Arcam power amplifiers

[zorak950]

The PA240, PA410, and PA720 from Arcam have all been out for well over a year and I was genuinely shocked at how little there is out there about them; there seems to be an almost complete lack of reviews or even impressions. I understand that Arcam is supposed to have a good brand reputation, and Amir's reviews of their AV Receivers are that they're very good analog amplifiers coupled to crappy digital processing, which would seem to indicate that these products should be worth a look. Is it that they're overpriced, undermarketed, or is there some reason that they're fundamentally undesirable? From my layman's perspective they seem conspicuously overlooked.

 

[Deleted member 24907]

The PA240 is in the same price range as the NAD C298. I suggested alpha audio on YouTube to compare them in their system. This is a subjective test.

 

[Koeitje]

From what I've seen is that the bigger names in Hifi all have no issue building pretty good amplifiers, but the moment any kind of signal processing or digital interfacing has to be done it all goes to shit.

 

[bo_knows]

The PA240, PA410, and PA720 from Arcam have all been out for well over a year and I was genuinely shocked at how little there is out there about them; there seems to be an almost complete lack of reviews or even impressions. I understand that Arcam is supposed to have a good brand reputation, and Amir's reviews of their AV Receivers are that they're very good analog amplifiers coupled to crappy digital processing, which would seem to indicate that these products should be worth a look. Is it that they're overpriced, undermarketed, or is there some reason that they're fundamentally undesirable? From my layman's perspective they seem conspicuously overlooked.

I'm looking closely at PA240 but as you mentioned, no reviews and no objective data.
I'm interested in their statement that the first 50 wats are class A.
I did go to the local Best Buy and listen to them (they had two of them pushing speakers) with KEF reference 5.
The sound was good and I bet they could push KEFs to quite loud levels.

 

[ModDIY]

I don't mean to denigrate the product, but I find the bent and screwed back sheet metal housing cover cheap..especially for an amp at this price. My two cents

 

[bo_knows]

I don't mean to denigrate the product, but I find the bent and screwed back sheet metal housing cover cheap..especially for an amp at this price. My two cents

I don't mean to denigrate the product, but I find the bent and screwed back sheet metal housing cover cheap..especially for an amp at this price. My two cents

Hi ModDIY,

Do you own one?

 

[ModDIY]

No and I have not listened to these models, but older models. I would like to see the inside of the devices.

 

[BlackSpider777]

I m considering the PA240 too, surprised not much reviews online, anyone here got it? will be needing it to drive my B&W 702 s2 fronts.

Thanks.

 

[mononoaware]

Is it that they're overpriced, undermarketed, or is there some reason that they're fundamentally undesirable? From my layman's perspective they seem conspicuously overlooked.

In my experience when a particular brand/product has little feedback, it simply just means there are not enough out there in the wild.

I would not dismiss it as undesirable.
Overpriced and undermarketed (or poorly marketed) maybe, but not undesirable.

 

[Dgob]

The PA240, PA410, and PA720 from Arcam have all been out for well over a year and I was genuinely shocked at how little there is out there about them; there seems to be an almost complete lack of reviews or even impressions. I understand that Arcam is supposed to have a good brand reputation, and Amir's reviews of their AV Receivers are that they're very good analog amplifiers coupled to crappy digital processing, which would seem to indicate that these products should be worth a look. Is it that they're overpriced, undermarketed, or is there some reason that they're fundamentally undesirable? From my layman's perspective they seem conspicuously overlooked.

Not sure if this helps, but I know that Harman use the Arcam PA240 to drive the Revel F208's at their headquarters and are very positive about them.

 

[Matias]

3 Arcam amps listed below.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZlTOYxmPs938gqHjtDABkWS-MApu7uJjzIGnJ2Elm6Y/edit?usp=sharing

 

[Koeitje]

Not sure if this helps, but I know that Harman use the Arcam PA240 to drive the Revel F208's at their headquarters and are very positive about them.

All part of the Harman group...doesn't really say much.

 

[Dgob]

All part of the Harman group...doesn't really say much.

Oh, okay.

Maybe just means more to me as a new owner of the F208s!?

 

[bo_knows]

3 Arcam amps listed below.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZlTOYxmPs938gqHjtDABkWS-MApu7uJjzIGnJ2Elm6Y/edit?usp=sharing

Hello Matias,

Thanks! Hmmm, according to this chart, the older, more expensive model (FMJ P49) has a worse sinad than my Denon receiver (denon avr-x8500ha).
84 vs 87.

 

[egellings]

That too little to worry about, sonically.

 

[Djwillia]

Yes, I wanted to read some reviews of the PA720 but nothing out there! Even worse there is a lot nonsense floating around which clearly indicates few of those pontificating have listened to (let alone understand) class G amplification.
ARCAM developed class G for their entry to A/V 10+ years ago. It was the power under their AVR600. That unit had overheating problems (cooked the electronics) which ARCAM eventually fixed. I bought one of the fixed ones and it is still the basis of my stereo HiFi listening. The amp outputs Class A up to 20watts after which some power-rail switching takes place - beyond me so please read Arcamks white paper on class G. Anyway, the sound is superb. I feed it from either an OPPO 205 or a Chord 2Qute DAC Into Almarro M2a speakers.
Previews of the AVR600 and its class G amps were glowing at the time. Search for a review in 2009 byWidescreen Review - the reviewer was pretty over the top about the sound quality.
Arcam have stuck by the class G technology which why I am interested in the PA720 because my AVR600 is getting long in the tooth so I want to be prepared just in case!

 

[AV_jw]

AVR390, 550, 850 channel mix up:
I use an AVR390 and just noticed that the SBL and SL channel are mixed up! This must have been following a firmware update. Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[BlackSpider777]

AVR390, 550, 850 channel mix up:
I use an AVR390 and just noticed that the SBL and SL channel are mixed up! This must have been following a firmware update. Has anyone else noticed this?

My avr550 doesn't have this issue & i m on the latest fw, something wrong with your setup or amp is faulty?

 

[AV_jw]

My avr550 doesn't have this issue & i m on the latest fw, something wrong with your setup or amp is faulty?

I’ve just had a reply from another thread but I don’t know how to link it here:
Steve356 says “I tried v7.15 when it was released in the hope that they had fixed such issues, but was disappointed. This issue which has been going on for over 2 years now and not fixed is just one of the reasons I won't be buying another Arcam product again.

All you can do really is notify Arcam Support in the hope that they listen. I doubt they will, but worth a try. I've given up on them personally.”
Between the three of us it makes me think the firmware update only affects certain units perhaps they are older versions.

 

[Steve356]

I’ve just had a reply from another thread but I don’t know how to link it here:
Steve356 says “I tried v7.15 when it was released in the hope that they had fixed such issues, but was disappointed. This issue which has been going on for over 2 years now and not fixed is just one of the reasons I won't be buying another Arcam product again.

All you can do really is notify Arcam Support in the hope that they listen. I doubt they will, but worth a try. I've given up on them personally.”
Between the three of us it makes me think the firmware update only affects certain units perhaps they are older versions.

Just to be clear, the issue for me is that when the added iMAX Enhanced to the FMJ series (F/W v7.14), they broke DTS in some way, so that steering of certain material would go to the wrong speaker. It wasn't just noticed by me, but also by some other members on the AV Forums (UK). The bug was confirmed as real to me by Arcam Support in April 2019. They assured me that it would be fixed in an upcoming F/W revision. Fast forward to 2021 and they eventually release F/W v7.15. The notes with that release make no mention of anything fixed in terms of DTS steering, but I thought why not try it. Unsurprisingly the exact same steering issues still exist, so I simply reverted back to F/W v4.41.

Some users don't seem to notice any issues, so I guess it all depends on your system configuration, materials that you watch and listen to, and your sensitivity to the issue.

There were other bugs too in v7.14, but steering was the most important for my use.