ARC Gaming Amplifier & DAC MK1

I was drawn to the ARC because it would allow me to continue using my Audio-Technica M50x / Antlion Mic combo, and my Klipsch Pro Media 2.1 setup. I've had my ARC for about a week now, but so far it has been pretty great. I previously had an ASUS Xonar U7 USB and when I made the switch to the ARC, I immediately noticed better sound clarity on the ARC. I was also told that my mic sounded better by those that I game with on Discord. The DPS is a little too much for my tastes, but I can see it being useful for headphones that are a little bass anemic. Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase and I would easily recommend the ARC to anyone.

I have owned 3 pair of Astro "professional" gaming" headsets, Turtle Beaches and Tritons. My new setup using a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-AD1000X, Antlion Audio ModMic 5, and the Mayflower ARC is incredible. I have been an avid gamer for over 30 years and I have always found that audio and visual immersion is what I crave. I have never heard anything so clear before. This is a good product but I wish the price was about $70 cheaper. Also, hooking up to an Xbone is a bit more involved because you have to use the passthrough mic input on the back, as well as the mic output on the front. Using an optical cable, two splitters (one for mic/stereo separation on the controller and one for just stereo separation coming out of the ARC), and two 3.5mm stereo extensions are needed for the Xbone. The sound with music and gaming is pure bliss and worth the extra wires. Good job on this Mayflower!

Unfortunately I am deeply regretting my purchase of this unit. I have a first gen one, which by the comments section of a youtube review of, the owner is fixing the mic picking up static noise possibly behind the scenes from now on or in a gen 2 of this. Apparently the mic pickup is too broad, in that the spectrum of sound that it picks up is not limited as much as it should be.I often find that no sound comes to my earbuds or earphones connected to this sometimes, once I disconnect power to the unit then put it back, sound comes back immediately. I haven't contacted support for this to try to isolate the issue, and if it is something else possibly.So without using the mic, this unit becomes a pretty expensive amp/dac device that a much cheaper objective O2 could have matched.

-i have a 660s and the bass feels a tad anemic. because this DAC has the dynamic Bass mode dsp switch and it makes a pretty measurable difference in quality and immersion in games with a lot of rumble to them, ill keep it for what i paid. -it also has a slight bump in sound quality to my mic, but more noticeable is it boosted the volume without me having to crank up my microphones boost in the windows properties settings that degrade quality in lieu of volume -otherwise i love it's plug & play, elegant and small. =overall, personally i think its a little too costly for the diminutive difference it offers, but if you got the money to burn, i'll recommend it.sennheiser 660santlion modmic 4

This product is a niche within a niche - a compact DAC/AMP with a microphone input, for easy use of V-Moda's Boom Pro mic or the ModMic products, of which there are perhaps 5 such products like it anywhere else. Why would you get it? To improve on your PC's onboard sound, or to drive more sensitive headphones with higher impedance that can't run from onboard.The ARC is against stiff competition - Creative's Sound Blaster series, or Burson with their Play product - but it feels every bit like the top dog compared to those two. The volume knob is smooth and precise, the inputs are well thought-out, and it produces some good power. My Phillips Fidelio X2s are livened up by the experience, as are my oppo PM-3s. I'm looking forward to a high-impedance pair of cans to see what they can really do!If I could give one bit of critique, the only thing I can think of - there is a "DSP" bass boost on the front of the unit that feels kind of useless. It cuts out the sound for 3-5 seconds and you're left with a boomy, bloomy signature (perhaps because my cans are all bass-heavy to begin with). I would have much preferred the gain switch being on the front instead of this, but I appreciate that they have it, and I bet it'd work really well with some of the Sennheiser open backs I used to have!Well done, Mayflower!

Amazing sound quality. Sounds great when my Sennheiser 58x. Bass boost/DSP button will shake your head without muddying quality.

I had been looking for a replacement for the Astro mix amp for years. A all in one solution to drive my high impedance headphones but also not having a tangle of a mess with wires for the mic. Well Mayflower has delivered. Easy install - ps4 automatically picks up signal. Sound is as it should be for the price point- be sure to run the arc via optical cable and usb, I was experiencing a low output of sound just with the usb connection but as soon as I plugged in the optical cable it made a world of a difference. Highly recommended this product to anyone looking to step up from a Astro mix amp or plugging your headset directly to your controller, it just opens up the doors to much more quality headphones and has enough power to drive them.

Delivers clean and flat amplified sound to your high end headphones, and the best part is it really improved the mic pick up of my mod mic 4, no more static and hissing just clean sound, highly recommendedSetup used:Headphones : sennheiser hd 800Mic : mod mic 4