Arcam AV40 AV Processor Review

[Dimifoot]

Is it actually fixed?

Check their users forum in avsforum.com

You will find AP measurements after the firmware update, and other stability fixes that were presented by the company some weeks ago, maybe 10-15days after @amirm review.

 

[dlinsley]

https://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-r...lith-htp-1-owners-thread-61.html#post59273104

 

[GD Fan]

Rotel RSP-1576 has better specs and is cheaper.

It would be nice to see that one put through its paces here. The field of viable candidates is quickly narrowing in this category, sadly.

 

[Thomas savage]

I'm starting to think ASR should design and produce our own AV processor.

We must have enough in house expertise, could it be any worse ?

 

[Blumlein 88]

I'm starting to think ASR should design and produce our own AV processor.

We must have enough in house expertise, could it be any worse ?

The ASR Pink Panther AVR???

 

[Bjorn]

I'm starting to think ASR should design and produce our own AV processor.

We must have enough in house expertise, could it be any worse ?

A way to get around this and make it very affordable would be to design a multichannel DAC and team up with Jriver (for decoding, EQ, etc). I know that there have been some attempts to this or several (me included) have been using a sound card like Lynx etc. but all these have had their limits and missing important aspects. While such a product wouldn't satisfy everyone, I think this is the better approach in order to keep cost down and avoid licenses.

 

[Krobar]

A way to get around this and make it very affordable would be to design a multichannel DAC and team up with Jriver (for decoding, EQ, etc). I know that there have been some attempts to this or several (me included) have been using a sound card like Lynx etc. but all these have had their limits and missing important aspects. While such a product wouldn't satisfy everyone, I think this is the better approach in order to keep cost down and avoid licenses.

The OKTO Dac8 Pro that was well reviewed here is a potential option if you only need 7.X (No Atmos or DTS:X) and then use the Dirac PC software for Room Correction and other software to sort bass management. I looked at this back in November but there is a lack of overhead audio decoding and nice upmixing options when processing only with a PC.

Looks like there is a premade solution to add digital SPDIF output to the Oppo Players:
https://audiopraise.com/docs/vanityhd_settings_english.pdf

 

[Krobar]

Obviously this was designed first and foremost to give dealers something with a good markup. Then end user? As pitiful spec-wise as it is, if the goal is to blow up a Death Star in a living room then my guess is that most buyers won't care.

Why anyone might want to spend four and a half large when a much cheaper home theater receiver would do the trick for them is something I don't understand. DIRAC? OK. But a top of the line NAD AV receiver has that for two thousand dollars less. Sure, NAD doesn't look as nice, but the knob on the front panel will be placed in the usual spot, so it's got that going for it.

For me I run a 7.2.6 (CH & VOG) setup so NAD and most others wont support this setup. Given what I know now I would cut back to 7.2.4 and select something else although ultimately it seems to be room correction that makes the biggest difference.

 

[beefkabob]

https://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-r...lith-htp-1-owners-thread-61.html#post59273104

Thanks. Avs huge threads are awful though.

 

[LTig]

I'm starting to think ASR should design and produce our own AV processor.

We must have enough in house expertise, could it be any worse ?

May be easier to add SPDIF outputs to a Marantz AV7705 or similar AVP. Are there chips which transform I2S into SPDIF?

 

[QMuse]

It would be nice to see that one put through its paces here. The field of viable candidates is quickly narrowing in this category, sadly.

Here you can find pretty detailed review of it's predecessor RSP-1572 (which had slightly worse specs) done by @Kal Rubinson so maybe he can chime in with his impressions.

 

[LDKTA]

Claiming all that on record without blushing, now that's "performance".

Subjective performance.

 

[jam]

Another self annointed giant falls to its knees under Amir's relentless and just scrutiny. Thank you Amir for another eye opener. I had very high hopes for this one. I am left dumbfounded and speechless. Unfortunately, as far as I'm concerned, Arcam has lost all its credibility as a Hi-Fi brand. What is Harman/Samsung doing to this ounce venerable brand?

 

[amirm]

I think high-end processor companies call themselves lucky just to get to the finish line with a million different features and formats working together. It doesn't seem to be a priority on top of that to meet any kind of audio spec since that has not been a visible thing in the eyes of consumers.

 

[jam]

I think you hit ithe nail right on the head Amir. With so many formats and features that consumers have been lead to believe they need, and the cost in R&D associated with integrating succesfully all those bells & whistles, many companies have stopped paying attention to the basics, actual SQ and performance.

 

[jam]

Claiming all that on record without blushing, now that's "performance".

Yeah, I saw that Audioholics YouTube video of Arcam's new product introductions a few months back. Well... they are in the entertainment industry after all.

 

[tecnogadget]

This is killing me. The waiting is getting too far.

I've been dreaming since 2017 for any device at a reasonable price that connects to the Blu Ray player, be it an AVR or just AV Processor, to show up here with good objective performance to call it "transparent" for lossless multichannel and at the same time apply Dirac.

Its 2020 and still has not shown up. I had high hopes for this new Arcam line, I simply did not expect this considering the brand reputation and exorbitant price. One would think there must be some way they can back it up, and the only way should be performance.

It looks like what I'm looking for just does not exist .

 

[capitanharlock]

Gosh, same for me, I was hoping to buy the Arcam, but now I definitely changed my mind.
Terrible measurements, and on top of that tons of fw bugs.
And that display, come on, so ‘80s...
I will revert back to a 2 Channel plus sub Dirac live solution for my active Genelec 1038.

 

[stunta]

This is killing me. The waiting is getting too far.

I've been dreaming since 2017 for any device at a reasonable price that connects to the Blu Ray player, be it an AVR or just AV Processor, to show up here with good objective performance to call it "transparent" for lossless multichannel and at the same time apply Dirac.

Its 2020 and still has not shown up. I had high hopes for this new Arcam line, I simply did not expect this considering the brand reputation and exorbitant price. One would think there must be some way they can back it up, and the only way should be performance.

It looks like what I'm looking for just does not exist .

This is why I went with something that's B-stock (Integra), is relatively inexpensive and has the features I need. TBH, with movies and TV shows I really am not sure if I would be able to tell the difference between this and a processor that measures well. I have no interest in multi-channel audio. For 2-channel music, a well-measuring cheap external DAC does the trick.

 

[GXAlan]

If you follow AVSForum, you can see that one of the bugs in 1.28 with the SDP-55 is that "the center channel disappears when Dirac is enabled and listening to an Atmos track."

I'm starting to think ASR should design and produce our own AV processor.
We must have enough in house expertise, could it be any worse ?

The real question is if we can convince ATI to manufacture a higher priced HTP-1 Pro for higher-end performance and perhaps a 11.2 budget version. They've shown that they're the only company that seems to have some reasonable engineering and is responsive to user forums/boards. Could be a kickstarter with some guaranteed pre-orders.

I think high-end processor companies call themselves lucky just to get to the finish line with a million different features and formats working together. It doesn't seem to be a priority on top of that to meet any kind of audio spec since that has not been a visible thing in the eyes of consumers.

It seems as if Sony STR-ZA1100ES and Denon AVR-X3600H and Pioneer LX504 actually do respectably given their price. Everyone likes to say how the "mass market" brands aren't audiophile brands, yet they have higher levesl of reliability and measure far better "audiophile" brands like NAD or Arcam.

Another self annointed giant falls to its knees under Amir's relentless and just scrutiny. Thank you Amir for another eye opener. I had very high hopes for this one. I am left dumbfounded and speechless. Unfortunately, as far as I'm concerned, Arcam has lost all its credibility as a Hi-Fi brand. What is Harman/Samsung doing to this ounce venerable brand?

The AVR390 which is pre-Harman buyout is pretty bad too. I think the core skillset behind Arcam's Class G amplification is completely separate from the digital front end. Hopefully Sound United realizes that they would make a killing providing the digital front end for other companies to rebrand (and expand their HEOS line).