A new SID replacement gets a practical outing in Arctic retro’s Commodore 64 Ultimate. In a video published on 3 October 2026, the channel installs the SIDKick Pico 2350, compares its sound with an ARM2SID, and demonstrates stereo SID and FM output.
The small board is presented as a substitute for the original 6581 or 8580 SID, using a Raspberry Pi RP2350-based design and ReSID emulation. The interesting part here is the combination of familiar C64 sound with extra modes: the video walks through the physical installation, configuration menu, speech and sample playback, then stereo and FM music tests. That makes it a useful look at what a modern replacement can add to a machine, not just whether it can keep old software audible.
The ARM2SID comparison is a listening demonstration, not a controlled audio measurement; Arctic retro explicitly cautions that this is not scientific testing. Watch the original 27-minute video on YouTube for the installation and sound samples.
