, the distortion at the high end seems to settle down, imaging was fair.
210 hours, same as 157 with the exception, detail is better.
235 hours, the overly warm sound when I opened the box, is gone. Now the low end is detailed and tight. While it’s tight, I would love to know what it measures. I’m not sure how to write this, I wonder if the output at around 200hz and under, is low “under-performing”? How do you do a sine wave and measure it?
The mid-range and highs seem detailed and clear. Imaging is good, but, I believe it excels in detail of the music.
I do get the sense that the out of the box wow factor is not as good. With great material, the Dac does a pretty good job. With poor material, obviously not that well.
Most music listening is done with electronic, jazz, rock and classical.
Just got off the phone with my dealer. I have some low freq music. I'm thinking of hitting the Dac with 20+ hours of it and see what the response is.