Arcam AVR x0 questions?

[HumpyDumpy]

Hi,

I saw the arcam avr10 and av40 reviews on here and am looking for clarification on what exactly the IMD measurement is and its impact on the sound. The THD and SINAD are both (while obviously not good at ALL) somewhat competent: i could see an audio product existing with -74db sinad. But the IMD cuts in at like -20db on both products? If THD and SINAD are measurements of distortion why is such a crazy IMD not affecting those graphs so much? And what would this graph sound like if applied to say a piece of music i wanted to listen to? Everybody who reviews the avr30 makes absolutely zero mention of distortion so I'm having a hard time understanding the actual role that one graph plays. I can picture what a -20db sinad or 20% THD would sound like but how audible would this imd failure hypothetically be in these products?

I really would like to avoid your thoughts on why im looking at the arcam over a denon that measures better. Im buying both at the same price and returning or selling one off so ill get to hear the difference anyways. I am a centrist on the subjective objective camps: i use measurements purely to make sure something is going to function as intended so i can figure out how people say it sounds compared to x thing i own.

 

[Golfx]

Arcam’s legacy was of excellent luxury sound products. Most of us are now disappointed their recent reputation is for degraded measurements and more than average buggy software and glitches. This is too bad as it was such a guarantee for high quality. Same thing is happening to NAD. I would read through the owners’ forums on AVS if I were you just to get an idea. Start at the beginning as most all AVRs will have undiscovered software bugs. But it is their frequency and how they are handled by the dealers and manufacturers which is of main concern. If you are buying online I would use Cruchfield which has 60 day returns and lifetime tech support.