I tried the Arche last Friday at the store, and we’re deciding not to stock it. I absolutely think Focal nailed their product line up in headphones, but having tried Arche with Clear and Stellia for 35 mins, I tend to find it a bit steep of an asking price.
Tonally it is very inoffensive, a bit on the smoother analogy side of things (I.E Chord mojo type of sound). I found the optimization DSP’s for headphones hit or miss, mostly miss on Clear, and 60/40 with Stellia. I think keeping it on stock “Voltage” mode sounds best in most cases.
I wish we had an Utopia in stock however, I think this amp would truly correct that headphone the most, with the softening up and headphone optimized eq opening up the sound staging.
The headphone specific DSP generally opens the image, and creates a crossfeed to bring the center stage more up front. Works alright with some music, but I feel it softens dynamics and snappiness as well. Reminds me of the SPL Phonitor tweaks. If you do find the Focal headphones too narrow sounding, which is one of their weaknesses in general, you may appreciate the EQ more than I did.
The amp itself is nicely built, but not as luxurious feeling as I was hoping. Knobs feel a bit dull..