I can't compare the Rotel vs. the Arcam, as I've never heard the Arcam. But I own the Rotel and I wanted to upgrade my front end. I picked up a Bel Canto Dac2. I performed side by side comparisons between the two units. The Dac2 is twice as expensive as the Rotel was new. Using the Rotel as the transport for the DAC2 and also as a stand alone CDP, the Rotel holds it's own quite nicely against the Dac2, an Audiogon favortite. Only very subtle differences were noted. The Dac2 was nicer but so slightly so that I sold it and saved the 750 bucks I paid for it used. The Rotel is fairly accurate and only falls down when playing highly compressed modern music (rock, pop, etc).