Arcam AVR 500

[barrieJ]

I have Monitor Audio Silver RX6 AV and need a new Amp, i was planning spending around £2000. At the moment my amp is Arcam A90 + P90.

I was thinking of Arcam AVR500. Im looking for an Av amp that good with stereo as i have Linn LP12 so would like to keep the performance as my A90 + P90 if not better?

barrie

 

[v1c]

Not sure the Arcam AVR500 will be around for long as Arcam have just released the AVR400 at about £1700. So far the general consensus appears to be why you you buy an AVR500 when you can get a 400 cheaper in other words it's a much better option.It's regarded as having options that should have been on the 500 but weren't and although it's not officially killed the 500 i think it may as well have. Need to wait for a decent review though as speculative comments range from sound quality as good as the 500 to not so good. It should be noted that the 500 was not exactly highly praised. So hopefully Arcam will redeem themselves of late with an absolutely stonking AMP . Here's hoping.

 

[barrieJ]

thanks for the help. i have seen ex demo for £1500. but would have to travel so cant listen to it without going hunderds of miles, do you have any idear if the 500 would sound as good in stereo as a A90 + P90 ?

 

[Anonymous]

I'd recommend comparing it to a Pioneer LX83 before you make your decision.

 

[Big Chris]

What's gone wrong with your A90 & P90 then Barrie?

 

[barrieJ]

theres nothing wrong with the A90 + P90, but are just run as stereo and looking to change my A90 + P90 to an AV amp that sounds good with music as i now have Monitor audio Silver RX6 AV package

 

[Anonymous]

I'd recommend the Onkyo TX-NR5008 in your comparison as well. Unfortunately I was not able to compare it to Arcam's AVR500, but when I bought my new AV amplifier I did a comparison between the Onkyo TX-NR5008, Rotel 1560, NAD T785, Marantz 7005 and Cambridge Audio Azur 650R.

Close finish for me between Marantz and Onkyo but Onkyo won, having more detail in mid and high frequencies.

 

[barrieJ]

Unfortunetly the Onkyo TX-NR5008 is just out of my price range ;O(

 

[rendu]

I have owned 2 onkyos and an Arcam. The Onkyos where not high-end but, the last one was around same price-range as my current Arcam Avr280. To me the onkyos sound very "spectacular" but at least in my case they cause listening fatigue after some time. In a demo you really get impressed but then at home for large listening... thatïs another story. I also had a Denon in the middle but did not meet the minimum requirements for music.

For music in stereo, my vote would go to Arcam, then Marant and probably would not discard Cambridge audio (however they have nothing at the range of the current Arcam's models).

 

[barrieJ]

Thanks rendu.

I think Arcam is the way to go when looking for an AV amp that sounds good with music in stereo too, can't really think of any other makes that are good with both and stereo is as important to me as surround sound.

 

[Anonymous]

You may want to condiser buying it abroad? Here in The Netherlands it's possible to get it for as low as 1700 euros (appx GBP 1500) You may want to replace the power cord anyway by a better one, so it might be worth a consideration?

 

[Anonymous]

I agree on the comments for Onkyo on the cheaper models, but the TX-NR5008 and 3008 are clearly high end and a TOTAL different deal. The 5008 has a toroidial power supply and that shows... there's detail and ease in the sound stage. No hassle, and it won't get you tired from listening as cheaper models might do.

This is my fourth Onkyo and the best I've had so far. I must admit that the step from an old 600E to this one is so big, it's just incomparable. That's why I disagree on comparing this amp with other Onkyo amps that have a totally different price tag and build qiuality. It's comparing apples and oranges. They share the brand name and the black casing and that's about it IMHO.

I really encourage you to listen to them, and let your ears decide, cos let's face it, that's wwhere it's all about.

 

[Boca]

basver, you state the 5008 and 3008 are high end but what have you compared it to. you only indicate that you had 4 other onkyos. I say this beacuse the impression you give is that you only buy onkyo. (Nothing wrong with that if you like it) Others like myself have no brand loyalty so the comparisons help.

 

[barrieJ]

so are Onkyo good musicaly (stereo music)

 

[jiggyjoe]

You will be hard pushed to find any AVR to beat your Arcam amps for stereo.

Why not just add a mid priced AVR and keep your Arcam's for front and stereo only using the fixed gain mode.

Unless you want to reduce the number of boxes of course.

 

[Anonymous]

Imho...Arcams are over priced and can no longer keep up with the technology race.

My Pioneer SC-LX83 with front B&W CM8's bi-amped sounds brilliant in stereo and in 5.1. It even has a volume control on the front which Arcam has dropped off their models in favour of remote only.

I also find the Arcam green display a little annoying.....very Land Rover like. And the Arcam units are not easy to dust.

I think you should demo a few makes and decide with your ears.

 

[Anonymous]

Marnie:
Imho...Arcams are over priced and can no longer keep up with the technology race.

My Pioneer SC-LX83 with front B&W CM8's bi-amped sounds brilliant in stereo and in 5.1. It even has a volume control on the front which Arcam has dropped off their models in favour of remote only.

I also find the Arcam green display a little annoying.....very Land Rover like. And the Arcam units are not easy to dust.

I think you should demo a few makes and decide with your ears.

I'd generally disagree - features aren't everything

I had an AVR350 Arcam and a Pioneer SC-LX71 and swapped between them numerous times to compare SQ - even on Blurays with the LX71 getting a LPCM 5.1 feed and the AVR350 getting "DTS" via Optical - in my system the AVR350 sounded far better no contest

 

[chris hollands]

I think you should keep the two separate, from experience most of us are never happy with half measures and by using a receiver for hi fi duties it is always a compromise.

You should use your stereo amp for front end duties and your receiver for Home cinema duties, that then opens up your options on what to buy .

I have had Arcam receivers and DVD players and have found them to be highly priced and quickly outdated.

The market has changed so much in the last few years you can have the best of both worlds and generally , value for money and spec wise it is not the Arcam route.

Hope this helps.

 

[Anonymous]

Boca, sorry for late reply, but I recently bought the Onkyo and ccompared the 5008 with

* Rotel 1560

* NAD T785

* Marantz 7005

* Cambridge Audio Azur 650

It was a close finish between the Marantz and Onkyo. Both very detailed and musical. The onkyo won on clarity in the high frequencies. Just al little more subtle and precise, but really just a little.

Rotel dropped immediately, missing about everything in musicality you would expect from a ? 2600,- amp. No detail in high frequencies, it dsounded like the tweeters were ciovered with a woolen blanket. At first I thought something in the settings was wrong, but switching to pure audio in stereo gave the same disappointing result.

Cambridge sounded too rough and unsubtle, overpowered and unbalanced. Exit too.

NAD had severe problems on controlling the bass, it was pretty awful. Totally unexpected, a 3K amp would do a better job IMHO.

Marantz was very musical, open and live. Yet the onkyo won on slight details in clarity. the price tag difference was an issue (Marantz way cheaper then Onkyo) but in the end I chose quality over price.

Arcam was not available, but the AVR600 where I would go for is a totally different deal anyway when it comes to budget. AVR 400 may have done the trick but it is not available here (yet). As the AVR 400 will be available in the UK it would be a nice comparison for the OP to compare the amps.

 

[Anonymous]

In my opinion they are, but let YOUR ears decide...

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

basver:In my opinion they are, but let YOUR ears decide...

Excellent choice

 

[barrieJ]

Hi all, thanks for the advise.

Unfortunately I miss the ex demo Avr 500, sold. So looking
to hear the Arcam Avr400, but having difficulty tracking 1 down in Scotland.
Seem no 1 want to commit to having one in there shop for demo, although they
can
sell 1 ?? Might have to go further down south would also like to
compare Arcam's AVR 400 to Pioneer's SC-L83 hopefully i will fine a
store that demo's both. Has anyone
listened to the AVR400 ?

 

[Anonymous]

@ BarrieJ: If you can make it, why not listen to it on the Bristol show as a starter? Or contact Arcam directly to see if they can provide you a dealer that is willing to make a nice setup for you.

It's difficult anyway IMHO, because a setup would need to match your current speakers, cables, and interlinks to some extent.

A true Hifi dealer would let you test the amp at home too, to see if it matches your current setup. But as you already own Arcam equipment, that shouldn't be an issue I presume.

 

[iainl2005]

barrieJ, there are a few ARCAM stockist in Glasgow... Stereo Stereo, Sevenoaks, Loud & Clear, I am almost positive they will have an Arcam for you to audition. I had an AVR500 on home demo for a few weeks and it sounded superb, I only went for the AVR600 for the extra power, so I'm pretty sure the 400 will be good.

 

[barrieJ]

i'v phone sevenoaks in glasgow and they dont have a demo in stock yet. did you think the Avr 500 was good with stereo??