The new Arcam irDAC - a Compact High-Performance 24/192 DAC

On Sale Now - £400 UK - $700 USA/AU

The Arcam irDAC replaces Arcam's best-selling rDAC and is a brand-new design, effectively a stripped down version of the £2000+ D33 SuperDac, offering a substantial jump in performance over its' predecessor and exceptionally usage flexibility.

After extensive testing against competitors, Arcam confidently claim that this is the best DAC money can buy under £500 / $1000



- stunning performance for the price

- hugely flexible with six inputs & IR remote control

- class 1 and Class II asynchronous 24/192 USB inputs for computers

- direct iDevice USB input for iPhones/Pad etc

- control PCs, MACs and iPod®/iPhone®/iPad® with the remote hansdset

Using expensive audiophile grade components throughout and more than 40 years of analogue and 25 years of digital audio design experience, Arcam have engineered the irDAC to be a simple, "plug and play" device that delivers astonishingly high audio quality

- TI/Burr Brown PCM1796 DAC

- high-end audiophile-grade analogue and digital audio circuitry

- 8 separately regulated power supplies

- vanishingly low jitter

- heavy anti-vibration cast aluminium case

- can be powered directly by Arcam A19/AVR 450/750 with additional performance gains

Arcam irDAC

The irDAC, so called because it now has infra-red remote control, owes much to the work that was done on the reference D33 SuperDAC and comes packed with cutting edge technology and features that will benefit the most demanding user.

High-end features like isolation of the digital and analogue stages, ultra-low noise power supplies and a direct coupled signal path make a big difference.

Arcam use the outstanding Burr Brown 1796 DAC as well as 8 separately regulated power supplies to ensure class leading performance that they believe will be unmatched in this price category.

Jitter reduction is an obsession within the Arcam engineering team. They have learnt a huge amount about this technology and have applied this experience in the irDAC to produce a signal that is almost jitter free.

The irDAC is designed to be the heart of a digital system and can be connected to a host of different types of digital sources and connections. This includes asynchronous USB and a direct iPhone input that that takes the digital signal direct from an Apple device to optimise the sound quality.

All of the inputs can be controlled through an IR remote that will also control PCs, MACs and iPod®/iPhone®/iPad® via the HID (Human interface device) control.

irDAC Tech Specs

DAC - TI PCM1796

Inputs - USB, SPDIF, Optical, iPod

Frequency response 10Hz -- 20kHz, ±0.1dB

Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise 0.002%

Signal-to-noise (A Weighted) 112dB (24-bit)

Line output level 2.2Vrms

Supported sample rates 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 192kHz

Bit depth 16-bit, 24-bit

Power requirements 7W max

Dimensions (wxdxh, mm) 160 x 100 x 40

Weight 700g


Tech Notes

• improved post filter topology, delivers better group delay characteristics.
• a brand new output stage provides higher current and lower noise.
• expensive WIMA capacitors
• through-hole components in critical parts of the circuit.
• lower distortion than the more commonly used surface mounted equivalents
• lower noise and improved dynamic range
• high voltage power-supply with superior regulation
• larger board surface area than before, with optimised layout on the 4 layer PCB
• 24/ 192kHz playback on the class II USB input
• USB port charges iPods, iPhones & iPads with 2.1 amps via the USB connector
• firmware can be updated via a PC app
• performance improves further when powered by FMJ A19/AVR 380/450/750 etc