Arcam rDock

The cradle will RAAAWK

Accessory of the Week Arcam’s rDock is a hefty slab of cast alloy, designed to accommodate an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad in it’s Dock connector.

A rubber base means it won’t slide around your desk or hi-fi unit when you're docking and undocking your iDevice, and a strip of rubber along the front of the stand protects the back of your Apple gadget.

The rDock is about a great deal more than somewhere to sit your iPod while it charges or syncs, however. There’s an array of connectors along the back to allow you to push video using either HDMI, or audio, digitally using the SPDif socket or in analogue form with the help of a built-in DAC and line-level phono sockets. There’s a USB socket for syncing and charging.

If you intend to use the rDock as a video or audio output, however, it’s unlikely to be close to a computer, so there’s the option to plug the Arcam box into the mains.

And, just so you don’t have to get off the sofa once you’ve slotted your iDevice into the dock, there’s an IR remote control.

Audio quality, particularly using the built-in DAC, is as high as you would expect from a company with Arcam’s pedigree. And at £200, that’s a big chunk of what you’re paying for.

Clearly, if hooking an iPad or iPhone up to a hi-fi isn’t in your plans, the rDock is overkill. But for audio geeks and particularly owners of Arcam amplifiers, it’s the perfect iDevice accessory. ®

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