ЦАПы — ADMD Audio ArcEdge DAC

The ArcEdge DAC is the upper of the two stand-alone converters from ADMD Audio, the hi-fi division of ADM-Data GmbH in Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany. The parent company comes from IT architecture, infrastructure and data recovery work, and its audio team applies that background to hand-built digital products. It sits above the Line DAC, which shares the same 450 mm wide footprint, and it is also the more capable of the two on sample rate and outputs.

Key specs that matter

The core is a quad R-2R ladder DA converter accepting PCM up to 24-bit/384 kHz, and DSD is not listed. Digital inputs cover S/PDIF, AES/EBU and a USB 2.0 interface on a B-type connector working in asynchronous mode, which ADMD also names as the link for its ADM Streamer. The XLR pair delivers 5 V balanced from a 300 ohm source, and the RCA pair gives 2.5 V unbalanced at 100 ohm. Left-right crosstalk is better than -115 dB, and ADMD gives a noise floor of -94 dB with 16-bit data and -118 dB with 24-bit data. The unit runs from 230 V/50 Hz mains, drawing 40 W at most and around 20 W on average. It measures 450 x 360 x 100 mm and weighs 14 kg.

Engineering and use context

An R-2R ladder builds the output voltage from a resistor network made of only two values, R and 2R, rather than from the noise-shaped, heavily oversampled process of a sigma-delta chip, and ADMD notes that this approach calls for very precise resistors. Using four ladders where the Line DAC uses two is the main hardware step between the models. Two filter settings are provided - a flat or linear mode and a mode the maker calls vintage-like - so the owner can choose how the reconstruction is handled. The enclosure is a precision anti-resonant composite case, made by hand from metal with wood and resin elements, and four wood finishes are offered.

Pairing

The ArcEdge suits power amplifiers or integrated amplifiers with balanced inputs, and its RCA pair covers amplifiers that only offer unbalanced line inputs. No volume control is listed among its features, so level is set by the amplifier or preamplifier that follows. A computer running asynchronous USB playback, the ADM Streamer, or a CD transport on coaxial or AES/EBU completes the digital side of the system.

Alternatives

The ADMD Audio Line DAC is the brand's other stand-alone converter, built on a dual R-2R ladder with 24-bit/192 kHz input and 2 V RCA outputs.