[HeavenlyD]

Write up infers its second hand?

I think legally they have to put that, but I know its been used very little and immaculate, the fact they are a Focal Dealer is also good. For the saving its a bonkers price and 1 year warranty on it...

 

[Gorf]

I think legally they have to put that, but I know its been used very little and immaculate, the fact they are a Focal Dealer is also good. For the saving its a bonkers price and 1 year warranty on it...

Mine was another couple hundred but brand new.

 

[OrenT]

Hey people
Has anyone here gone (downsized?) from Chord Hugo TT2 to Arche and lived to tell the tale? If so, can you elaborate on the experience? Worse? Same? Better??
Upstream: Innuos Zenith MK3
Downstream: Focal Utopia
Music: Rock/Metal

Thanks!

 

[iamoneagain]

Hey people
Has anyone here gone (downsized?) from Chord Hugo TT2 to Arche and lived to tell the tale? If so, can you elaborate on the experience? Worse? Same? Better??
Upstream: Innuos Zenith MK3
Downstream: Focal Utopia
Music: Rock/Metal

Thanks!

I went from Dave/mscaler to the Focal Arche. Does that count? You obviously lose some refinement but the Focal Arche makes them fun. With the Focal Arche, they have nice weight, a little warmth, good soundstage, and nice flow. If you want more refinement, you can use HQPlayer, but I don’t bother. So the only thing I missed was having a remote to work volume.

When the Naim Uniti Atom HE came out, I decided to give it a try because the all in one box appealed to me and their nice remote. At first I thought the Focal Arche sounded better but over time, the Naim HE wins out for better bottom end and texture. I also think it beats the Dave setup.

Bad recordings still sound bad on the Dave but with the Naim, everything sounds enjoyable. Think the same goes for the Focal Arche. I think once you use Chord’s razor edge detail extraction with the Focal Utopia’s same ability it’s like watching a movie with the motion setting on. It now looks like real life but ruins the movie. I wouldn’t say the Chord setup ruins anything but makes it like always live in the studio and think removes some of the recording magic that can make it fun sounding. I was listening more to the details than tapping my foot enjoying the music.

I currently have the Focal Arche for my bedroom office setup where I’m right next to it and control volume. I have the Naim HE in living room where it has such a small footprint, you can place it anywhere. The Arche doesn’t take up any room either and has headphones stand, but you still need to hook it up to a source. The Naim is fully wireless and has streamer built in.

 

[OrenT]

I went from Dave/mscaler to the Focal Arche. Does that count? You obviously lose some refinement but the Focal Arche makes the fun. With the Focal Arche, they have nice weight, a little warmth, good soundstage, and nice flow. If you want more refinement, you can use HQPlayer, but I don’t bother. So the only thing I missed was having a remote to work volume.

When the Naim Uniti Atom HE came out, I decided to give it a try because the all in one box appealed to me and their nice remote. At first I thought the Focal Arche sounded better but over time, the Naim HE wins out for better bottom end and texture. I also think it beats the Dave setup.

Bad recordings still sound bad on the Dave but with the Naim, everything sounds enjoyable. Think the same goes for the Focal Arche. I think once you use Chord’s razor edge detail extraction with the Focal Utopia’s same ability it’s like watching a movie with the motion setting on. It now looks like real life but ruins the movie. I wouldn’t say the Chord setup ruins anything but makes it like always live in the studio and think removes some of the recording magic that can make it fun sounding. I was listening more to the details than tapping my foot enjoying the music.

I currently have the Focal Arche for my bedroom office setup where I’m right next to it and control volume. I have the Naim HE in living room where it has such a small footprint, you can place it anywhere. The Arche doesn’t take up any room either and has headphones stand, but you still need to hook it up to a source. The Naim is fully wireless and has streamer built in.

Thanks for the input!

 

[rickydenim]

I love my Arche. It's my daily driver at work in my office paired with the Elegia (Dekoni Elite Sheepskin pads). In my setup, I turn the Arche and Laptop on but I have to put Arche into standby, unplug USB, re-plug USB then take the Arche out of standby to get sound. Still can't believe they haven't fixed this with a FW update after all this time!

 

[supermj]

I love my Arche. It's my daily driver at work in my office paired with the Elegia (Dekoni Elite Sheepskin pads). In my setup, I turn the Arche and Laptop on but I have to put Arche into standby, unplug USB, re-plug USB then take the Arche out of standby to get sound. Still can't believe they haven't fixed this with a FW update after all this time!

To be honest i think Focal have washed their hands of it.

 

[EarFatigue]

I've had my Arche for a year now and have spent hours comparing it to other similar priced dac/amp combos (some integrated). I'm fortunate that the way I connect to the Arche has not caused the frustrations others have experienced. What keeps bringing me back to the Arche? Balance. They seem to have found the sweet spot of warm and dynamic. I've heard amps and DACs that are better in some areas including sound stage. After hours of listening...I keep coming back to the Arche as the benchmark. I'm fortunate that I can switch amps and DACs to get "more" in those areas that fit my mood at the time. The used market for the Arche should be pretty interesting for those that are shopping. Seems like some pretty good deals out there. I'm hanging on to mine...not for sale...

 

[Caranon]

If, in fact, the Arche is being discontinued Focal is really going to receive plenty of negative feedback from disgruntled purchasers. There are ongoing issues concerning USB connectivity and it’s likely there won’t be a software update if it’s being discontinued. To be fair, I did my due diligence when making the purchase and “adjusted” to the quirks. I was using it with my Sony WM1Z via USB and I’m currently using it via Toslink with Audirvana because it just WILL NOT work with Audirvana using USB and that is infuriating. If, by chance, anyone here has gotten it to work with USB from Audirvana please tell me how you accomplished that! I’ve torn the rest of my hair out trying to figure it out. Again, to be fair, it is fantastic with my Utopia and Stellia headphone using Toslink and I’m porting it through an SPL Phonitor 2 amp allowing me to use a remote.

I’m considering other alternatives (Chord DAVE, Holo May, Bartok) but honestly the Arche via Toslink sounds really good! Basically, I’m just ticked off that Focal would abandon users like that if the rumors are true. Perhaps @FocalOfficial (Marine) can shed some light on this. She (Marine) has been helpful in the past. It might be useful to PM her but If there hasn’t been an “official” announcement from Focal I wouldn’t want to put her on the spot. I guess it’s wait and see at this point...

Hi Gadget, I am using the Focal Arche USB with Audirvana on an iMac (Intel, Monterey) without any trouble. I'm running Audirvana Studio 1.9 and Audirvana 3.5.35.

I experienced few connections problem when trying to send a signal upper than 384khz which is not allowed by the Arche. In this case, I have to unplug then plug in again the USB cable to make it restart playing.

 

[EarFatigue]

How are those of you that still have the Arche leveraging the amp/dac?

- with your focal cans or other?
- using the dac or the amp or both?
- via USB (which has frustrated many) or via another input?
- do you plan to keep the Arche or do you plan to sell it?

 

[iamoneagain]

How are those of you that still have the Arche leveraging the amp/dac?

- with your focal cans or other?
- using the dac or the amp or both?
- via USB (which has frustrated many) or via another input?
- do you plan to keep the Arche or do you plan to sell it?

I have as bedroom office setup.

- Using with Focal Utopia
- Dac and amp
- Feed by USB with Stack Audio Link II (no issues if wake up from sleep before starting audio or -shut off sleep mode)
- I may sell if return to office

It’s a great dac/amp for the value and gives the Utopia’s a nice fun sound that’s open and airy. It lacks a little weight and texture compared to the Naim HE. The Arche actually sounds better on quick listening because of the more airy sound but for extending listening I prefer the Naim HE. I do prefer the Arche to the Hugo 2 I previously had. The Arche is fuller sounding than that, not fatiguing, not analytical, and just enjoyable.

 

[rickydenim]

I have my Arche at work in my office and use it every day with my Focal Elegia with Dekoni Sheepskin pads.
Running Tidal on my laptop to it with Oyaide Class A USB cable.

Previously I was running a Topping DX3 Pro and this is certainly a bit step up.
Has worked perfectly and I really enjoy the sound so no complaints here.
I don't think I'd ever sell it, looking forward to bringing it home one day.
Thinking of making it my headphone amp from my audio interface for recording perhaps.

 

[Gorf]

How are those of you that still have the Arche leveraging the amp/dac?

- with your focal cans or other?
- using the dac or the amp or both?
- via USB (which has frustrated many) or via another input?
- do you plan to keep the Arche or do you plan to sell it?

I'm using my Arche fed from my pc over USB. Using Winamp & the NotsoYASAPI plugin. Listening with Utopias, regular cables. Very happy with the sound & I don't feel the need for an amp.

 

[EarFatigue]

I'm curious about your thoughts with the Utopia on the Arche vs. the Mojo...

 

[Gorf]

For my mobile use around the house, I use a Plenue through a Mojo to my Utopias. The sq is perfectly acceptable, but not quite up to the Arche.