Hi all, i have been offerd a Arcam AVR250 for £50.00, the seller said that the amp was working and that he changed some of the on screen settings and now the optical inputs don't seem to be working. At a guess i would of thought that this would be because he has changed a setting of some sorts. My question is, is there any common faults with the optical inputs stopping working and is there a setting to turn them on/off ect? Also, i currently have a Onkyo TX-SR308, although the Arcam is an older amp, would it be a step up or a step down from the Onkyo performance wise? Any help, comments would be great, thanks.
Arcam AVR250 Help Please!!!!
- Thread starter Gareth82
- Start date
The AVR250 is definitely a step up in sound quality; it doesn't have HDMI inputs so no HD video switching.
I don't know of any faults with the AVR250, but in one of the menus (do you have the manual?) you can change the assignment of the digital inputs. It's possible they have not been assigned, or have been assigned to different inputs than their labels on the rear suggest.
I don't know of any faults with the AVR250, but in one of the menus (do you have the manual?) you can change the assignment of the digital inputs. It's possible they have not been assigned, or have been assigned to different inputs than their labels on the rear suggest.
scene
Well-known member
The AVR250 is a great amp, but as stated doesn't handle HDMI. It's two channel sound is on a par with a good stereo amp, and it can be made to run in stereo direct mode - which disables all of the digital circuitry, so analogue inputs only. There is a key combo that resets the amp back to it's factory defaults, which is well worth doing before trying to set it up. The details of how to do this, and other useful info is in the Arcam Custom Install guidebook: Here
You can download the AVR250's manual from the arcam website: Here
Now as to whether it's better or worse than the Onk is a question for your ears, the lack of HDMI may be a stumbling block for you. I would say that £50 is a VERY low price for the amp, I think they usually sell for around £200. If the DSP board has gone wrong, then this could cause ALL the digital circuitry to fail - this costs around £200 to get repaired. If you can get it on sale or return, buy it, do the factory reset and check the optical inputs work. If not - return it, the DSP is probably broken. If this fixes it, keep it and if you don't like it, sell it on eBay for a profit...
You can download the AVR250's manual from the arcam website: Here
Now as to whether it's better or worse than the Onk is a question for your ears, the lack of HDMI may be a stumbling block for you. I would say that £50 is a VERY low price for the amp, I think they usually sell for around £200. If the DSP board has gone wrong, then this could cause ALL the digital circuitry to fail - this costs around £200 to get repaired. If you can get it on sale or return, buy it, do the factory reset and check the optical inputs work. If not - return it, the DSP is probably broken. If this fixes it, keep it and if you don't like it, sell it on eBay for a profit...
Thanks for the replys guys. The seller said it was working untill he changed some of the settings so i'm hoping that i just need to change the settings and it's not a dsp fault. I'm not too worried about it not having any HDMI inputs as all of the movies i watch now days are on my external harddrive so only support dolby digital/dts anyway, plus i know that i could always buy a Blu Ray player with multic channelo out puts at a later date. I thinking that even if the Arcam does have a dsp fault maybe paying to get it repaired would be better than replaecing it.
Thanks for the replys earlier, i should be picking up the Arcam next week so i'll try the factory reset and see what happens. If it does turn out that there is a dsp board fault, would it be worth me sending it away to Arcam to be serviced and repaired? Thanks
If you can get them to replace the DSP board, ask them for a newer one. The 250's dac is arguably its weakest point, so it can't hurt having it upgraded to the 350's (or even 400, if the board fits).
Thanks for the info tremon. I emailed Arcam support this morning for a quote on replacing the dsp board and should have a reply within the next 48 hours so i'll also ask them about upgrading the board and maybe any other internals that they can. I wounder if they would even take the AVR250 plus some cash to upgrade to a AVR350 or AVR400 if they have any recon ones laying around.
Thanks for the info tremon. I emailed Arcam support this morning for a quote on replacing the dsp board and should have a reply within the next 48 hours so i'll also ask them about upgrading the board and maybe any other internals that they can. I wounder if they would even take the AVR250 plus some cash to upgrade to a AVR350 or AVR400 if they have any recon ones laying around.
scene
Well-known member
An upgrade to a AVR350 would be possible, but the 350 has extra pre-outs the 250 doesn't - suspect it would be an update to a AVR280, if possible. The AVR400 has a totally different DSP, IIRC (though I may be wrong) and probably couldn't be fitted to the AVR250.
FYI, the DSP on my AVR250 went phut 18 months or so ago... Cost me £230 to get it fixed - they replaced the main board at the same time, so not sure if a DSP on its own would be cheaper.
FYI, the DSP on my AVR250 went phut 18 months or so ago... Cost me £230 to get it fixed - they replaced the main board at the same time, so not sure if a DSP on its own would be cheaper.
Thanks for the reply scene. I'm still waiting for Arcam to quote me on a cost of the repair based on what the problem is with it (no digital inputs are working). I've done some hunting around on the net and it seems quiet alot of people have had the main boards and dsp units going faulty. I may be best to just get whatever is faulty replaced to factory spec and not worry trying to upgrade things. Out of unterest, how do you go about sending something back to Arcam for repair. Do you have to arrange it with them and post it yourself or do you have to go through a dealer? Also considering how much i'm gonna pay for the Aracm (£50.00) would it be worth paying the repair price which would be roughly £250 or would i be better selling it on and buying another one from somewhere like ebay? Thanks
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Gareth82 said:
Some years back, when I wanted the volume control repaired on my Alpha 7, they quoted a price for collection and delivery back, but when I factored in the repair cost, decided to replace it with the A65. Eventually got the volume repaired locally at a fraction of the cost.
I've always found with Arcam, Cyrus etc., any upgrade cost goes way beyond the worth of the component.
BTW, how's the A65 sounding?
Thanks for the reply Plastic Penguin. Is there other companys that you would recconmend that could maybe fix the AVR250? I was thinking of trying Richer Sounds but wasn't sure if they would just send it off to Arcam themselves.
The A65 and CD72 are going fantastic thanks. I was just going to post an update on my original fred when i got your reply to this fred. I have had them for a few days now and i am really impressed. I can hear more deatil is my cd's now and the bass is more controlled and deeper, even the wife noticed a difference from my original Sony system so it must be an improvement. I'm gonna enjoy the A65 for a while before i hopefully can add a power amp and Arcam tuner.
The A65 and CD72 are going fantastic thanks. I was just going to post an update on my original fred when i got your reply to this fred. I have had them for a few days now and i am really impressed. I can hear more deatil is my cd's now and the bass is more controlled and deeper, even the wife noticed a difference from my original Sony system so it must be an improvement. I'm gonna enjoy the A65 for a while before i hopefully can add a power amp and Arcam tuner.
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Gareth82 said:
Couldn't really tell you unless you live near Dorking, Surrey. I think any good, independent retailer may have a look at the receiver, but you'll need to do some homework. Sorry, can't be anymore help.
Pleased your happy with the A65. Good man...:dance:
Thanks for the reply plastic penguin. I live in Gravesend, Kent so guess i will have to wait for Arcams quote and then try a few of the dealers where i live. I'm getting the AVR250 for £50 and i know they go second hand on ebay for about £300 so don't mind paying around £250 for the repair. I would rather do that than pay £300 for a second hand one and have it breakdown and then pay £250 ontop for repairs. Out of interest, whats your opinion on uprated mains cables? The ones i have for the Arcam stuff are only standard ones and wounderd if i would be better upgrading them all? Thanks
Thanks for the reply plastic penguin. I live in Gravesend, Kent so guess i will have to wait for Arcams quote and then try a few of the dealers where i live. I'm getting the AVR250 for £50 and i know they go second hand on ebay for about £300 so don't mind paying around £250 for the repair. I would rather do that than pay £300 for a second hand one and have it breakdown and then pay £250 ontop for repairs. Out of interest, whats your opinion on uprated mains cables? The ones i have for the Arcam stuff are only standard ones and wounderd if i would be better upgrading them all? Thanks
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Gareth82 said:
TBH, I've not heard specialist mains leads at home - even now I still use a kettle lead. I've compared leads at a dealer when he tried to convince me that improvements are noticeable. However, the difference IMPO was almost non-existent. Also, from what I've read on here and other dealer's findings, is if you don't have the strongest 230 or 240V (or consistent) current then they tend to fall flat. I don't really understand the physics behind electro-particles... I love the sound of the basic kettle lead.
BTW, for a good cable upgrade just go and buy another kettle lead. Works a treat. I was using an old one from the Alpha 7 and had kept the original A65 lead in the box - forgotten all about it - until one day I pulled the box from the loft and saw this perfect mains lead. I swapped it over and the clarity of the A65 was immediate. Likweise, my old Marantz tuner has a two-core lead (very much akin to a shaver lead), so took a visit to my local electrical store and replaced it with a brand new shaver lead, and again the improvement was amazing.
Thanks for that plastic penguin, i'm glad i asked your opinion and didn't just go out and spend £40 each on uprated mains cables, i think like you said, i'll just stick to the good old kettle lead. I have seen them for sale on Amazon for about £2 each so mays as well spend a tenner and buy a new lead for my Alpha One CDP & Alpha 5+ amp, A65, CD72 and the AVR250 when i get it.
Hi everyone, just an update on the problem with my AVR250. Basically none of the digital inputs seem to work. When optical and coax are plugged in the display says 'Digital' but the amp is ouputing no sound. I even tried to connect the Audio inputs on the rear to my Blu ray player and there is still no sound. The only way i have manage to get the amp to output any sound at all was to connect a cd player to it and have the direct button turned on, when the direct button is turned off you get no sound at all again. I have tried a factory reset but this doesn't seem to of helped my problem.
I managed to get the amp by swapping it for some Blu Ray movies so if i have to pay for a repair i won't be too disappointed. If anyone has had this fault or may know anything i can try then please let me know, Thanks
I managed to get the amp by swapping it for some Blu Ray movies so if i have to pay for a repair i won't be too disappointed. If anyone has had this fault or may know anything i can try then please let me know, Thanks
scene
Well-known member
This sounds very similar to the problem I had with my AVR250. The DSP board has failed. Direct on the arcam disables any digital processing (i.e. the DSP isn't used) and is pure analogue. As the amp fires up (something mine did briefly, before the main board also went!) it sounds like the main board is OK, as are the analogue circuits. So, off to Arcam for a DSP replacement.
Thanks for that scene. How did you go about getting you AVR250 sent away for repair and how much did it cost? Thanks
scene
Well-known member
Gareth82 said:
I emailed Arcam to ask them about the issue, and they told me to take it to my local dealer - who was Richards Audio (now closed
) - and they sent it off to Arcam and I collected it from them. It cost me £230.I'd email Arcam to start the process, as that way you get into the system. I also recommend registering your AVR250 with them first.
Thanks for that scene. I have already emailed Arcam and i'm currently waiting for a reply so in the meantime i'll do what you suggested and register the AVR250 with them. Thanks for your help and one more question i had, how do you get the set up menu to display on my tv screen as trying to navigate through the Arcams on screen display is quiet dufficult, Thanks
scene
Well-known member
Way I do it is to use a SVideo cable connected to the AVR250 and to an input on my TV. You can only display the OSD on interlaced output from the arcam IIRC.
EDIT: Having checked in the PDF of the manual - it actually states:
The best way to set up the AVR250 is using the on-screen display (OSD). To view the OSD for the initial set up, use the composite video output to connect to your TV. This is because the high quality video output has several display modes and may be incompatible with your high quality display device in its default confi guration.
EDIT: Having checked in the PDF of the manual - it actually states:
The best way to set up the AVR250 is using the on-screen display (OSD). To view the OSD for the initial set up, use the composite video output to connect to your TV. This is because the high quality video output has several display modes and may be incompatible with your high quality display device in its default confi guration.
Thanks for your reply scene. I just got a reply back from Arcam and it will cost £208 +VAT. This will include a service, parts and labour and return carriage which doesn't seem bad considering i didn't actually pay for the Arcam.
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