Arcam, who are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, were the first company to launch an outboard DAC, way back in 1987. Previewed at Bristol Sound and Vision 2016, the Arcam irDAC II is now available at £495. Arcam say: “We’ve taken our hugely successful irDAC, updated it, improved it, added Bluetooth aptX streaming, an audiophile-grade headphone amp, direct/remote volume, input control and more. The irDAC II offers a substantial jump in audio quality over its predecessor and adds exceptional usage flexibility, all at a very sensible price.” Key new features include a new ESS Sabre DAC, new internal circuit upgrade, new audiophile headphone amplifier and a new Bluetooth aptX streaming input.

Hifi Pig will be taking the irDAC II for a spin shortly.

Technical specifications:

DAC – ESS ES9016K2M 

Inputs – USB, SPDIF, optical, Bluetooth 

Frequency Response – 20Hz-20kHz, +/-0.1dB 

Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise -0.0007% 

Signal-to-noise ratio (A-weighted) – 117dB (24-bit) 

Maximum output level – 2.1V RMS 

Supported sample rates 

USB: 32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 384kHz 

Optical: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz 

Coaxial: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz 

Bluetooth: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX-LL 

Bit Depth – 16-bit, 24-bit 

Headphone – 30Ω – 600Ω, 3.5mm plug 

Dimensions – W194 x H44 x D124mm 

Weight – 1.1kg