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To let through the finest of fades and harmonics without subliminal grit or artefacts is arguably the great strength of this DAC which perhaps segues back to the beginning. It's after all the fingerprint of overtone finesse which is fundamental to purity of timbre and realistic tone. Have we arrived at cloudless sunshine with this Minnesotan then? As always, in matters of amplification and transducers adequate playmates are required to fully mine the extra tariff of this machine and appreciate its justification. It’s simply unlikely that any listener will get the idea to acquire a €5.000 DAC if the rest of the chain hasn’t been properly attended to.
That said I can also imagine that one or the other listener might find the taut/angular Northstar USB dac32 macrodynamically even jumpier (to precisely categorize the so very even-handed ARC with its absence of tendencies really is hard). On These New Puritans’ Hidden with its man-sized Japanese Taiko drums, the Italian captured their beats with a tad more explosive power. Returning to the ARC with pricked-up ears one could also come to the conclusion that its bass is just as fast and articulate but in keeping with the remainder of the spectrum champions a breathier microdynamically highly astute quality that’s less brutal and thus in such matters less edgy/dry and rhythmically hard.


Let’s pay the bill. To be clear, if you’re after a DAC which has no fundamental flaws to perform without pronounced personality traits, you can enter this game at a far lower price point. Particularly in this category that’s a lot easier than in the more ‘volatile’ speaker sector. I simply can’t envision identifying a machine that’s less beset with tendencies or signature imprints on the sound than this Audio Research DAC8. I mentioned earlier that even though at this juncture of the review it’d make things a lot easier, I can’t really assign this American a clear corner to stand in. It’s both a dead neutral workhorse and a pure pleasure device. Particularly nuanced listeners with transparent quality amplification and speakers will appreciate how precise and accurate yet simultaneously mild and unforced this DAC goes about its job. It’s a benchmark I’ll remember for a while…

Even though I employed the DAC8 primarily as a USB processor to keep with the focus of its design team, I was a bit surprised by just how well the S/PDIF path hung in to render the ARC anything but a specialized computer tool.

Psych profile. The Audio Research DAC8 is characterized by:
  • Neutrality and absence of tendencies in the best meaning of those terms.
  • A pleasantly breathy mellow sound that surrounds individual performers with a realistic measure of air which undermines artificial outline emphasis to create exemplary plasticity instead.
  • High precision and magnification power of small nuances whilst maintaining a satisfyingly soft non-pushy quality.
  • A very fine-pored sonic image whose treble is free of all roughness to be immaculately stress free.
  • Great non-manufactured transparency to overtones which serves not merely the already mentioned bullet points but explains why this American excels at timbral nuances.
  • Brilliant microdynamics whose fluid smooth presentation also means that one or the other transient impact is rendered with less energetic propulsion than might be maximally possible. Macrodynamically the DAC8 feels fundamentally fleet-footed.
  • Good featurization and fit ‘n’ finish which are commensurate with the price.
Facts:
  • Dimensions and weight: 48 x 25.4 x 13.4cm (WxDxH), 5.2kg
  • Trim: Face plate in silver or black
  • Connectivity: Async USB, coax, Toslink, BNC and XLR digital in; RCA/XLR analog out
  • Power consumption: 10 watts in use, 6.6 watts in standby
  • Other: Asynchronous USB data processing via included drivers on CD-ROM, remote control, no volume/preamp functionality
  • Warranty in Germany: 2 years
  • Website
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