Many of us are now choosing to store our music collections on computers, be it MP3 or high quality FLAC, WAV or Apple Lossless which have the potential to be even better than CD quality. The trouble then is how best to convert our digital music into an analogue signal suitable for hi-fi amplification. The digital to analogue converters found in most computers just simply are not up to the task as part of a high-end system, giving noisy and often harsh results.
It's no surprise that Arcam, the company which brought us the Black Box, the worlds first dedicated hi-fi DAC to solve the issue of poor DACs in CD players back in 1989 have solved today's problem for us. The rDac's sleek aluminium casing allow it to fit right in on your hi-fi rack or on a desk alongside your MacBook, but it's what's under the lid of this astonishing little unit which is really important.
At the heart of the rDac lies the the outstanding 8741 IC from Wolfson Microelectronics, this handles the conversion from the USB, optical and digital coaxial inputs. Found in professional recording equipment and very high specification hi-fi equipment, Wolfson’s patented architecture optimises the linearity of the DAC and provides maximum insensitivity to clock jitter. The compact rDac also houses two separate power supplies to supply the digital an analogue sections independently to reduce noise.
The rDac really does render music with stunning accuracy and a big part of this is down to the way it handles USB connections, which is the very best way to utilise this DAC when working with computer based music. This is because Arcam have licensed some unique technology from dCS (Data Conversion Systems) which is normally only found in products costing many times the price of the rDac.
When data is sent from a computer to DAC by USB a clock on both devices is used to ensure the right bits are arriving at the right time. The trouble with this is that most computer clocks are simply not accurate enough, resulting a slightly miss-timed data and causing what's known as jitter. This has a negative impact on audio quality and most often results in a harsh sound to music. The Asynchronous USB technology from dCS allows the rDac to take control of the timing with it's precision clock which drastically reduces the level of jitter from USB music sources and delivers a massive improvement in sound quality. This technology has also been incorporated into the rWave and rWand wireless accessories so that even without cables the accuracy of your music is preserved.
The rDac KW features a wireless connection which utilises KLEER technology to allow you to stream uncompressed, CD quality sound from either your computer by means of the rWave USB dongle or from your Apple device with the rWand attachment.
Quite simply, if you have a large digital music collection and sound quality is important to you, as well as the convenience wireless use you cannot afford to be without the rDac. We certainly think the rDac has all the makings of another classic product from Arcam.
Features
Ideal for use with:
- Internet radio
- Set-top boxes Games consoles
- Windows computers
- Apple Mac computers
- iTunes
- Windows Media Player
- Re-clocking circuitry eliminates jitter and noise usually associated with music in the computer environment.
- Stylish aluminium case matches modern computers & compnents
Specification
Inputs
- 1x Optical SPDIF (Toslink socket)
- 1x Coaxial SPDIF (Gold plated socket)
- 1x USB
- 1x Wireless (optional, requires rWave USB dongle or rWand iPod/ iPad dongle)
Outputs
- 2x RCA / Phono sockets (Gold plated)
Output Level
Audio Performance
- THD+N: 0.003% - (0dBFS, 1kHz, 22Hz to 22kHz, unweighted)
- Noise: -104dB - (relative to full scale, 22Hz to 22kHz, unweighted)
Dimensions
- Width: 160mm (6.3")
- Depth: 111mm (4.4")
- Height: 40mm (1.6")
Downloads
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| rDac Manual |
rDac KW Manual |
