This post is part of the Focal Arche “episodic” review, that begins here.
DAC vs. Amp vs. All-in-Ones
Products like the Focal Arche, that incorporate both source and amplification make it somewhat challenging to understand the relative/individual performance of their DAC and amplification sources. In most cases where that has been possible, I have typically found that one element will be significantly stronger than the other - to an unbalanced degree.
In the case of a DAC-equipped SPL Phonitor X, for example, the amplifier is much more capable than the DAC192 module, to the point where I can only regard the DAC option as something to use when you really need a one-box solution and/or its more for convenience/monitoring than critical listening (also known as “most people should pass on the DAC192 module). And then the RME ADI-2 DAC fs has a DAC section that is significantly more convincing than its headphone output. I actually pair these two units, opting not to use the DAC in the SPL unit, nor the headphone output on the RME, and instead feeding the DAC output from the ADI-2 fs to the balanced inputs on the Phonitor X to get the best out of both of them.
With the Arche, while the unit is clearly intended to be used as a combined DAC and amplifier, its support for an additional analog source and both balanced and single-ended analog outputs make it possible to evaluate the unit’s analog amplifier stage independently from it’s DAC (and vice-versa) to get an idea of their individual performance.
So how does it fair?
DAC
This is one of the better built-in DAC implementations I have heard. It’s a dual-mono AKM4490 configuration, and supports the full range of input formats and bit rates that the chipset is capable of. The only thing you can’t do is choose between the 4490’s onboard digital filters.
Sonically it is roughly on par with the DAC output of the RME ADI-2 fs and more enjoyable than, say, the significantly more expensive Bryston BDA-3, although it has the AKM “velvet sound” in evidence which always seems to add a bit of, often pleasant, “bloom” to the bottom end - where the RME unit manages to dial this out for a more neutral overall delivery.
As a source feeding a speaker rig, via the analog output in pre-amp mode, the DAC portion still gives an excellent account of itself. At the same time, you wouldn’t want to buy an Arche just to use it as a DAC/pre-amp … value wise I feel it only makes any sense if you’re going to be spending more time with it for headphone listening than anything else. Otherwise you can get the same level of DAC performance elsewhere for around half the price of the Focal piece.
Amplifier
The “richness” I hear from the Arche is present both when using the internal DAC as well as feeding the amplifier from an external source via it’s RCA inputs. This indicates that what I’m describing as “richness” is down to the amplifier and not the DAC - so that is going to carry over onto any other source you connect to the unit also. If you like the effect, this is a good thing … and if not, well, you probably won’t like the unit overall anyway.
I would say I enjoy the amplifier performance here more than say the Massdrop THX AAA 789 and the iFi Audio Pro iCAN in solid-state mode. It’s not quite on the same level as the SPL Phonitor X, though the Arche has a less matter-of-fact presentation than the SPL unit (making the Arche technically less accurate, I suppose, but rather enjoyable nonetheless).
I’ll revisit the amplifiers detailed performance in the full “sound” related episode of this review - here I’m more concerned with determining if it’s the “weak link” or is “holding things back” here … and it’s pretty clear when using it with other sources that this is not the case at all.
All-in-One
This is a very nicely balanced unit - to the point it becomes a bit more than the raw “sum of its parts”, especially when paired with Focal’s headphones. In other words this is a solution that has some appreciable synergy in evidence both as a DAC/amp and especially as “a complete Focal solution”. This fits the apparently life-style-targeted marketing rather well, but unlike a lot of such products is actually an excellent listen as well. I have found it fairly easy to simply get drawn into the music with the Arche - coming to my sense only several albums later.
Neither the amplifier or DAC performance is way out of whack in relation to the other. It’s a highly complementary pairing, and at no time did I feel like the performance was really skewed one way or another. To the extent that there is a “value proposition” to a $2,499 DAC/amp/pre setup, then using the Arche as an all-in-one is easily the best way to realize it.
At a push I’d say the amplifier is the slightly more capable side of the Arche. That opens the door to upgrading overall performance in the future with a better, external, DAC - but it makes no sense to me to buy an Arche and immediately pair it with a different source. But the tilt towards amplifier-capability here isn’t huge and results in perhaps the most balanced and enjoyable all-in-one solution I’ve heard to date.
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See the updates to First Impressions of the Focal Arche for links to other parts of this review.