Arcam A49 - White Paper giving technical insight.

[CnoEvil]

In case it's of interest: http://www.arcam.co.uk/ugc/tor/a49/Technical%20Notes/The_technologies_behind_the_A49_101014_A.pdf

 

[audiodarkness]

Fantastic to see a company justifiying its products with facts, rather than 'we just thought it sounded better'...

 

[Nintronics]

We have been loving out A49 since we had it on demonstration. Class G is hard to implement correctly and it seems Arcam have the technical brilliance to pull it off perfectly.

 

[Jota180]

I'm interested in this amp so thanks for the linky!

 

[CnoEvil]

I'm interested in this amp so thanks for the linky!

No problem.

It should sound glorious with the LS50s!

 

[plastic penguin]

I'm interested in this amp so thanks for the linky!

No problem.

It should sound glorious with the LS50s!

I would love to hear it on Mordaunt Short Performance 6 speakers (how I lust after those speakers). Heard your AV600 on a pair of those. Magic!

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Picking up on this we had a delivery from UPS. I looked at the box and thought it must be Arcam's new UDP411 blu ray player. Picked up the box only to realize how heavy it was

This can't be the UDP411. Opened the box to find it's their new A39 amplifier. Nice surprise. Thanks Arcam

Anyway, looking forward to putting the A39 its paces

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[CnoEvil]

Picking up on this we had a delivery from UPS. I looked at the box and thought it must be Arcam's new UDP411 blu ray player. Picked up the box only to realize how heavy it was This can't be the UDP411. Opened the box to find it's their new A39 amplifier. Nice surprise. Thanks Arcam

Anyway, looking forward to putting the A39 its paces

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft

Please report back..

If possible, I would also like to know how close it gets to the performance of the A49, and how it matches up with its peers.

*drinks*

 

[Overdose]

That's all lovely. However, distortion levels are entirely academic if they are below audible levels.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/distortion

Which puts quite a lot of amps in the 'transparent' bracket if their frequency response is sufficiently flat and they are not driven to clipping.

Low distortion figures are great, but below the audible level, it's just a case of ownership of bragging rights.

 

[FanthorpesHiFi]

I've just un boxed our demo A39 unit.

It'll be on this afternoon for sure. Really impressed so far with the open and clear charactor of the A49. This Class G buisness seems to have it's benifits!

Will try to give an A/B comparrison soon CnoEvil.

 

[CnoEvil]

I've just un boxed our demo A39 unit.

It'll be on this afternoon for sure. Really impressed so far with the open and clear charactor of the A49. This Class G buisness seems to have it's benifits!

Will try to give an A/B comparrison soon CnoEvil.

Feel free to share when you have come to a conclusion....the stage is all yours.

 

[tinkywinkydipsylalapo]

the stage is all yours.

Yes, this certainly seems to have turned into platform for retailers to peddle their wares.

 

[nopiano]

That's all lovely. However, distortion levels are entirely academic if they are below audible levels.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/distortion

Which puts quite a lot of amps in the 'transparent' bracket if their frequency response is sufficiently flat and they are not driven to clipping.

Low distortion figures are great, but below the audible level, it's just a case of ownership of bragging rights.

Although these experiments are interesting, I think it is unhelpful to isolate one facet like this, overdose.

If you think it makes no difference, please try to listen to a Devialet amp, as they have ultra low distortion and sound fabulous. In fact, they sound like Quad used to postulate but never did, that is like straight wire with gain. It is so transparent, you can almost hear what has been taken away!

No idea about the subject amplifier however, but curious nevertheless.

 

[nopiano]

I see both A39 and A49 have lower than normal input sensitivity. Vlad will be impressed!

 

[Vladimir]

I see both A39 and A49 have lower than normal input sensitivity. Vlad will be impressed!

Hear, hear.

 

[CnoEvil]

the stage is all yours.

Yes, this certainly seems to have turned into platform for retailers to peddle their wares.

Personally I welcome the contribution of retailers...it's not hard to separate useful info from blatant peddling.

 

[FanthorpesHiFi]

Having had chance to give these two a side by side comparison this morning I can report that the main difference between the two amps is the way the overall presentation of the instruments change. I started off with the A39 and immediately have taken a liking to this amp. It offers a sound which is smooth and warm but without sounding slow or woolly at all. There is a good separation to instruments and for the physical size of the A39 the overall soundstage is big and powerful.

Putting on the A49 straight after I was immediately struck with how much more detail is recovered by this amp. I was listening to Daft Punk’s Random Access Memory album tracks 9 ‘Beyond’ and 13 ‘Contact’. Through the A49 guitar lines, strings and keyboard phrases which were much more apparent. The higher frequencies seemed to have much more room to breathe and everything seemed to separate even further. The soundstage being taller and wider. Also when the Drums kick in on ‘Contact’ they had even more dynamic and attack.

There is a vast price difference between these two amps but I can hear where the extra cost goes. Although both are utilizing the new class G tech. The A49 has an extra 80w of power and larger class A window of up to 50w. It picked up from where the A39 left off, somehow taking me even further into the music.

If you’re looking to audition a stereo integrated amp at this level then I would encourage you to add either the new Arcams to the audition list. Have a listen for yourself – you might disagree completely!

Other kit used - Cyrus Stream X Streamer, Chord chordette Qute ex DAC and Dali Epicon 2 speakers.

 

[CnoEvil]

Having had chance to give these two a side by side comparison this morning I can report that the main difference between the two amps is the way the overall presentation of the instruments change. I started off with the A39 and immediately have taken a liking to this amp. It offers a sound which is smooth and warm but without sounding slow or woolly at all. There is a good separation to instruments and for the physical size of the A39 the overall soundstage is big and powerful.

Putting on the A49 straight after I was immediately struck with how much more detail is recovered by this amp. I was listening to Daft Punk’s Random Access Memory album tracks 9 ‘Beyond’ and 13 ‘Contact’. Through the A49 guitar lines, strings and keyboard phrases which were much more apparent. The higher frequencies seemed to have much more room to breathe and everything seemed to separate even further. The soundstage being taller and wider. Also when the Drums kick in on ‘Contact’ they had even more dynamic and attack.

There is a vast price difference between these two amps but I can hear where the extra cost goes. Although both are utilizing the new class G tech. The A49 has an extra 80w of power and larger class A window of up to 50w. It picked up from where the A39 left off, somehow taking me even further into the music.

If you’re looking to audition a stereo integrated amp at this level then I would encourage you to add either the new Arcams to the audition list. Have a listen for yourself – you might disagree completely!

Other kit used - Cyrus Stream X Streamer, Chord chordette Qute ex DAC and Dali Epicon 2 speakers.

Thank you for your thoughts.

If you have heard the MF AMS35i, how would you say it compared to the A49?

 

[Overdose]

That's all lovely. However, distortion levels are entirely academic if they are below audible levels.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/distortion

Which puts quite a lot of amps in the 'transparent' bracket if their frequency response is sufficiently flat and they are not driven to clipping.

Low distortion figures are great, but below the audible level, it's just a case of ownership of bragging rights.

Although these experiments are interesting, I think it is unhelpful to isolate one facet like this, overdose.

Other than audible 'facets' such as distortion and volume level, what other factors will cause amps to differ in sound? Amplifer frequency responses are largely flat in the main and volume levels can be equalised.

If something can be demonstrated to be inaudible, it's discussion in an audio context is an irrelevance surely?

The elephant in the room in most hifi discussions regarding sound quality, that usually seem to revolve around theoretical or imaginary problems, is that they are inaudible.

I'm sure the Devialet amps are just fine, but I doubt that they would sound any different to my amp in a level matched and stress free situation, or in fact any other amp in the same conditions.

 

[FanthorpesHiFi]

Unfortunately I haven’t had chance to hear an AMS35i but I know it’s a monster! Now discontinued sadly.

I’ve heard the Nu Vista however which is perhaps the modern equivalent and that’s another league. As good as these Arcams are...

 

[CnoEvil]

Unfortunately I haven’t had chance to hear an AMS35i but I know it’s a monster! Now discontinued sadly.

I’ve heard the Nu Vista however which is perhaps the modern equivalent and that’s another league. As good as these Arcams are...

What about A49 vs Sugden Masterclass IA-4?

 

[Vladimir]

Unfortunately I haven’t had chance to hear an AMS35i but I know it’s a monster! Now discontinued sadly.

I’ve heard the Nu Vista however which is perhaps the modern equivalent and that’s another league. As good as these Arcams are...

Must be a midget monster because its 35Wpc in 8 ohms. Next time you see one short circuit the speaker terminals and see what monster DNA it has.

 

[CnoEvil]

Unfortunately I haven’t had chance to hear an AMS35i but I know it’s a monster! Now discontinued sadly.

I’ve heard the Nu Vista however which is perhaps the modern equivalent and that’s another league. As good as these Arcams are...

Must be a midget monster because its 35Wpc in 8 ohms. Next time you see one short circuit the speaker terminals and see what monster DNA it has.

Here's how the AMS35i measures: http://www.bm.rs/Musical%20Fidelity/Musical%20Fidelity%20AMS-35i%20-%20Australian%20HiFi.pdf

 

[Vladimir]

Unfortunately I haven’t had chance to hear an AMS35i but I know it’s a monster! Now discontinued sadly.

I’ve heard the Nu Vista however which is perhaps the modern equivalent and that’s another league. As good as these Arcams are...

Must be a midget monster because its 35Wpc in 8 ohms. Next time you see one short circuit the speaker terminals and see what monster DNA it has.

Here's how the AMS35i measures: http://www.bm.rs/Musical%20Fidelity/Musical%20Fidelity%20AMS-35i%20-%20Australian%20HiFi.pdf

Midget monster dipped in wasabi sauce (Class A). *biggrin*

35W won't get you far these days.

 

[manicm]

Unfortunately I haven’t had chance to hear an AMS35i but I know it’s a monster! Now discontinued sadly.

I’ve heard the Nu Vista however which is perhaps the modern equivalent and that’s another league. As good as these Arcams are...

Must be a midget monster because its 35Wpc in 8 ohms. Next time you see one short circuit the speaker terminals and see what monster DNA it has.

This 'midget' was a true Class A amp, which would put some higher priced and higher powered amps to shame.