Arcam rdac upgades???

[Ben K.]

I have a seen some websites offering upgrades to the arcam rdac at different price levels. Has anyone any experience of this? I do not own an rdac but I like the possibility of being able to upgrade something at a later date. I would think its a bit dodgy though as its not official.

Fidelity audio offer these upgrades for £155 and £259.

Audiocom International offer 3 levels of upgrade at £115, £160 and £204

 

[chebby]

Just start off with a better DAC. (Rega maybe.)

 

[Anonymous]

I have just bought an rDAC and I have looked into this option.

Chebby's point is valid in some circumstances but it depends what you want the DAC to do. I wanted a wireless function so the Arcam's ability to connect wirelessly with my ipod via the rWand was a massive part of why I bought it. I have a turntable on the top of my hi fi rack so there isn't room to connect up my laptop.

I have spoken to Fidelity Audio and they were very approachable. It turns out that they supply a lot of products to Inspire Hi Fi who did the rebuild/upgrade to my turntable. That makes me confident that they are a bona fide outfit and I think I will get mine upgraded in the future.

Another upgrade route is the power supply, I have read reports that even a £20 upgrade from Maplin makes a difference. I realise this whole area is controversial but £20 is arguably worth a punt.

The problem with following this route is that you need to effectivley commit to two purchases (or three if you include the power supply) before you know what the end result will sound like and you can only audition the original rDAC. The upside might be that you end up with a fantastic product for a little over £600 all in. I will report back if I take the plunge, but t is already a clear upgrade for my cd player and I love the wireless ipod connection.

Ian

 

[Anonymous]

sorry - duplication

 

[Ben K.]

I have just bought an rDAC and I have looked into this option.

Chebby's point is valid in some circumstances but it depends what you want the DAC to do. I wanted a wireless function so the Arcam's ability to connect wirelessly with my ipod via the rWand was a massive part of why I bought it. I have a turntable on the top of my hi fi rack so there isn't room to connect up my laptop.

I have spoken to Fidelity Audio and they were very approachable. It turns out that they supply a lot of products to Inspire Hi Fi who did the rebuild/upgrade to my turntable. That makes me confident that they are a bona fide outfit and I think I will get mine upgraded in the future.

Another upgrade route is the power supply, I have read reports that even a £20 upgrade from Maplin makes a difference. I realise this whole area is controversial but £20 is arguably worth a punt.

The problem with following this route is that you need to effectivley commit to two purchases (or three if you include the power supply) before you know what the end result will sound like and you can only audition the original rDAC. The upside might be that you end up with a fantastic product for a little over £600 all in. I will report back if I take the plunge, but t is already a clear upgrade for my cd player and I love the wireless ipod connection.

Ian

I have the same cd player as you and similar speakers. Would you say the rdac was a worthwhile upgrade just for the cd player? I do not use computers and digital music yet but would like to improve my cd quality.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

The bigger reason for me buying it was to allow me to use the iPod as a controller for both music and volume (my lovely 1970s amp doesn't have a remote), the cd player upgrade was a bonus really. There is a definite improvement to the cd6003, in particular the high and low frequencies sound a lot tighter/detailed. Mid range the improvements are more subtle but that is where I think the 6003 excels anyway. I tend to use the digital sources for more casual listening though, my turntable is used more in the evening when I get more chance to listen properly. If you just want to upgrade the 6003 then you have a much bigger set of options, the Rega DAC seems to be flavour of the month on that price range. An obvious point but why not just upgrade the cd player for a another more expensive second hand model? I was considering a second hand unison research as I like that sort of warmer/richer sound in my room. They can go for 400-500 on eBay in good condition approx 2 years old. Also Arcam 192 might be worth a look. I think second hand cd players are looking increasingly good value as more people move to computer based systems and the demand drops

 

[Ben K.]

Thanks for the reply.

Im thinking long term really as I want to get an olive 3hd eventually but they dont have the best sound. WHF say this is easily corrected with a good dac such as the rega. I like the arcam sound generally so was just exploring my options. Maybe I should add the dac last rather than first so then I can buy the one I think sounds best with the olive. My plan is to buy a better amp and then the olive. I was just thinking of buying the dac first to improve my cd player while I save up. The rega dac seems to be hot property at the moment.

 

[dannycanham]

Well if you think it is a bit dodgy you could start with the power supply. It is a worthwhile upgrade and gives you an idea of how you can improve dacs without the risk of the others. The USB connection on a power supply upgraded rDac outperforms the USB of the Rega.

 

[acalex]

Well if you think it is a bit dodgy you could start with the power supply. It is a worthwhile upgrade and gives you an idea of how you can improve dacs without the risk of the others. The USB connection on a power supply upgraded rDac outperforms the USB of the Rega.

Danny, is really a power suplly upgrade able to improve the USB performces that much? Before doing that, do you think is there anything else that should be tried at software level to improve the SQ of the rDAC connected through USB?

Thanks!

 

[nopiano]

Acalex, I cannot speak for the Arcam, but I recently heard Naim's DAC at one of their summer roadshows. It made a significant improvement to their HDX (which costs £4695, so I had thought it must be pretty much 'perfect' already). The Naim DAC is £2100. Then they added a power supply costing a further £3195. I really didn't want it to make a difference, not for that silly money.

But of course it did. Everyone in the room could hear it. You don't need me to tell you that their 555 Power Supply made it better again, especially as that alone is more expensive than any item of audio equipment I've ever bought.

Conclusion: better power supplies make DACs sound better.

I just wish it wasn't true!

 

[Overdose]

Regarding power supply upgrades, I have made a few for my DIY DAC and the truth of the matter is that they are either adequate or not. The job of the power supply, is to provide clean, consistent power, under all conditions and if a change is noticed by swapping power suplies, then there is something wrong with one of them.

Consider the £20 Maplin DAC. Do you think that if a cheap off the shelf PSU can make a noticeable improvement to the rDAC, Arcam would not have used it, or similar, in their design? Either that, or the rDAC is flawed in the first place and perhaps you need to look elsewhere?

I've been looking at the Matrix Quattro DAC, myself.

 

[ReValveiT]

Regarding power supply upgrades, I have made a few for my DIY DAC and the truth of the matter is that they are either adequate or not. The job of the power supply, is to provide clean, consistent power, under all conditions and if a change is noticed by swapping power suplies, then there is something wrong with one of them.

Consider the £20 Maplin DAC. Do you think that if a cheap off the shelf PSU can make a noticeable improvement to the rDAC, Arcam would not have used it, or similar, in their design? Either that, or the rDAC is flawed in the first place and perhaps you need to look elsewhere?

I've been looking at the Matrix Quattro DAC, myself.

+1

I bought a V-PSU for the V-DAC last year and? No change whatsoever.

Felt a right narna for getting sucked in to that one. Sold both and bought an rDac - MUCH better (yes, even with the supplied PSU)

Lesson? Just buy a better DAC in the first place of course!