Arcam rDAC Wireless
We might settle for the wired option but the rDAC’s quality isn’t up for debate
Write your own reviewFor
Spot-on build and design; all necessary connections; wireless option; excellent sound
Against
The wireless option is bettered by using a cable; sound can be a touch bass-heavy
Arcam was right on cue as the digital-to-analogue convertor re-emerged as a desirable component for the nation’s audio systems. The rDAC didn’t merely ‘arrive’, it well and truly conquered, taking home our best budget DAC Award 2010.
Despite that gong, there’s little that’s ‘budget’ about the rDAC. A good thing, too: with many DACs now available for half the money, the £300 price can no longer be considered low-priced.
The smart, slender profile houses all the necessary connections – coaxial, optical and USB inputs, plus stereo analogue outputs – and there’s the added bonus of wireless connectivity for streaming music to the DAC (you’ll need to add an rWave or rWand, £80, to stream from a computer or Apple portable).
Quality is best when using a wired connection, however, so the £300 non-wireless version may be the better choice for most people. Either way you get the benefit of an asynchronous USB system – most DACs use an inferior adaptive system – and the ability to listen to 24bit 192kHz files over coaxial and optical.
A powerful, dynamic sound
The end results are superb. A 320kbps file of Bombay Bicycle Club’s Shuffle is detailed, powerful and dynamic. Deep bass notes are controlled (just about) yet weighty, while screeching guitars are lively and exciting without setting your teeth on edge.
We’d rather work with uncompressed files – with storage so cheap, it’s surely a no-brainer – and a WAV of Bjork’s Venus As A Boy is given impressive scale and space, with vocals allowed to breathe and individual instruments given their own room yet integrating perfectly.
It takes some effort to make a stylish-looking DAC – but plenty more to make it sound this good. For £370, we expect and require nothing else.