Arcam AVR400 or AVR500?

[admin_exported]

Hi All,

I currently own an Arcam AVR350 which has worked flawlessly and sounds amazing still to this day.

I am now looking at upgrading as I want to use HDMI for the newer sound formats.

As I like the Arcam sound (had Onkyo,Yamaha and Kenwood in the past) my choices are the 400 or 500.

The 500 can be had for £1300 and a dealer has offered me a 400 for less than that price. My concern is that when I bought my 350 new it was the top of the range, where as the 400 is the bottom. The 500 appears to have alot of problems after reading around on the net.

I am not to concerned with 3D just want great sound and reliability. Which would you go for?

Thanks in advance

 

[ric71]

Justin,
I have the 500 and it sounds better than the 400.It is not far behind the AVR 600 in terms of sound quality.It will be a definate improvement over your 350.It is fantastic with both movies and particularly music.
But,I am awaiting my replacement to arrive tomorrow as I have had issues with the fans.Arcam have said that all the problems are sorted but mine has had to be replaced after 6 weeks.Many other owners have had no problems at all.I am hoping my new unit is trouble free.The dilema is go for the better sounding 500 which may develop a fault but has a 5 year warranty or buy the feature laden problem free but not as good sounding 400.I would not change my 500 for a 400.There are not many units left at the discounted price.
Demo them side by side.

 

[duaplex]

I would have to agree with ric71, I had a demo with both of the receivers including the LX83. Eventually i went for the LX83 because of movie needs but if you are an Arcam fan and enjoy that particular sound than the 500 is far better. The 400 has more functionality like a network card, 3D ability and also 1.4 HDMI. But if you are not concerned with these then the Arcam 500 is the one to go for. Especially with Music!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies

I will try and get a demo of both this weekend

 

[ric71]

Let us know how you get on!

 

[ROB2009]

Justin
Another option, possibly...
I have the AVR350 and wanted the latest HD audio formats, but have kept my amp and bought the Sony BDP-S5000SE which has on board decoding for HD audio. Excellent blu ray player, HD audio, and I keep my AVR350, paid £699 for Sony from Amazon.
System is superb, Couldn't be happier, obviously can't compare against a new amp but for the price, it has to be worth considering?
Rob

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi Justin

I upgraded from AVR350 to AVR600, and the difference was very significant - sounded like I had upgraded the speakers as well! The 500 is not far behind the 600 in performance terms, and would be the one to go for, provided its had the latest mods to sort out the heating problems.

I think I would go for Rob's suggestion about the Sony, rather than get the AVR400.

Cno