Need to know – Arcam rCube
Apart from having a name that brings back nightmares from geometry class, the rCube is actually a punchy little iPod dock from Arcam.
According to the sound boffs over at Arcam’s audio labs, this is “the world’s best iPod/iPhone speaker dock.” But then they would say that, wouldn’t they. The dock does come from swotty backgrounds though, as the rCube took three years of gruelling research and design, the results of which you can see above.
It’s a far cry from B&W’s striking elliptical-balloon Zeppelin design, but there’s something pleasingly simple about its square form factor. And everyone knows that serious hi-fi comes in serious looking boxes, not jaunty elliptical balloon shapes, obviously. But even overlooking the first rule of audiophilia, the rCube system has four speaker drivers pumping out 90W of audio bliss.
And that bit about it being the best iPod speaker dock might just be right. Early reports from our test labs suggest that B&W might have to go back to the drawing board if they want to steal back their ‘best dock’ silverware. The acid test will be in the review, which we’ll have here shortly, but brace yourself for a surprise.
The rCube also streams CD-quality tunes from computers and portable devices using Kleer. You can even stream from another rCube for multi-room hi-fi. Although you’ll need to accessorise for that.
Yes, multi-system hi-fi and accessorise don’t come cheap, and you’ll always be able to find a much cheaper dock, but US$790 is hardly exclusive for what promises to raise the bar in quality portable iPhone speakers. The rCube is available from October onward.
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