Arcam MusicBOOST
Disclaimer
Before getting started I would just like to thank Arcam and Robert for this review sample in exchange for my honest impressions and opinion.
What is it?
Since the first release of a multi functioning music player/phone and smart phone there has been an increase in the demand for on the go music that sounds great just out of your phone. Now whilst a lot has been done to significantly increase sound quality in mobile devices a lot of the budget is also spent on the phone functioning as a brilliant piece of machinery. Cut backs can often leave areas such as sound quality and battery life as secondary options. Now whilst most smart phones today don’t sound terrible and technology is allowing for advancements in extended battery life, it’s still a challenge fitting all of this in.
Enter the Arcam MusicBOOST the MusicBOOST is a soft sleeve battery back, DAC and headphone amplifier created with better sound quality, output power, battery life and convenience in mind. Designed specifically for the iPhone 6 and 6S, for some this may be annoying, due to lack of versatility, but for an avid iPhone user such as myself it offers a near perfect solution as there is no need for messy bands, extra wires or a risk of running your battery flat within the hour. Now I don’t actually believe the current iPhone range sounds bad at all, but certainly there is always going to be room for improvement and extended battery life is always welcome in my opinion. The MusicBOOST is a great solution to a few problems, I wish it offered some more solutions, but I will get into that later.
Technology and Specs
So what goes into the design of the Arcam to make it an upgrade in sound quality and what does it claim to do? Below is a list of some of the technology that is inside including the DAC chip, claimed expectancy and general information uploaded from Arcam’s product information page.
- Fully recharges the iPhone 6/6S battery with up to 120% extra battery life
- 2800mAh Capacity battery
- High precision DAC (Texas Instruments PCM1502) with dedicated headphone amplifier for high quality sound
- Soft touch sleeve to help protect your iPhone 6
One of the other benefits of using the Arcam as a DAC, other than an upgrade in sound, means you are no longer restricted to playing just 16 bit music which is all the iPhone 6 and 6S are currently able to process. With 24 bit music now accessible through apps like Onkyo HF Player in partnership with capable DAC’s such as the MusicBOOST you essentially have the ability to turn your iPhone into a portable not too bulky high resolution player.
Packaging and Inside the Box
Uninspired packaging but for a £120 RRP I really would be too complainant about it. You pretty much get the MusicBOOST itself, a Micro USB charging cable all packaged in grade A foam protection and a little note just thanking and confirming your product purchase and how to register it so they can keep you posted with any up dates. An actual USB wall adapter would have been a nice accessory to have but most of us nowadays have one lying about anyway.
Here are a couple pictures below displaying the unit itself and the packaging:
(My apologies as there really isn’t anything fancy to showcase here)
Functionality and Feel
We’ve already explored what this thing is so in order not to repeat myself too much I will add on some of the improvements I feel could have been made.
Firstly, the moment you touch this thing you’ll probably want to stroke it as it has this really soft texture to it, yes it’s plastic but it uses a special kind of coating which is just oh so nice to touch! Before I get carried away and end up rewriting 50 shades of Grey between me and this case I’ll move on.
The case design actually doesn’t add too much weight to the phone in fact some might find it an added bonus as the raw iPhone 6 feels a little too light and prone to falling out of ones hand if not careful. The case weighs exactly 100g which isn’t a lot of added bulk and factoring in the iPhone 6 gives a total of 229g or 243g if you’re using the 6S. All in all not too much weight, not the lightest solution in the world but certainly manageable and lighter than carrying around a three stack system!
Practically speaking this is quite a realistic solution. The device is pretty much plug and play slide your iPhone into the case, plug in your earphones, headphone or speaker system in and you're good to go. Once you do four white light indicators will flash to let you know how much battery is left on the device. Four full white lights means it’s fully three is getting lower and so forth. To activate the charging part of the unit simply press the power button located on the left, to check the battery percentage on the device just press the button on the right and the white light indicators will pop up.
Practical tests and results
Now for this section I am leaving out sound quality and focusing more on the millage I have experienced with it personally. Firstly this may not be a power house of a battery pack but it holds up a lot better than the ifuzen hp-1 which was created for the iPhone 4 and 4s.
With a 100% on my iPhone and 100% battery on the MusicBOOST after a full day of listening to music so I’m talking a good 18 hours and using the phone practically as I usually do. I was left with a dead battery pack and about 78% battery on my iPhone which considering the way I abuse my iPhone it usually takes two full charges to last the day. (Could be my battery?) In any case I was overjoyed to have over 50% left on my iPhone so I’d say it was a very good result.
Charging time for the MusicBOOST unit alone is about 2.5 hours till full from empty so pretty fast. If you wish to keep it plugged in and charge your phone and the MusicBOOST at the same time you can, but you’re looking at a substantially longer charging time.
I will include and update about output power here if and when I get the chance all I will say is do not expect a big boost in output power maybe about 10-20% tops but not enough to drive power hungry cans with real authority I would have thought.
Sound Quality
Right the bit most of us lazy people skip to when we just want to know if the audio upgrade claims are true. So without further ado I present to you the Arcam MusicBOOST’s sound quality breakdown.
I will start off with what will seem like a disappointment to a lot of people looking to purchase this device. The sound signature might just upset a few people I am not saying the MusicBOOST sounds bad or worse in comparison to the iPhone 6’s HO. But one of the first things you’ll notice is the distinct difference in presentation.
Presentation
Meaty, dark a little lush but deep, not bottomless but weighty. Think of the iPhone 6 HO as white room decorated in a minimalist way, with a slightly spacious feel but a vivid voice of thinly lined detail.
The Arcam on the other hand is one of those cozy, homely sit on that beautifully fabricated sofa, watch T.V by the fire kind of deals. I could immediately sense the difference when plugging in my earphones, ironically enough earphones that are closer to a warmer sound signature play nicer with the Arcam rather than something with a slightly brighter sound such as the Dunu 2000. Still will be a substantial upgrade for some and after a week with this thing I haven’t gone back to using my iPhone!
It’s always a little harder giving someone accurate impressions of the sound spectrum when it comes to the general tone and effect each DAC or Headphone amplifier has on the sound, synergy accounts for a lot and everyone’s mileage will vary. But here goes, the earphones I’ve used are the following; Dunu 2000, R2Pro, Atomic Floyd Super darts and Trinity Audios Techne. (I’ll make updates when I have more time and gear)
Treble
Here may be what some will consider the Arcam’s biggest pit fall. For me even after finding good synergy with my Techne’s there seems to be a touch more smoothness a perceived loss of micro details in the treble vs the iPhone’s HO. This isn’t actually the case, especially after burn in, but everything is just a bit more reserved, relaxed and sounds warmer. This is typically Arcam’s house sound, I’m still unsure of whether I like it overall yes, but the treble lacks that extra bit of air and space I find myself leaning toward more and more these days.
There is still a natural overtone to the treble. Ticks, clicks and guitars come across with a bit more weight but aren’t in your face anymore and tend to be a bit more closed in vs the iPhones HO. Still there is a lot to be admired here as getting that buttery texture right without losing detail can be a tricky thing indeed. But I would say the Arcam MusicBOOST has got this just about right.
Midrange
A little more of a complex deal here, don’t know why but hybrid iems such as the Dunu 2000 and Superdarts tend to pick up a kind of vocal rescission here. Dynamic drivers such as the R2Pro and and Techne fare much better with Arcam’s house sound here. It’s a little more surprising as when I plugged in my Techne’s they immediately shot to life, vocals came across lush and deep it is such an oh so pleasant sound to listen to.
There is a syrup like texture to the music now for some it may be sickly sweet and for others this is exactly what they will be looking for. I almost like the idea, but don’t necessarily like it because there aren’t many devices that offer the same this functional solution and have a less coloured sound might have tempted a few more buyers and kept things on a level playing field.
However, after saying all that there is enough right here not to criticise and there are some nice improvements such as the smoother more refined midrange the MusicBOOST offers.
Bass
Deeper! If you ever wanted more flavour and depth the MusicBOOST will offer this in style. There is a distinct thump and weight added to the sound when anything is plugged into this device. Honestly this is where I really feel the Arcam’s sound signature pulls ahead and shows its true character, whilst still relaxed and melodic there is a plump bump in both the sub bass and slight less aggressive mid bass emphasis. It sounds like a bit of quality almost a really mature refined smooth whiskey, very smooth and melty but hits deep.
For those who think the bass is a little too mid centric on the iPhone and would like a little more extension and refinement the MusicBOOST does this part very well. Because of that nice syrupy overtone you really get such a nice amount of body out of the sound, especially when paired with the right earphone or headphone.
Soundstage and imaging
Differences, differences. Pretty much how I would like to sum it all up but wouldn’t be fair on anyone reading this. Let’s take a step back again when looking at the presentation I have already mentioned that cozier kind of sound. Now what usually happens with this type of presentation is you lose air, this is true of the MusicBOOST, however not all hope is lost, yes the soundstage shrinks a bit in width but it actually gains a bit more depth.
There is a good sense of 3D imaging that takes place but it’s a tough call to know whether or not people will like this over the iPhone 6’s HO. I think some certainly will there is a more of an intimate presentation with the Arcam vs the iPhone whatever it sacrifices it makes up for in other ways. I wished for a more holographic presentation here but considering this thing cost £120 I am not about to start complaining. Imagining remains very similar to the iPhone’s HO with a less airy presentation but much more depth things are becoming more 3D rather than linear. I know I keep going back to that word deeper again but it’s all I can think of when describing these changes. It’s a lovely warm image but won’t suit every ones need.
Just as a very brief side note after burn in things have started to open up a lot more so I’ll change this section if needed.
Improvements
As I get started on this section I will mention as a disclaimer some of the improvements I would like to see aren’t necessarily needed but would be a nice touch to really turn this product into more of a swish army knife.
Broken down shortly and sweetly is a bullet pointed list of some improvements I feel could have been made and why;
- Bigger battery, yes the MusicBOOST actually does do pretty damn well here but like anything today bigger is always better. I enjoy the extra music time/battery life I get listening and charging my iPhone out of the MusicBOOST but I’m just being extremely critical in wanted even more!
- More power, yep okay this one is decidedly more of an issue especially when you consider this thing is a headphone amp and DAC combo. Now I wouldn’t be unrealistic in expecting this thing to drive really power hungry cans with authority but certainly having a real noticeable improvement over the iPhones power really would have been nice. It has probably got enough power for your basic line of headphones but when you start stepping into something a bit more demanding the power boost would have been a nice feature, maybe a variably gain option like on the i.Fuzen-hp1.
- Now you should be able to see from the picture below that there is rectangle shaped piece with holes poked out to allow sound out of the iPhone’s speaker. A thought occurred to me and whilst I know in some aspects it would have probably been a waste of time as Arcam were focusing on sound quality. But I can’t help but think an added speaker would have sweetened the deal. I mean it just looks like there should be one there one anyway and having an audible boost to the iPhone’s speaker would have been a real welcome improvement. Ironically it kind of suggests that it would through its given name the MusicBOOST.
- Line out? Not sure if this is really needed as if your buying this you're probably looking at portability and unlikely to want to add more weight by adding another amp as this would defeat the object. Still when plugging the MusicBOOST to my Harman Kardon Soundsticks there was a really clean weighty sound that really added to the musicality of my humble setup.
- Talking about clean and weighty one thing I would have liked to have heard of a bit more from the Arcam’s presentation is an airy more detailed sound. I actually really like the sound that is presented from this convenient package but having something a little more open sounding maybe not necessarily more balanced but something with a bit more space as for some earphones like my Dunu 2000’s I actually prefer the iPhone’s HO. Personal preference and synergy will help out a lot massively here but still one of my personal recommendations if there is a future unit.
If you managed to stick with me this far you’ll know I have been both pleasantly surprised by the MusicBOOST left wanting a hair more here and there. But bottom line is if you want a battery pack that sounds different/better than your iPhone adds protection, feels sexy as hell and offers it all in a tidy affordable package go for it!
Okay the presentation for your setup might not be your cup of tea, so I suppose it’s a bit of a hit and miss there but if there are any headphones or earphones you’d like to know about and how they fare with the MusicBOOST leave a comment and I’ll try get my hands on a pair if only briefly to let you know how well they pair. Hope you guys have enjoyed this review and as always any question feel free to ask.
