Yikes, that’s not confidence inspiring. Do you know if the coax and optical connections are more reliable? Also, my comment regarding the USB cable is more for sound or interference of it.
Yeah, that’s exactly how mine behaves. It just stops being responding to the computer until I unplug it and plug it back in. Hasn’t happened to me yet on the Mac Pro yet, but it happened at least once a week or so on my MacBook Pro. It was an annoyance. Same cable in both cases, so I doubt that’s a factor.
Same thing hear, and many other have confirmed it. Definite bug…
Exact same thing here…and focal support never replies 
I’m hoping that hasn’t been everyone’s experience with their customer support. I’m still waiting on them myself and it’s been almost a week. I’m not used to being ignored after spending a few grand. 
Hello all, I’m new here and I apologize if this is a topic that has been discussed, but I could not find any info regarding it using the search tool. I recently bought my Arche specifically to power my Stellia and Elegia’s and was surprised to find that my iPad could not power the Arche especially considering there are lots of references to an iPad being used to demo the unit… Anyway i bought a new (2020) Macbook Pro to use as my audio source, again referencing the ease of set up noted on Mac’s vs a PC and after hours of attempts to get this work I’m at a loss as to what I’m doing wrong. Is the new Mac OS (Catalina) incompatible with the Arche? Anyone else having an issue? would greatly appreciate any advice…
Thanks, Steve.
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No issues at all with either beta or release versions of Catalina (those are the only versions of macOS I used with the Arche).
Issues from iPad or iOS devices tend to be down to either having a USB adapter (for iPad’s other than 2018 or 2019 “pro” versions with USB-C connectors) that isn’t current. Sometimes devices have a USB input that won’t work with them at all (I don’t remember trying that with the Arche, but it’s XMOS based - which has been a problem in the past).
Sounds more like a cable problem or a faulty USB input on the Arche.
All I had to do to get Arche working on my Mac Pro and MacBook Pro was to plug in the cable, and make sure it was selected as the output in Preferences | Sound. After which, you can use the Audio-Midi Utility to set the proper output rates (or rely on your player software to do that for you).
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Tried it again this morning and I was able to change the output settings in the Audio Midi Utility, something I wasn’t able to do yesterday. I’m thinking it’s a lousy USB cable as there was a bunch of intermittent noise in the background no matter what headphone/cable combo I tried. Looks like I need to upgrade, but I hope its not the input itself…
Thanks for the feedback, felt a little silly this morning when it worked immediately.
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If it was the USB cable, I would expect intermittent connections and drop-outs rather that noise.
It’s not like the unit needs anything special … a $6 Amazon Basics USB 2.0 cable will work just fine and won’t yield any noise or other issues.
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Than is it the Arche itself? I’m hearing slight crackle in the background occasionally. Not sure where its coming from but its definitely unique to the Arche. I typically use my Stellia’s with an ifi black label micro and I’m used to the dead silence in the background. This is my first desktop headphone amp so I’m pretty much novice with understanding the difference in dynamics between amps and DACs.
Did you install the latest device firmware?
I had various issues with USB, but they seem to have gone now.
It’s hard to say for sure, but I’m thinking so.
Usually USB issues manifest as drop-outs or failures to play (play stops randomly). “Noise” via USB is pretty rare with competent USB inputs. “Crackles” might be a USB issue, but it isn’t something I experienced at all either from a Mac Pro or a MacBook Pro.
I had zero issues, and my unit was on the original firmware.
Notwithstanding that to update the Arche’s firmware you currently need a PC (no updater for macOS). Which is an all-too common issue with XMOS-based USB inputs (they really need to get that sorted … they have problems come up often enough that mean they should have updaters for all common OSs).
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Agreed. I am also a mac user and had to drag my wife’s workstation to the living room just for the process…but unit seems stable now (from both Mac mini and roon endpoint on Ropieee)
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Thanks for all the input, all. Interesting note, I attached one of my laptops for work (PC) to the Arche and the playback contained no background noise at all. I’ll update the firmware and see if there’s any change. If this is a Mac issue it will be disappointing, I got the Mac specifically for use with the Arche
Happy to say that I’ve figured out my issue. I had changed my output in my audio midi settings on my MacBook to 384kHz as suggested in the manual from Focal, but that clearly did not work. Switched to the default 2 channel 16 bit integer at 48kHz and the difference was night and day, thanks for the advice, much appreciated!
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Hi all, was wondering if anyone could answer a usability question about the Focal Arche. Considering this unit for a desk setup for use with both headphones and powered studio monitors. Does the Arche mute the analog outputs when a headphone is plugged in? If not, and the preouts are always active, is there another way to mute them?
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Hi Everyone,
I came to this thread looking for an answer as to why I lost the 24-bit 384 kHz option on Windows after the latest firmware update.After seeing that I wasn’t the only one, I emailed Focal and actually got a quick response. Looks like they are well aware of the issue and working on a new firmware release this month that should fix it.
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Nice they gave you that answer. The person who responded to me has been MIA for 14 days regarding the firmware issue as well as the USB Handshake issue (he has been ignoring requests on that issue, which dates prior to the firmware issue/update but has been experienced by other users as well). Extremely disappointed with the customer service Focal has been providing, considering this is not a mass-market product…
No, the pre-outs are always active even when headphones are connected. There’s no control over this.
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I just got the arche and I am having issues. When I use my iPhone with a lightning adapter connected to power and USB into the arch it plays for a while and then stops. Also I get stuttering. I disconnect and reconnect power. The iPhone works for a little while but same problems arise. I am steaming Qobuz.
Any help would be appreciated
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