Focal Arche - DAC/Amp - Official Thread

It seems I may have fixed the startup issue with my Arche. After changing the setting below, Arche worked even after I turned it on after I turned on my PC, but have to test it more to be 100% sure.
This is what I did:

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Nice find Kupco! I forgot about this…I only changed the USB power saving under the hub…seeing it is HUB 0002, I found that USB HUB, and disabled power savings. But FYI, that didn’t help. Hopefully your setting is more global policy and will make a difference. Thank you so much!

Btw disabling all power savings on my ethernet adapter in device manager under device manager settings Advanced Tab. (see below). Made a HUGE difference in sound quality for streaming. Also dropping receive/transmit buffers down to 80 receive and 160 transmit…cleanest sound I’ve heard from Tidal yet.

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Hey Kupco,

It lasted a while but started to do it again…how’s it going for you? Thanks!

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Same here, the change in global power settings did not help in the long run (helped only the first time I turned on my pc after I changed it). Still need to power up Arche before I turn on my PC. Not too big of a hassle (for me at least) to be honest, but certainly a bug that would be nice to have taken care of.

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Thanks for confirming! Yeah, it’s just my PC is always on…treat it like my media hub, so when Arche goes to sleep, it stops recognizing it.

Hey @Henry. I’m dealing with the “NO SIG” issue on my Arche since I got it and nobody reacted to my post over in this thread: Troubleshooting MegaThread.
You’re the only person I know who is using Arche on a Windows machine. Do you have any issues when Arche is set to 16/44.1 kHz? Or what bitrate are you running your’s at? I’m trying to figure out if it is my unit, or driver issue or something else…
Thanks for any help.

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Hey, I have it set to maximum bit rate and frequency, 384khz, but in exclusive mode from Tidal, it just does what it matches to the song. No sig I encountered when I used COAX input, not USB, and was outputting DTS and other crazy surround sound signals like 5.1.

Tell me your connection path and setup…and what you’re trying to play, Tidal?

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Thanks for your reply.
I have the Arche connected via USB to my PC. I get the “NO SIG” issue when I:

  1. set the bitrate to 16/44.1 kHz or 32/44.1 kHz (or 88.2 kHz) in sound settings manually
  2. set Tidal app to output to Arche in exlusive mode (most songs are in 44.1 or 88.2 bitrate)

The issue occurs only after hours of continuous listening (3+) and not much earlier. I have music playing in the background when working. Do you listen to your Arche for many continuous hours?

What I will try doing is setting the bitrate to 24/384 kHz (same as you) and play Tidal in exclusive mode to see if that changes things.

/edit: Even setting the bitrate to 24/384, when playing Tidal in exclusive mode I unfortunately get the error.

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My guess is it is a either a software driver issue…check the settings I shared and then reboot, both the arche and PC. etc…

If no go, sadly it may be the unit is overheating or failing after so much time. I listen to mine for hours and hours. But I did read on forums about various fails and repairs needed. They have a warranty on it though, so worst case, repair.

I have reinstalled the drivers multiple times, changed settings, played with usb ports etc, nothing helped.
I even thought it may be a heat issue too, so I propped up my unit on some feet to give it more breathing room, no change unfortunately.
The only thing I did not do is a different usb cable and a different unit.
I reached out to my local Focal distributor who was kind enough to lend me a second unit to see if the issue persists. It’s coming tomorrow. Will post here what I will find out.
Thanks for your help.

But only after hours of listening right? How long until you can use again after you get the NO SIG?

I use audioquest USB. I doubt it’s that, but try. And see about connecting another source during this time, see if another laptop or iphone (must be charging to work with arche) will help.

Btw, hoes the repair program work? Would love to know for future…if you find out details. Thanks!

Yes, only after 2-3+ hours. After that I have to unplug and plug back in the USB cable, but after that it takes only minutes for it to NO SIG again, which would point to the overheating issue. But the baffling part is that switching to 48 kHz makes the problem go away completely.

I did try my laptop as another source and got the same error, so I ruled out my PC as the culprit.

I’m down to - drivers (but you don’t have the same issue, so not sure about this), cable or my unit. Or some really unfortunate combination of my PC/laptop setup/drivers etc that may be causing this.

I have purchased my unit in France, but live in Czech Republic, so warranty will be fun and more dependent on the store I bought it from than on Focal itself. But I will update this thread on how it’ll go once I have to go that route.

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Got you…looks like you did all I would do. I had a unit at one point that would turn on but display BIN for no reason at all, and also would not “click” in the headphones, so it would look right on the screen, and all correct, but no sound would come since the actual headphones didn’t receive power to my understanding. That click is essential to knowing it’s feeding them.

My guess is hardware…but check more. Good luck and ping if you need me test anything on my end. Take care!

Btw, I tried many other DACs and Amps. Nothing compared for me. Even the Dave didn’t sound as good for me…but that’s my taste. I love the musical nature and I own Utopia and Stellia, so the tuning for each via preset is gorgeous. Plus with silver cables feeding the unit (audioquest), I was able to make this Arche sing. I truly love it! It’s so clear, and powerful. Yet so small and elegant. Closest I heard was Phonitor and ADI2DAC combo, but that still wasn’t as enjoyable and so complex and far far far less elegant. Hats off to Focal and Micromega. Just hopefully they stay durable and last us years.

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Just a quick update for anyone following this thread. After testing a loaner Arche that I got from my local Focal distributor yesterday, I have indeed found out that my personal unit is defective. The loaner unit is working as expected without any issues I have described above with my Arche.

I’m now trying to figure out how to get my unit repaired/replaced, as I have bought it only a month ago.
Will update here later on how the warranty proceedings went for reference for anyone who may be dealing with issues with Focal gear later on.

Thanks again for the help from this amazing community, especially @Henry.

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Hey Kupco,

So glad you figured it out…sorry to hear it’s your unit of course. But I’m sure they’ll take care of you with it being so new. Good luck and reach out if you need anything.

Would love to hear how the repair process goes in case I need it in the future.

Thanks!

Henry

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Also, I suggest to register the unit on the Focal site. It sends you a warranty certificate, etc… But for repairs, they say contact your dealer and they will facilitate that with Focal.

Has anyone compared the Arche with the Feliks Elise? These are the 2 amps I’m considering to pair with the Focal Clear.

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The Feliks Elise is a poor pairing with the Clear.

The Elise has such a high output impedance that a) half its power will be lost to the amplifier itself (not that the Clear need much power) and b) it’ll significantly slew the Clears low-end response into obvious excess, flabbiness and bloat.

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Thanks for your feedback Torq, that’s Interesting to hear as upscale audio is specifically recommending this amp for the Clears.

Is there an alternate tube amp that you feel is a better match for them, or would you stick with SS for the Clears?

Lots of people recommend lots of things - for lots of different reasons. They may genuinely like the Elise/Clear combination. For me, having heard it, I thought it left their bass clearly under-damped (flabby, rather than nice and taut,) and exaggerated with the Clear.

Pure tube amps with low-impedance headphones (Clear are just 55 ohm) are often a challenge, since even transformer-coupled designs are often higher in output impedance than is ideal (lower the better, with <1 ohm being ideal, but 1/8th the impedance of the headphone is a good rule of thumb). That means <6.8 ohms OI on the amp w/ the Clear.

A ZMF Pendant in 8/32 configuration would be close enough. A WA6-SE would be about double the OI you’d want ideally (on it’s “Lo” setting) - and I’ve heard that and it was quite enjoyable … but not quite as crisp and clean as the Clear’s low-end can be. Mids and up were lovely with both (though very different, at least with stock tubes).

Otherwise, not a lot comes to mind unless you want to deal with OOP exotica, long waits and have a much bigger budget than the Elise.

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