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Arcam reliability (1 Viewer)

Pavlov

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Everyone seems to agree that Arcam receivers sound great - both in stereo and HT applications. Whether this can justify the substantial price difference between Arcam and its better known counterparts (Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, etc) is debatable. One factor that might convince me to opt for Arcam would be reliability equal to or better than the others.
Can anyone, preferably with first hand experience, comment on Arcam reliability - in particular the AVR-200/250/300 models.
 

John Garcia

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If I had the money, I could justify it :D, though it would probably only be one of their integrateds. There is no question they sound better, and that can always be justified. I wouldn't put them in the category of average Denon, Marantz, Yamaha etc... only their top teir stuff is in the same ballpark. Arcam I would equate more with Rotel, B&K, etc...

I can't really comment specifically, though I have a friend who has an A-80, and another who just purchased an AVR-300 and both sound great.

There's a member, PaulDA I believe, who had an AVR-200 or 300 and had many issues with multiple units, as well as another user I believe, when they first came out. IIRC, Paul switched to another brand.
 

Pavlov

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''Many issues'' Multiple units'' - That's what I was afraid of. Do you think Rotel is better - reliability wise?
 

Kevin. W

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If your going to spend that kind of money on an Arcam why not look into the NAD T773. Excellent sounding units with tons of power.

Kevin
 

Pavlov

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NAD was my first choice until I started reading about the hissing, clicking, fan noise, overheating/shutting down & other numerous quality issues.
 

John Garcia

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I think Paul had gotten units from the very first production run, and they all had the same problem, so it could have been an early QC issue. My buddy has had hs 300 for a few months now without issue, but not long enough to say there are any long term quality issues or not.

All of these companies have good warrantys, so I'd say look for sound and features first, then make a decision based on what you feel comfortable with.
 

PaulDA

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I had an AVR200 (two, in fact) and after communicating with an Arcam rep (several months after the fact), he traced the problem to two faulty centre channel amps (kept blowing the main fuse). He apologized for the shoddy treatment I'd received from the US distributor (I was in Ohio at the time). I think it was a freak circumstance and if I was shopping for a replacement, I'd still consider Arcam (though it would be the AVR300). YMMV.
 

Pavlov

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Paul from Longueuil - What did you trade your Arcam for?
I went out and had a quick listen for myself. I compared the Arcam AVR-250 against a Denon AVR-2805 and a Yamaha RX-V1500. The Arcam sounded considerably better both in stereo and HT applications. This was no big surprise, especially since the Denon and Yamaha cost about $600.00 CDN less than the Arcam. I somehow doubt that similarly priced Denons or Yamahas would necessarily yield better results sound wise - just more power and a few extra bells and whistles.
I then compared the Arcam against a Rotel RSX-1056. While music sounded slightly better on the Arcam, the Rotel appeared to have the edge with movies. I also noticed that Arcam's remote looked a bit archaic when compared to Rotel's. I'm not sure how THD translates in real world conditions but specwise the Arcam seems better than the Rotel.
As I wasn't able to weigh the advantages/disadvantages of these two units and make a decision on the spot please feel free to add your two cents. Or else this might end up being decided on a coin flip.
BTW - I inquired about NAD - the dealer told me they flushed them due to inumerable QC issues.
 

Pavlov

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Just read a few more reviews - The Rotel appears to be somewhat of a ''Hisser''
More points in favor of the AVR-250
 

Wayde_R

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I own and still love my Arcam AVR200. I have had some intense listening sessions with the AVR 250. I've had no reliability issues. The AVR200 is used daily for everything TV watching to heavy duty music listening at high volumes and of course Home Theater.

I think the biggest asset to the Arcam Diva line is the simple design, very stripped down engineering, if you look inside you'll see it's put together very easily. And most of all the power supply with its toroidal power transformer. I'm not one who buys into a "sweet sound" amp, but I do buy into whether or not the amp can handle the speaker loade to let them do thier job. I believe the AVR200 is up to the task of powering my five speakers with no saturation or audible distortion.

The AVR250 is probably the one to get now. You get more control over bass management which is a weakness in the AVR200. The 250 also includes the extended surround formats but I really don't care about that personally... but it's always better to have and not need than to need and not have.
 

PaulDA

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I chose an Integra DTR 6.4 over the Arcam--simply because, burn me once...burn me twice... The store bent over backwards for me (offered me a substantial subwoofer upgrade along with the Integra in lieu of the Arcam). As I said, it turned out to be a freak occurrence and I would still consider Arcam for a replacement down the line. That said, I'm very happy with my Integra and don't anticipate any upgrades in that department anytime soon (perhaps a two channel outboard amp in the medium term, but even then, with another child due in October--not for a little while).

The 250 is probably a good buy, though I don't think I'll buy anything in future that doesn't have a full set of pre-outs. Just my 2 cents. I consider the AVR300 the best receiver under 5000C$ out there and if I were starting now, it would be at the top of my list for receivers.
 

Chu Gai

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How does one judge the reliability of say the Arcam based on the replies of just a few people?
 

Pavlov

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Feedback I'm getting here is coherent with what I'm getting on other forums and with what is being pitched by sales personnel at various dealer locations in the Montréal area - eventually a pattern begins to form. Sound is more subjective but reliability-wise I could say that I'm getting about 85% positive comments for Arcam products as opposed to about 85% negative ones for, let's say, NAD.
 

Mike OConnell

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I have an Arcam Alpha 8R integrated, 9P power amp used for bi-amping Paradigm 60's, and an Alpha 9 CD player with the wonderful ring DAC. These are in my two-channel system on the main level of my house. Not a single problem. They do get quite warm and I have the cabinet ventilated.

I am considering mating the new AVP700 with my Sherbourn 7/2100 for my home theater in the basement. I am currently using a Denon 5803 as a pre/pro only with the Sherbourn. The Denon came up short in the amplification department in driving my Dynaudio's, but the Sherbourn has them singing!

Mike
 

Mike Bassi

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I think Ill help out here. I think I'm John’s buddy who bought the AVR300. I am having some problems as of now and am talking to CS for Arcam. What's happening for me is that the digital sound on all inputs are going to analog and not going back, and we have no analog hook ups. So what happens is that the sound drops off all the time for a few seconds then comes back, and sometimes doesn't even come back. I have replaced every cable that I could, even the power cable and it still is doing the same thing. So I will tell you guys how Arcam is handling the problem in a bit.

Mike
 

John Garcia

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OT - Hey Mike. I heard the AVR-300 over at Paradise, along with the Cambridge stuff I was looking at. Nice store! Lots of nice speakers there :) I'm going to have to head back over there though, because the Cambridge stuff wasn't in a very good setup for me to do any serious listening, though it did sound pretty good. For the price, I decided I would stick with my PM-7200 integrated for now.
 

chelentano

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I ve'got Arcam AVR300 in silver. Great sound, lots of power, nice looks. It also has unique feature which would allow you do reassign power from unused channels 6 and 7 to 1 and 2. This trick adds so much power and clarity to mains! To me it's the best receiver period.

AVR300

As for reliabilty. I use to own Arcam receiver, CD player and amp and never had any problems.
 

Mike<>S

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I've had my black AVR300 for 8 months and it is awesome. Besides on glitch on the menu (which could be fixed if I wanted to take it in for a firmware update) it has had zero issues.

Like the previous post, I love the fact I cam "bi-amp" my mains by routing the power from ch 6+7 to ch 1+2. It also has a nice menu/setup function with plenty of options.

I sold my NAD receiver for the Arcam. The Arcam does a much better job decoding the digital sources (DD or DTS) than the NAD.
 

Mike Bassi

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Ok here is the update from my Arcam problems. I called Charlie at Arcam and he's sending me a brand new unit even though they tested my unit with no problems. That's top notch customer service. I'm curious if the problem is somewhere else, but I have replaced all my cables, but maybe I have to replace something else. But they are sending me a brand new one for my troubles and I didn't have to make a stink about it, just wanted it fixed because I love the sound out of it. Question for John. Could you come over once everything is done and help with the 6th and 7th power source to my mains because they are bi wireable? I'm not sure how to do that.

Thanks
Mike
 

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