Not much talk on Arcam stuff here? (1 Viewer)

[Dean Wette]

Paul...

I agree with Jason. No matter what we or specs tell you, always let your eyes and ears be the true judge.

I have not auditioned the NAD nor Rotel offerings, so I cannot make a comparison.

Here's what I know about the 300. Consider this "Engraved in Jello" at best since there's still no official word from Arcam that I've seen. I have gotten some details from reliable sources and some gleaned from pictures, etc., but nothing here is made up on my own.

7 x 100 WPC @4/8 ohms. (AVR200 is 70 WPC and it gets loud).
Dolby PLIIx 7.1 and EX, DTS ES (I haven't seen anything on THX, but can't rule it out either).
Composite, S-Video, and Component video switching.
Zone 2 and bi-amping support (make use of the extra 2 channels in a 5.1 system).
Discrete remote codes for everything, including audio modes.
Upgradable software/firmware via RS232 port.
Case same dimensions as AVR200, but about 2 inches deeper...and much heavier.

It will have advanced features found in the AV8. I believe things like bass management, speaker equalization, etc. for performing professional audio calibrartion. Configurable inputs (e.g. map coax AUX audio in on the back to SAT mode on front button/display/remote-code).

I'm sure they'll take a lot of what they learned engineering the AV8/P7 separates to improve the audio quality of the AVR300, but I don't have specifics. Expect great things, but keep in mind the AV8/P7 combo is almost $10K.

I've used Arcam gear for a while, and my experience is when they do something it's because they're ready to do it right. They may look and feel spartan compared to other brands, but they're world class performers.

Dean

 

[Jason_Paik]

Paul..Arcam's Canadian distr. emailed me to say that the 300 model has a likely release in Canada "at the end of February/March", and "an estimated MSRP of CAN$3000". Right now the Arcam 200 may be available in your area for less than the suggested MSRP of CAN$1895.

Jason

 

[Dean Wette]

One of the engineers on the AVR300 team told me not to expect it before March and maybe April. My dealer says maybe March - I'm getting the first one they receive.

 

[Jason_Paik]

Then you have to tell us all about it, since you're likely going to get it before me!

Jason

 

[Stephen M]

Imagine a loooong thread on Arcam Dean, thanks for the Arcam forum link. I've seen more posts there in 24 hrs than I have seen in American forums the past six months! I am very interested in the AVR300. I plan to stay at 5.1 so I was excited to see on the Arcam forum that you can utilize the unused rear channel amps to passively biamp your front speakers. Does anyone know what brand or type of D/A converters that Arcam will use for the new receiver?

 

[J. Redcay]

Stephen:

I received this from Arcam today:

"The master DSP chipset is the new Crystal CS49400, with
24-bit and 32-bit processing; the audio DACs, ADCs and
volume controls are Wolfson Microelectronis."

Hope this is some info you can use. Release is to be in April.

Best regards.

Jeff Redcay

 

[Dean Wette]

Glad to help. You may have noticed that Arcam's CEO (John Dawson) post there on a fairly regular basis. Another poster, ANDY_ARCAM (Andrew Dutton) is an Arcam Senior Engineer and the AVR300 team lead.

If you have Arcam gear it's a good forum to visit.

I found it serendipitously while searching for AVR300 info.

Dean

 

[Dean Wette]

Peter...

Looks like the impedence switch stays. Here's what John Dawson, Arcam's head has to say about it...

***John Dawson, Arcam quote starts here***

The speaker impedance switch is, in my opinion, a very useful device in products such as AV receivers in order to extract the best possible performance from products where both price and space are limited.

I can't comment on other manufacturers' implementations but in the Arcam receivers the switch activates an internal heavy duty relay which alters the voltage of the main power rails supplying the power amplifiers. This is not done with anything so crude as resistors but by having taps on the secondaries of the main power transformer.

It then allows the unit to meet its specification into both 4 and 8 ohm loads without risk of overstressing the output stages or overheating. So, in the case of the AVR300, we can get 100 WPC of continuous output power into either 4 or 8 ohm (nominal) speaker loads without having heavily to overengineer or alternatively excessively current limit the power amplifiers. Incidentally these power ratings are continuous, with all 7 channels driven simultaneously, whereas many receivers with huge quoted power specs simply and audibly run out of grunt under such conditions. There's quite a bit of misinformation out there!!

***end quote***

 

[LanceJ]

Unfortunately, a design concept becoming harder & harder to find in all types of audio components.

Those extra features many times simply cause the equipment to be needlessly time-consuming and/or frustrating to use. And they definitely drive up costs, very likely at the sacrifice of a better amplifier section or something else that TRULY makes a sonic difference.

If I had the financial means I would definitely be considering an Arcam receiver (though I do own a mid-fi receiver from a company that has a design philosophy similar to Arcam's, though just a tad lower in price--but I'll bet an Arcam receiver can't keep a cup of coffee at serving temperature by just setting it on top of its cabinet like with mine! ).

LJ

 

[McPaul]

Thanks Jason and Dean for all your wonderfully helpful information. From your description of the 300/200, it sounds like I will not be able to judge the audio performance of the 300 by listening to the 200, sounds like they're completely different. I'll keep checking back with Arcam Canada, and of course this page. It seems that there is a strong following of these units, albeit quiet on THIS forum.

 

[Dean Wette]

Yes, the AVR300 is a new ground-up design.

However, chances are really pretty good that if you like the AVR200, you'll like the 300 better. Arcam is not going to make it sound worse, just to give us advanced features. I'm confident it'll come out sounding much better.

I trust Arcam enough from experience that I've ordered the 300 unseen based on my experience with the 200. Worse case scenario is I get it home and don't like it, my dealer will take it back, and they'd probably let me just try it a home before comitting to purchase if I ask. But I'm not worried about it.

Dean

 

[Dean Wette]

These are the updated features I know about. I'll continue to update this post as I learn more.

Arcam AVR300 Features
Availability: Late May 2004
MSRP: $1999

(1) 7 x 100 WPC, all channels driven at either 4 or 8 Ohms. 2 x 120 WPC for stereo (with DSP bypass).
(2) Dolby Digital EX and PLIIx; DTS 24/96, ES 6.1 Discrete and Matrix, Neo 6.1
(3) Composite, S-Video, and HD Component video switching, with upconversion of S-Video/Composite.
(4) Zone 2 audio/video.
(5) Discrete remote codes for everything, including all audio modes.
(6) 2-way RS232 port with full RS232 control protocol.
(7) Upgradable software/firmware (via RS232).
(8) Independant and global bass/treble EQ control.
(9) Crossover switching and Bass management.

Notes:
(i) Case same dimensions as AVR200, but about 2 inches deeper, and much heavier. Feet a bit taller to allow for better cooling.
(ii) Software control lets you set any digital input to be selected by any one of the source buttons (e.g. use the AUX coax input with the front panel SAT button).
(iii) Internal switching to allow the rears to be used either to bi-amp the front or to amplify the Zone 2 output in a 5.1 setup.

Info at Arcam Site
AVR300 Flyer April 2004
AVR300 Pictures (first two on the page).

This receiver is going to be really sweet.

 

[PeterCB]

Dean, thank you so much for getting an answer to my speaker impedance switch question, and from the top man himself!

Just one follow-up question. There is no fan opening on the back panel of the AVR300 like there is on the AVR200. Does that mean that there is no fan (or have they moved it to another location, like NAD did with the T773)?

Peter

 

[Dean Wette]

I don't know specifically where the fan is, but I was told to allow more space for ventilation above to prevent the fan coming on constantly. And the feet are taller.

So that should give you enough to draw conclusions about cooling on the AVR300.

Dean

 

[Drew_W]

The AVR200 can be had for around 1400CND. I heard the 2x40W Arcam integrated (that's what the dealer said, I'm pretty sure it was an A65+, same difference..or close to it) powering some Paradigm Studio 20s. I whole heartedly concur that this is a tremendous match.

And the photos from CES look spectacular. Anyone who's never heard Arcam owes them an audition. Even their budget stuff is spectacular.

Edit: The Arcam A65+ is 2x40. The naming is counter-intuitive.

 

[Dean Wette]

bump...

I've changed the AVR300 Features post above to add a link to a PDF flyer from October, 2003.

The flyer says it's 90 WPC, but Arcam has since told me 100 WPC, so I imagine there could be other additions/changes from what's in the flyer. At some point I expect the link to go dead as Arcam posts more up-to-date offical info.

My dealer told me the other day, it could now arrive as soon as end-Feb.

Dean

 

[Dean Wette]

Arcam has now published the details of the new AVR300 on their website. There's also a downloadable pdf with the specs.

Dean

 

[Geoff L]

Hi Dean

So whats the latest word for in store sale of the 300 on your end???

I getting the shakes from Arcams hold backs from the month to month supposed in store units to arrive. I know they just will not le them out till their positive their ready, bugless hopefully.

The info finally up on site (excellent to know power is up from the 90 originaly thought) is cool! The PDF-file that "I can't get to" due to this pile of shi* called MSN WevTv, I'm sure contains much more in-depth info thats not shown/contained on the 300 intro page.

Now being 4-12-04, the lothing pains of waiting for a good thing are killing me. Is this what growing into going postal feels like..lol
How many darn licks dose it take to get a new 300 in your hands!

Eidt:
Might you have any "NEW news" on dealers receiving their Demo AVR-300 unit/s & or sales unit shipments???
Or for that matter, any new news at all aside from what you've posted to this point....

Still Drooling in MI
Geoff

 

[Dean Wette]

Arcam has been saying unofficially Q2 2004 all along, so they aren't late with it nor have there been any holdbacks. My previous info was just heresay that I could gather.

What I'm told (from the Arcam CEO, John Dawson) is to expect demos at dealers this month, and retail units last half of May.

I'm also anxious for the AVR300. I now have my new 2nd pair of surround speakers (Dynaudio Audience 52SE) installed and ready to deliver PLIIx sound.

Dean

 

[Dean Wette]

Key Features of Arcam AVR300

ANALOG AUDIO
•Meets rated 100 WPC continuous power output into both 4 and 8 ohms loads, all 7 channels driven simultaneously at 1kHz
•Stereo output power over 120 WPC into 4 or 8 ohms, 20Hz – 20 kHz
•Huge toroidal power transformer and 48,000 microfarads of reservoir capacitors ensure ample power reserves when playing even the most demanding programme material
•In 5.1 surround systems the 6th and 7th channels are assignable to the front left and right for bi-amplifying suitable loudspeakers, or to zone 2
•Audiophile quality components for best sound quality, including 1% metal film resistors, polypropylene film capacitors, OSCON electrolytic capacitors and double sided, through-plated fibreglass circuit boards
•Pre amp outputs for all 7 channels and subwoofer
•Multi-channel 7.1 analogue input for DVD-A or SACD sources
•Stereo direct switch bypasses and disables all digital processing for 2 channel analogue sources
•7 stereo analogue inputs (plus tuner); 3 tape outputs (one a tape loop)
•Zone 2 stereo audio, from stereo analogue inputs or internal tuner. Source and volume control independent from main outputs
•Built in FM/AM RDS stereo tuner with 30 FM and 16 AM presets

DIGITAL AUDIO
•State of the art Crystal Semiconductors CS49400 DSP, with 24-bit fixed point double precision Dolby Digital and DTS decoding and 32-bit fixed point double precision bass management. 4 layer PCBs
•Wolfson Microelectronics 24-bit 192kHz DACs, stereo ADC and precision electronic volume controls
•Decodes Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic IIx (including full music mode support), DTS 96/24, DTS-ES Discrete and Matrix 6.1, DTS Neo 6
•6 Arcam-optimised surround effects modes for 2 channel sources (Music, Party, Club, Concert Hall, Sports and Church)
•Adjustable crossover switching from 40 – 130 Hz in 10 Hz steps
•Separate sub woofer level settings for film and stereo listening
•Bass and treble equalisers, both global and for each of 7 main channels
•6 fully assignable digital inputs, 3 co-axial, 3 optical; 1 coaxial & 1 optical output
•Assignable global audio delay, adjustable from 0 – 220 milliseconds, to compensate for video processing delays in digital displays or DVD players

VIDEO
•5 composite and 5 S-video inputs; 3 fully buffered outputs of each type (monitor output and 2 tapes)
•3 100MHz bandwidth component video inputs and 1 monitor output (these may alternatively be configured to support RGB, with sync on composite video, for use in European TV systems; no other AV receiver does this to the best of our knowledge)
•On screen display for all menus; may be configured as full page or as pop ups. Works on all types of interlaced video output
•Video up conversion – composite to S-video and vice versa via the monitor outputs; composite and S-video to interlaced component video
•Video up conversion to RGB with sync on composite (SCART compatible) for European TV displays. 12V triggers support S-video, RGB and widescreen switching for SCART equipped TVs. To the best of our knowledge this extraordinarily useful feature set is unique to Arcam
•Composite and S-video inputs assignable to “non video” audio inputs such as DVD-A / SAT (for tuner) or CD; high quality (component / RGB) inputs each assignable to any audio input
•Zone 2 composite video output, from composite video inputs

CUSTOM INSTALL FEATURES
•Independent Zone 2 (audio + video), with fixed or variable volume and parental access control Duplex RS-232 control; also suitable for system software updates
•RC-5 remote input jacks for both zones
•IR pass through for source components
•Full suite of discrete IR RC-5 codes, including separate on / off etc
•12 Volt triggers, on/off for zones 1 and 2 and either SCART control (video in RGB mode) or on / off and video signal sensing (component video mode)

GENERAL
•Supplied with back-lit CR80 learning remote control with support for up to 7 other components
•Large, clear 12 character dimmable VFD front panel display
•Ground lift switch
•User switchable between 120 and 230 Volt mains supplies
•Size – 430mm wide, 433mm deep, 145mm high
•Weight 16.2 kg nett, 21.4 kg packed
The DiVA range is available in silver or black