Modern Arcam's do NOT have a 'warm' sound. Modern Audiolab's do NOT sound clinical.
Audiophile bull ... cultivated over decades, engrained in Forum user's brains then passed on hundreds of times as 'common wisdom' mostly without any practical experience of said products.
Arcam's, modern ones, have slightly loose bass which, if not paired sympathetically, can result in bass excess which can affect lower mids depending on speakers used.
This may give the impression of 'warmth' but conversely, upper mids are very detailed and treble is highlighted. This makes Arcam's BRIGHT not warm. It's a very refined sort of brightness up to a point but this can verge into something less amicable if not paired correctly and if higher volume is needed.
In a similar fashion, some valve amplifiers have under damped bass but forward upper frequencies. This can make the sound BRIGHT and forward rather than 'warm'.
On to (modern) Audiolab. They have a more balanced sound, neutral but NOT clinical. Bass is better controlled, more impactful but not as 'warm' sounding. Mids are ... balanced and highs not as forward and detailed as Arcam's. If anything, treble is (slightly) rolled off making the the sound ... WARMER. It's all there but not highlighted.
A (modern) Audiolab has more fleshed out mids and treble than Arcam's, making it sound FULLER.
To give another example, Marantz has a brighter sound than Audiolab but it's a different 'bright' than Arcam's. Mids are pronounced with less impactful or controlled bass than (modern) Audiolab. Conversely highs are less detailed than (modern) Arcam, making it sound WARMER but BRIGHT at the same time.
All have a place, all sound different. What's right for you?
There you go. Don't take my word as gospel but actually listen to the stuff before jumping on the bandwagon of b* clichés.
I use both Audiolab and Arcam. They have their places in different systems. Neither is universally perfect but there is just too much c on forums on how their respective sounds are described.
If you like 'character' in an amplifier, don't go Audiolab. If you like warm, don't choose Arcam.
The former sounds more 'High End'. You have to spend a lot more to get better but I can equally see people verging towards an Arcam, Marantz or whatever sound.
(Profanity edited out by moderation - using asterisks doesn't conceal the word you are using.)
Audiophile bull ... cultivated over decades, engrained in Forum user's brains then passed on hundreds of times as 'common wisdom' mostly without any practical experience of said products.
Arcam's, modern ones, have slightly loose bass which, if not paired sympathetically, can result in bass excess which can affect lower mids depending on speakers used.
This may give the impression of 'warmth' but conversely, upper mids are very detailed and treble is highlighted. This makes Arcam's BRIGHT not warm. It's a very refined sort of brightness up to a point but this can verge into something less amicable if not paired correctly and if higher volume is needed.
In a similar fashion, some valve amplifiers have under damped bass but forward upper frequencies. This can make the sound BRIGHT and forward rather than 'warm'.
On to (modern) Audiolab. They have a more balanced sound, neutral but NOT clinical. Bass is better controlled, more impactful but not as 'warm' sounding. Mids are ... balanced and highs not as forward and detailed as Arcam's. If anything, treble is (slightly) rolled off making the the sound ... WARMER. It's all there but not highlighted.
A (modern) Audiolab has more fleshed out mids and treble than Arcam's, making it sound FULLER.
To give another example, Marantz has a brighter sound than Audiolab but it's a different 'bright' than Arcam's. Mids are pronounced with less impactful or controlled bass than (modern) Audiolab. Conversely highs are less detailed than (modern) Arcam, making it sound WARMER but BRIGHT at the same time.
All have a place, all sound different. What's right for you?
There you go. Don't take my word as gospel but actually listen to the stuff before jumping on the bandwagon of b* clichés.
I use both Audiolab and Arcam. They have their places in different systems. Neither is universally perfect but there is just too much c on forums on how their respective sounds are described.
If you like 'character' in an amplifier, don't go Audiolab. If you like warm, don't choose Arcam.
The former sounds more 'High End'. You have to spend a lot more to get better but I can equally see people verging towards an Arcam, Marantz or whatever sound.
(Profanity edited out by moderation - using asterisks doesn't conceal the word you are using.)
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