Chapeau ou non? (PCM5102MK non-HAT DAC review)

[AnalogSteph]

What do you guys think, keep or replace my Arcam...?

What is your use case? The rLink is a simple no-frills DAC for line level applications that's probably better than some (but definitely not all) old CD players out of the box. It's not preamp grade, doesn't have any USB input and certainly doesn't feature any DSP functionality.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

I've used a variety of HATs over the past 10 years. Since the Pi 4 my preference has been for USB to an external DAC because the USB out and ethernet no longer share a bus. Another option is an inexpensive HAT with optical output. I'm not sure about the 3a+ but since it doesn't have an ethernet port I suspect that there are no conflicts. USB output configuration is about the same degree of difficulty as HAT configuration. A mild plus is that you have a wider choice of cases since you don't have to accommodate a HAT.

 

[Count Dacula]

What is your use case? The rLink is a simple no-frills DAC for line level applications that's probably better than some (but definitely not all) old CD players out of the box. It's not preamp grade, doesn't have any USB input and certainly doesn't feature any DSP functionality.

Thanks for the reply. My old CD player was a Nakamichi MB1s, which sounded pretty good compared to others, so it was challenging to replace it. A lot of retail CDPs sounded dull to me, so the Arcam was a winner. I bought it used, and am still too cheap to throw it in a drawer, when I have a bunch of different systems I need to feed. I have newer DACs too, so it's a matter of "ranking" it so I can place it with the most appropriate system.

Not a lot of info on the Arcam, I guess they didn't sell a lot of them.

 

[AnalogSteph]

I bought it used, and am still too cheap to throw it in a drawer, when I have a bunch of different systems I need to feed. I have newer DACs too, so it's a matter of "ranking" it so I can place it with the most appropriate system.

"It's a DAC. It does DAC things."

It shouldn't have any major issues with overs so would be a good choice for going straight out of an old CD player whose digital filter might still have a good bit more passband ripple than the PCM510x's +/-0.01 dB (which is hard to get excited about but probably adequate - I assume that Arcam didn't use the alternative low-latency IIR filter). Or when going straight out of a PC into some integrated amp gets you in trouble with ground loops but the PC does have a Toslink output and you don't have anything markedly better at hand. Plenty fine for a TV, too.

 

[Count Dacula]

"It's a DAC. It does DAC things."

It shouldn't have any major issues with overs so would be a good choice for going straight out of an old CD player whose digital filter might still have a good bit more passband ripple than the PCM510x's +/-0.01 dB (which is hard to get excited about but probably adequate - I assume that Arcam didn't use the alternative low-latency IIR filter). Or when going straight out of a PC into some integrated amp gets you in trouble with ground loops but the PC does have a Toslink output and you don't have anything markedly better at hand. Plenty fine for a TV, too.

Yes, simple TV sound is often the goal. I ended up with about 8 old Fosi D3 DACs for about $20 each, which covered most of my needs and made great gifts.

No complaints on the Arcam, other than the black hole of info. Thanks.

 

[AnalogSteph]

I ended up with about 8 old Fosi D3 DACs for about $20 each

I can find no such product. Do you mean the old FiiO D3?

 

[Count Dacula]

lol, yeah. You know how all DACs sound the same....