Hifi/Home cinema, or both ?

[chris hollands]

Having heard the Arcam AVR400 at the Bristol show and being really impressed with the sound of a concert on Bluray , i am now in a dilemma,

Do i get a separate Amp for music and use my Denon 2311 for Cinema duties,

Or do i get an Arcam AVR400 to do both,

Has anyone yet had a proper demo of the Arcam?, will the unit be reliable ?

Could i live without a volume control ??

Any advice appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

i haven't heard the avr400, but i doubt if it would be as good as a decent dedicated stereo amp (which you could get for well under £500) for music, might be great for movies though.

 

[ear]

separate.Stereo amps dont ever become obsolete-

 

[Frank Harvey]

All AV receivers will be a compromise as far as hi-fi is concerned - the Arcam's are the ones people go for when they have to compromise in order to get the best they can for 2 channel. If you want to get the most out of both, go separate.

 

[Tonestar1]

Arcam's AV amps are well known for musical ability, that's why I bought one. As you are intending spending around 1700 why don't you try auditioning the arcam. Then try a £500 stereo and a £1200 AV amp and see if the perfomance is bettered. I bet it will be a close call and I would expect the arcam to win on both counts. If you are prepared to spend more on separate amps then I'm sure you could do better but for the same money I think you will struggle. Manufacturers spend a lot of money on casings in particular as well as displays, control mechanisms and control firmware not to mention remotes. Try before you buy. The "AV amps don't do music" theory does not conform with the arcam build as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Anonymous]

I know my Arcam is much more expensive than the 400, but I have owned a 350 as well before, so am qualified to answer the question posted.

I have one room for both Hi Fi and home cinema. it is an ideal shape and layout for 5.1 cinema speaker placings and has room for a sub. It would be a nightmare to wire up the same speakers to two amps I didnt want to have two many boxes. If you want two systems, you would need at least 6 boxes if you include a Playstation and maybe more if you want a seperate CD player and Blu ray/DVD player. I decided years ago that it could only be one system, hence my kit choice shown below.

If you choose seperate systems you will not be able to spend as much on each as you would like so that would be a compromise anyway unless you have unlimited money.

I am extremely happy with my combined setup but it depends on how much you want the "ultimate Hi FI" as to which way to go . My HI Fi nut friend will only buy Naim and has a hugely expensive set up just for that and a cheap cinema system which he is not that bothered about be he loves my setup. Its loud and full of impact( makes the wife scream sometimes) but also sounds really good on cd's and particularly on SACD from the OPPO( brilliant multi use machine)

I had initial firmware problems with my 600( very similar to the 400 I think) but I can honestly say it has now settled down with the updates and causes me no grief. No volume control is no problem, I just sit and squirt the remote, I have never missed it at all.

Go and listen would be my advice, I would be very surprised if you come away with two systems.I would not change mine now even if I had a bigger budget.

 

[Vimeous]

You have exactly the decision I was planning to make a few years ago when the AVR350 and its silbings were still available. In the end finances dictated my current setup but I would have chosen a single Arcam amp had funds allowed.

What I'd like to add it that you don't need 2 sets of speaker cables and connections if you choose the separate route.

I my case the sterio amp is connected to the AV amp and drives the front channels. Sterio sources, at present only my Duet, are attached to the sterio amp and the multi-channel kit to the AV amp.

The difficulty, or pleasure if you like testing kit, is to get a good balance for multi-channel listening. I've found that the tonal balance of the speakers has the greatest influence but it'll be down to your ears to decide if this setup will work for you.
It's worth noting that better AV amps have the ability to disable the multi-channel processing making the output to the sterio amp much cleaner. I use this feature to listen to CD's played on my Bluray player.

Given the choice I would certainly audition any of the AVR range because of my past pleasure with Arcam kit. On paper and in reviews it appears ideal assuming the early bugs (re AVR600) have finally been ironed out.
However I'd park it next to a well thought-out pair of sterio and AV amp configured as above to ensure the sound you're looking for really is there.

 

[chris hollands]

Thanks for all the replies guys, i had an Arcam AVR200 with a B&W CM setup a few years ago and still went down the separates route for HIFI , ran a Unison Research Unico with it on the fronts and it sounded great,

Was thinking with the progress now in AV that the Arcam would save me spending on a separate setup, the last time i ended up spending a fortune on a Hifi system as well as what had already cost me a fortune on the home cinema front, guess i will have to do a home demo.

Glad to hear the updates have sorted out the reliability problems on the 600.

 

[rendu]

Hello, I am not sure I understood correctly, you mean that you linked your AVR200 with the Union Research Unico? If the AVR200 is similar to my AVR280, it does not have pre outs. Also, how do you find your Denon (in your signature) vs your previous AVR200 in terms of musicallity?

My AVR280 sounds ok for music, it has lots of detail, scale and power but in terms of musicallity I only find it average compared to any stereo amp.

 

[Vimeous]

If my memory serves the AVR300 used Alpha 8 componentry and the AVR350 used Alpha 9. The AVR280 came later but should be directly comparible to £400 sterio amps of the same era.