# Dac arcam rdac- cambridge black magic



## gumberlack (Aug 9, 2010)

Hello my good shacksters, 
i have received today the long awaited by several ARCAM R DAC about 500 us same here in canada, so let me say this;
a- i will never buy a Dac that is not asynchronous, the arcam is
b- that means the great ingeneers at DCS WAVELENGHT AND AYRE were right about the asynchronous dac controlling the master clock rendering the computer as a slave
c- the difference in sound between both product is very big
i use a window 7 -64 bit with patriot m28 torg ssd where i download master recording in 24 bit-96khz from 
linn uk-classical shop uk-gimmel uk and from usa ;blue coast records . hd track is not available for canadian yet.
the arcam does 24 -bit 96khz in usb asynchronous and it is in that mode i have used it feedind an USHER R 1.5A class a- ab directly with no preamp. Does it drive the amp properly ;yes the dynamic range is absolutely incredible. the noise absent, the finesse in sound the nuance, the rich bass. smooth midrange and very sweet highs not being agressive no sssssss at all.
if you are on budget and want the best sound quality give it a try it will amaze you.(ps i do not work for them)
that dac was my second one and my goal eventually will be an AYRE QB9- 0R A BERKELY ALPHA DAC as the DEBUSSY is out of reach for me.
take care dvi


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## ddgtr (Nov 1, 2009)

Thanks for the info, dvi!!

Have you tried either the AyreQB9 or the Berkeley Alpha? If so, how do they compare to the newly acquired Arcam?

I have a Bryston BDA1 which I'm pretty happy with. It has a USB input, but it only does 16/44 so I bought a usb transport from m2tech and had it modified (battery power instead of dirty usb power to the clocks) for my hi-rez recordings. 

I also heard great things about Chord, have you had any chance to give one a listen?


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## gumberlack (Aug 9, 2010)

no to all and i must admit i have serious problem with the arcam dac yes in usb which is suppose to be the best way to use it i get dc spark that could blow my speakers.
i have not heard the berkely alpha dac ore ayre qb9 but i will definitively look into buying one one day
care dvi


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