After major disappointment with audio of ARCAM Sr-250 AVR, & similar disappointments reading terrible measurements on AVRs, what do I turn to for TV s

[Bren Derlin]

Component Video Input? Dirac Live?

Onkyo TX NR7100
Doesn’t include pre-out

Onkyo TX RZ50
This also includes pre-outs

The TX RZ50 has received pretty solid reviews. Even for it’s audio capability.

Denon x3600H
Component video input upscale to HDMI output - no Dirac live here.

 

[Gringoaudio1]

it was my first AVR so I was naive. Its advertising emphasized its great audio, like a true stereo receiver and targeted for people like me who are still two channel. So its deficiency in audio really caught me by surprise and it was very disappointing. Once burned, twice shy, you might say.

What did you compare the Arcam to for the conclusion that the audio was deficient? I know Arcams have not measured well here on ASR but my Diva AVR350 receiver sounds fine…. on Direct mode. Full of static unless on Direct. It just had the digital board go the same way the digital board on the Diva AVP350 preprocessor went before it. Twice bitten! I’ll never buy an Arcam again.

 

[Doodski]

What did you compare the Arcam to for the conclusion that the audio was deficient? I know Arcams have not measured well here on ASR but my Diva AVR350 receiver sounds fine…. on Direct mode. Full of static unless on Direct. It just had the digital board go the same way the digital board on the Diva AVP350 preprocessor went before it. Twice bitten! I’ll never buy an Arcam again.

Possibly apply freeze spray and or heat directly to the individual ICs on the digital PCB while powered ON? It shows failures fairly effectively and is a easy method.

 

[Gringoaudio1]

An Israeli guy repairs these if they haven’t gone too far. Sells a whole kit of replacement voltage regulators and resistors and caps to swap out on that board. It has several regulators on the board and one delivers too high a voltage to the main brain. Supposedly. It’s fried. But surprisingly the voltage at every regulator in mine was in spec.
Arcam specified the wrong resistor to set the voltage that regulator delivers he says. I verified that the resistor used was wrong for that regulator but the voltage was correct on mine. Weird. Still the crackle on all audio unless in StereoDirect.
It’s like every board was designed by a different team or supplier. Each board has several separate power supplies with multiple diode bridges and regulators. Some boards have through hole and some surface mount. It is a designed-by-committee product or perhaps even a designed by Procurement product. Each board sourced from a different supplier. Arcam really lost the plot around this time and never recovered technically. Accountants likely ruined this company.

 

[Doodski]

An Israeli guy repairs these if they haven’t gone too far. Sells a whole kit of replacement voltage regulators and resistors and caps to swap out on that board. It has several regulators on the board and one delivers too high a voltage to the main brain. It’s fried. Arcam specified the wrong resistor to set the voltage that regulator delivers. It’s like every board was designed by a different team or supplier. Each board has several separate power supplies with multiple diode bridges and regulators. Some boards have through hole and some surface mount. It is a designed-by-committee product or perhaps even a designed by Procurement product. Each board sourced from a different supplier. Arcam really lost the plot around this time and never recovered technically. Accountants likely ruined this company.

Wow... That sounds pretty bad.

 

[Gringoaudio1]

Wow... That sounds pretty bad.

I might’ve tried his replacement kit but he specified that an exact temperature needs to be used on the soldering iron or the low quality PCB traces lift off the board. I found that the traces lifted when I tried to replace a couple components on a couple boards. Grrr…. Again the accountants probably ground the suppliers down and ****** PCBs are now part of the problem. So I said the hell with it. It’s just my bedroom stereo system and sounds fine. Three fine wasted amplifiers in it though!

 

[Doodski]

I found that the traces lifted when I tried to replace a couple components on a couple boards.

Very annoying.

Three fine wasted amplifiers in it though!

A bad run of amps!

 

[Gringoaudio1]

An experiment with having them built in Asia did not pan out for Arcam. Not to say that good things can’t be built in Asia but the multiple vendors of components and a contractor subbing out boards to other Asian vendors is likely the cause. Having dealt with getting products made in Asia I understand how that can happen. And if you don’t have someone there overseas monitoring everything this can happen.

In one project multiple sub vendors that the main contractor used were of amazingly varying quality. Their components all were if sufficient quality though.
The injection moulding was done in a monstrous facility with huge injection moulding machines as far as the eye could see in a sterile almost environment to circuit boards being made in a sweatshop set up in a dilapidated house to a toxic overpacked environment where the smells of heat moulded silicone keypads was overwhelming and the sound of high pressure air used to release them from the moulds was dangerously loud. The workers wearing neither masks or hearing protection. Nor for us getting the tour. And we approved all the sub-vendors.

 

[Doodski]

An experiment with having them built in Asia did not pan out for Arcam. Not to say that good things can’t be built in Asia but the multiple vendors of components and a contractor subbing out boards to other Asian vendors is likely the cause. Having dealt with getting products made in Asia I understand how that can happen. And if you don’t have someone there overseas monitoring everything this can happen.

In one project multiple sub vendors that the main contractor used were of amazingly varying quality. Their components all were if sufficient quality though.
The injection moulding was done in a monstrous facility with huge injection moulding machines as far as the eye could see in a sterile almost environment to circuit boards being made in a sweatshop set up in a dilapidated house to a toxic overpacked environment where the smells of heat moulded silicone keypads was overwhelming and the sound of high pressure air used to release them from the moulds was dangerously loud. The workers wearing neither masks or hearing protection. Nor for us getting the tour. And we approved all the sub-vendors.

Sounds like you received the grand tour of the facilities. I've read a bit about toxic environments and working conditions in some places. I also have seen what it does to the land.