[supermj]

As it stands at the moment the Arche will not accept audio from USB from any DAP. Maybe an update in the future....maybe. So now i'm getting audio via Toslink, (which was my second best method) which seems to be working fine after a few hiccups.

 

[Gadget67]

As it stands at the moment the Arche will not accept audio from USB from any DAP. Maybe an update in the future....maybe. So now i'm getting audio via Toslink, (which was my second best method) which seems to be working fine after a few hiccups.

It was necessary for me to use my powered usb Sony charger stand to run my Sony WM1Z through the Arche. See my picture in my earlier post; the Sony stand has a usb input for that purpose.

As you see from my earlier post the Arche apparently requires a powered USB hub to drive external USB devices. Try routing you’re device through a powered USB connection; that should solve your problem.

 

[bettyn]

Bought the Arche with Stelia headphones and it sounds great. My problem now is I have a A&K Cube that is attached by supplied (for Cube) with XLR cables that I have linked to a Cavalli Liquid Carbon. Is there any way I can connect this setup to the Arche?

 

[supermj]

As you see from my earlier post the Arche apparently requires a powered USB hub to drive external USB devices. Try routing you’re device through a powered USB connection; that should solve your problem.

Thanks for that Gadget67, i tried two powered USB hubs and the Arche senses there's a signal but no audio. The display shows there is 48Khz signal coming from the A&K SP1000, on toslink connection it shows 192Khz. Think i'll stick with toslink for now until something develops. I wonder if anyone tell me what their firmware is on their unit, it will tell you through the menu on the display, mine is 01.01.08.

 

[Gadget67]

Thanks for that Gadget67, i tried two powered USB hubs and the Arche senses there's a signal but no audio. The display shows there is 48Khz signal coming from the A&K SP1000, on toslink connection it shows 192Khz. Think i'll stick with toslink for now until something develops. I wonder if anyone tell me what their firmware is on their unit, it will tell you through the menu on the display, mine is 01.01.08.

Wow...I really don’t know what to tell you. Obviously my Sony WM1Z works with a powered usb (doesn’t work without it) so it looks like AK users will need to chime in on this or someone from Focal needs to provide technical assistance. Have you tried contacting AK about this as well?

 

[ZoNtO]

Does the Arche automatically mute the preamp outputs if headphones are inserted?

 

[supermj]

Wow...I really don’t know what to tell you. Obviously my Sony WM1Z works with a powered usb (doesn’t work without it) so it looks like AK users will need to chime in on this or someone from Focal needs to provide technical assistance. Have you tried contacting AK about this as well?

Well, after more plugging, unplugging, pressing this and pressing that i finally managed to get it to go, but it is very temperamental. Thanks to Gadget67 for persevering with me on this. Interestingly if i unplug the power to the USB hub it still works, if i connect directly the Arche to the SP1000 with the appropriate leads it doesn't. So for some reason something inside the hub is doing the trick so the USB hub is needed.

 

[Gadget67]

Well, after more plugging, unplugging, pressing this and pressing that i finally managed to get it to go, but it is very temperamental. Thanks to Gadget67 for persevering with me on this. Interestingly if i unplug the power to the USB hub it still works, if i connect directly the Arche to the SP1000 with the appropriate leads it doesn't. So for some reason something inside the hub is doing the trick so the USB hub is needed.

Funny you should mention the temperamental behavior. On occasion mine does not work if I turn on the WM1Z while in the dock before turning on the Arche. It always works if I power on the Arche and then put the WM1Z in the dock and then turn it on.

 

[Wayde]

I love it! I bought it with the Clear so I got the $1000 discount. I can't speak to comparisons with other $2,500 headphone amps, but for $1500 I think it's a really good value as it's a robust headphone amp and a flexible DAC, and the built in headphone stand is nice.

Thanks for your rundown and thoughts. I'm about to test them with Clear and Stelia, as well as my own trusty "reference" Fostex THX-00 Purplehearts (closed-back) and Audeze LCD-3 (for the open-back experience). Alternately I'll be switching the amp over to my trusty "reference" Cavali Carbon connected via balanced XLR to a Emotiva Stealth DC-1 DAC.

Can't wait to hear them all but I wanted to read the experiences of others while I poke around for Win10 drivers. I've had the pleasure to review several Focal products and although they're relatively new to the headphone scene I don't think you can go wrong with them no matter what product price/point you're into. It sounds like you or someone else managed to get a discount on MSRP which is double-great! Sure, you will likely find something cheaper somewhere, but the Clear you have is a simple, not-overproduced headphone, made in Europe rather than an Export Processing Zone in China. That's not to knock Chinese-made headphones, if you're willing to shop around or are in-the-know you can get top-notch quality for a fraction of the price, but production runs are likely to be variable than what you'd get from a company like Focal that manufactures, designs and runs R&D under the same roof. So, congrats and hope you're still enjoying them. I'm about to hear basically the same system you've been listening to.

 

[Wayde]

Hey... does anyone know if Head-Fi still does official owner threads?
I used to see new headphone products, especially on the higher end, would get their own thread that would go on forever. I did a search and didn't see one.

 

[NCUS]

Just got my Arche. It works flawlessly with my laptop streaming Qobuz over USB and sounds terrific. The connection is very stable over a relatively cheap Tripp Lite USB-B cable (10 feet, shielded cable). The $1K discount makes it a no brainer in my opinion.

 

[ZoNtO]

Just got my Arche. It works flawlessly with my laptop streaming Qobuz over USB and sounds terrific. The connection is very stable over a relatively cheap Tripp Lite USB-B cable (10 feet, shielded cable). The $1K discount makes it a no brainer in my opinion.

What headphones are you using and what have you compared the Arche to?

 

[NCUS]

I'm using a pair of Focal Stellias. I got them fairly recently, so I had been using them directly out of the headphone ports from my laptop and desktop and through a Fiio BTR5 and a Lotoo PAW S1. The jump in quality from something like the S1, which I consider the best of the previously mentioned options, to the Arche is almost as vast as the difference between my old pair of Sennheiser HD600s and the Stellias.

 

[GrandNagus50]

Have people used IEMs much with the Arche? If so, do you use an impedance adapter? I have found that for most of my IEMs the volume levels are much higher at similar volume "numbers" on the Arche than are full sized headphones. Right now I am listening with a Thieaudio Voyager 14 iem at low gain, volume level 32, whereas with my Focal Utopias I would be at around 65 for the same volume. The sound seems fine, but would I get a better, fuller sound (perhaps?) with say, 20 ohms of additional impedance? Or am I just creating a problem that doesn't exist?

 

[supermj]

Funny you should mention the temperamental behavior. On occasion mine does not work if I turn on the WM1Z while in the dock before turning on the Arche. It always works if I power on the Arche and then put the WM1Z in the dock and then turn it on.

The latest on this and i've found that the Arche doesn't need the USB hub after all and works without it, but it may take a couple of on/offs to kick start it to work, (also had to do this with the USB hub) which it is a bit of a nuisance. It's like restarting on a computer, this also applies on the toslink connection. This applies when i'm using the A&K SP1000 DAP, but when connecting to a computer (either a mac or windows) is not a problem.