Arcam AVR300 Review

I received my April 2005 Widescreen Review magazine and in it is a review of the Arcam AVR300. The review is written by Peter Moncrieff who writes many reviews of audio equipment for the magazine. Many reviews in the mag, including Peter's, tend to be a little glowing at times but usually are very thorough and detailed. What caught my attention was Peter's completely over the top review of the 300. He calls it "The Answer" stating that's it's the best sounding receiver or pre/pro he has ever heard at....any price! He specifically is over the moon about it's sound quality with music and it's ability to play CD's and hi rez cleanly and accurately. The receiver has a new technology Arcam calls "Mask of Silence" which damps, filters, and shields digital noise which is one of the reasons it sounds so good.

So I do a little more research and there are several reviews available on the internet and most are very complimentary to the 300. The 300 has very similar connections, power, bells, whistles, etc. as a Deono 3805 (which I own) or the Yamaha 2500. It is also designed to bi-amp the front speakers in a 5.1 setup and is discussed in detail in the manual. I skimmed the manual and all I can say is WOW. It is really well written. All I know about Arcam is they make great CD players but I have never seen or heard any of their equipment. So I have a few questions:

1. Is Arcam equipment really that good?
2. Is the AVR300 really that good? How does it compare to other audiophile receivers like the B&K 507 or pre/pro's? Or flagship Denon's and Yamaha's?
3. Has anybody heard this receiver? What did you think?
4. How is the quality of Arcam products?
5. Any other comments?

There is an Arcam dealer within driving distance of my home and maybe one Saturday afternoon I'll take a drive there to demo their products. I'm not planning on upgrading anytime soon, until HDMI upconversion and switching is standard in the mid-fi range. But I'd like to learn more about their products if I can.

I've had an arcam Alpha 7 stereo integrated amp for almost 10 years now and still absolutely love it. Very tuneful honest reproduction, its got a massive transformer, plays just about any type of music well (although slightly underpowered for my Energy C2's at louder volumes) and has been nothing but a refined workhorse. I recommend their equipment, regardless of the model. I put it ahead of any mass-produced equipment, any yamaha, denon, or equivalent.

I think I have read the review you are talking about somewhere online. I considered the Arcam AVR-300, Denon AVR-3805 and the Rotel RSX-1067 and eventually ended up buying the RSX-1067. I preferred its sound to both the Arcam and the Denon. Compared to the Rotel, I felt that the mid-range on the Arcam was more prominent at the expense of the low and high frequency ranges. I found the highs had more detail with the Rotel and the bass had more depth. But, I have read a review of the Rotel that said its sound was on the brighter side. So, maybe it is just my listening preferences. A friend of mine who is a classical music enthusiast, and seems to have a keen ear for tonal accuracy, also preferred the Rotel to the Denon in a two-way comparison. However, I would strongly encourage you to listen for yourself before you decide since everyone seems to hear differently and weigh sonic qualities differently.

Nobody out there owns this receiver? Anyone else ever listened to it?

Duffinator said:

I skimmed the manual and all I can say is WOW. It is really well written.

Click to expand...

this might be more an indictment of the Japanese manufacturers than a plus for Arcam. Sony in particular is bad about having a translator (perhaps named Yoda) who speaks Japanese first and English second write their manuals. They never bother to have someone who reads English as a primary language go back and check their sentence structure or paragraph organization.

Volume control you must exert or fried your speakers will become !!

Bump

Just bumping this again hoping to find a few more opinions on Arcam and the AVR300.

The dealer who sold me my Spendors is also an Arcam dealer...I spent a serious afternoon auditioning the 300 and the 250 (I think that's it). If I had the cash I'd have walked out the door with the 300 under my arm. I thought it spanked my 3805, the Yammie 2500 my buddy has, and the Rotel separates my neighbor uses. I also thought it was better than the Marantz and Acoustic Research stuff I've heard-but that's just one man's opinion...go listen for yourself.

Bryan...I like the B.A.T. stuff alot, too...

When I was shopping for speakers last year, I listened hard to a pair of Arcam CD player and Arcam AVR300 receiver through the Energy Veritas 2.3i floor standing speakers. It sounded great but I didn't find it better than my Denon 3805. I dare say very few people could tell them apart in a double blind test.

The British magazine What Hi*Fi (Nov 2004) rated both the 3805 and the 300 very high, but the 3805/3910 was the winner in their "Megatest" (over the more expensive Arcam AVR300/DV79) in the DVD player/Receiver combo category. Having listened to both, and read the British reviews, I am happy with my Denon.

Nice but...

I caught this older topic and had to have a look. Having purchased the AVR-3805 when it came out I was almost a afraid to look (I am very happy with the 3805 so far). I took a look at this receiver's connection capability and found that while it may be a fantastic piece of equipment in some respects it wouldn't have made my short list no matter what because it simply doesn't have the flexibility and connection options I need and a few more I've learned to want in the 3805.

My first criteria (after wanting a 7.1 receiver with DBLIIx) was that I could connect my existing equipment to it. The AVR300 lacks a phono input, that was it right there, and with only 7 inputs it also didn't have enough for my other equipment; the Denon has 10 and I use them all - and wish it had a couple more. The AVR300 also has one fewer digital audio input. The video conversion of the AVR300 isn't as flexible as the Denon, there is no component to S-video/composite conversion.

Things I've learned to love about the 3805 that I didn't know I wanted until I had them that I don't see on the AVR300:

Selectable surround so that you can connect two different surround speaker types in different positions and simply switch between them for movies and music sources (it can be set to remember which surround to use with different sources). I love this now - of course had to buy the "music" surrounds and add them to my living space.

The remote, I am one who likes it. I like that as you switch to another component the lighted "buttons" are configured for that component.

The auto-setup feature with a microphone, to set up the receiver.

I like the "cleaner" look of the Denon, which covers its buttons with the trap door. I also like the larger information filled display on the AVR-3805.

A small thing, but I use them - there are no AC outlets on the AVR300, switched or not.

MarieonCape, you bring up some good points. The selectable surrounds is a very cool feature. I didn't realize there are no AC plugs, this could present a problem in my system as I use the AC to signal my Adcom power enhancer to turn on. I use the video switching in the 3805 and would never do without video conversion again. But from what I've read the Arcam does convert all video signals to component.

http://www.audiophilesystems.com/arcam/WHFAVR300.pdf

I'm quite pleased with my 3805 but am trying to learn about some products I'm not familiar with.

I appreciate everyones comments and hope to go listen to the AVR300 soon. Any more personal experiences with the AVR300 or Arcam?

If you cannot listen to the AVR300 at your own home, I hope you can at least listen to them using the same kind of speakers that you have at home. I listened to the AVR300 powering the Veritas 2.3i at a high end store. The system sounded so good I ended up buying those speakers. Fortunately the speakers sound very much the same when paired with my AVR3805.

Re: "But from what I've read the Arcam does convert all video signals to component." Yes, that is supported by the AVR300's owner's manual. What I said was "there is no component to S-video/composite conversion." which is true as well. Well, I am writing to say that I mis-read the 3805 manual, its video conversion is the same as the AVR300 - it can upconvert all to the component but neither can down covert from component to S-video or composite. Sorry for that.

I also wanted to say that I am not knocking the AVR300 at all, from what was referenced here it sounds like it has great sound and other capabilities that some may be able to use. I only commented because some of the replies referenced the 3805 and that caught my eye, so I looked into it but I discovered that no matter how good it sounds it wouldn't have met my overall needs.

And isn't this often the case? Something has great performance or features in one area, but lacks something that you need so in order to get what you need with the great performance you have to spend even more money - and in my case more than I could afford.

Thanks though for bringing this to our attention!

Marie

Duffinator,

I've been discussing differences between the Denon AVR-3805 and Arcam AVR300 over at avforums.com.

I eventually got chance to take a good listen to both, using my own speakers, and posted the follow report, hope it's useful:


Hi all,

I said that once I’d spent some time reviewing receivers, and hopefully made a purchase, I’d report the details. This is a *very* long mail , but hopefully of use to some people. Details of the kit, and what I auditioned, follow:


My speakers (all designs from Wilmslow Audio):

Front: Nemesis – Scan Speak bass and treble. Excellent treble and crisp, if slightly thin, bass.
Centre: Gemini – Morel bass and treble. Warm, pleasing sound, if a little ‘muddy’. Probably not that well matched to the fronts, but a very pleasant listen.
Surround: Midas – Seas Excel bass and Vifa treble. Good clean crisp sound, treble not quite as good as the Nemesis, and bass obviously weaker due to smaller bass drivers.


Kit tested (and RRPs):

Denon DVD-3910 – 900GBP
Denon AVR-3805 – 1000GBP
Arcam AVR-300 – 1300GBP
Cyrus 8vs – 800GBP
Cyrus CD6 – 600GBP

The street prices of the Denon gear is usually a bit less, I just included the prices to indicate the kind of level of bits I was testing.


Testing:

The dealer set up my speakers on the Denon AVR-3805, and we ran through a few movie tests (DVDs played by the Denon DVD-3910). My overall impression was positive – clear, crisp, good effect of sound moving around you, and it was very engaging.

It produces quite an ‘in your face’ sound, which I felt could get a bit fatiguing, but it certainly impresses.

We then tried CD playback, again using the Denon DVD-3910, with its DAC, rather than that of the receiver.

To be blunt – it was very poor. I’ve previously heard the front speakers on an old stereo amp, and a Pioneer AX10Ai (RRP 3000GBP). Obviously, you couldn’t expect the AVR-3805 to be comparable, but the sound was completely lifeless – poor vocals, harsh treble, and was just generally dull and unengaging.

We then switched over to the Arcam AVR-300, with the Denon DVD-3910 again supplying sound via its DAC.

The improvements were huge, not on a par with the Pioneer, but more than acceptable, if a little restrained.

After some discussion, the dealer suggested I compared a good stereo amp and CD player, and hooked the Cyrus units to my front speakers (using the DAC on the Cyrus CD player).

The difference was staggering, much fuller bass, clearer vocals, and tighter treble. It was unquestionably better in every area (admittedly, no surprise there).

We then replaced the Cyrus stereo amp with the Arcam receiver, and used the Cyrus CD6 instead of the Denon DVD-3910, again using the DAC on the player.

When playing music such as acoustic guitar + female vocals (Carina Round, KT Tunstall, some Rilo Kiley tracks), I felt that the difference between the Arcam and the Cyrus was detectable, but small. For more challenging material – e.g. loud Pearl Jam tracks – the difference was far more noticeable.


Conclusions:

If you are after a surround receiver for movie use only, don’t care about stereo music, and don’t mind (or like) ‘in your face’ sound, the choice is a no-brainer – the Denon AVR-3805, with a price at least 500GBP less than the Arcam, wins hands down.

If you are after a surround receiver that will handle movies, but also live with your music collection it really has to be the Arcam. The price difference is large, but the sound from the Arcam is very acceptable, but, IMHO, the sound from the Denon is not.

The dealer went through several other potential upgrades to improve the sound. He suggested that I could later add a stereo amp, and connect the pre-outs for the front speakers on the receiver to the amp. This would use the receiver to drive the centre and surround speakers, but only act as a processor for the fronts. Thus you’d get better results in stereo, and still get a surround setup. I'm aware that you could probably do this with the Denon receiver too.

He also noted that the DAC in the Arcam is much better than the DAC in the Denon DVD-3910 (and also in the Denon receiver). Thus, a coaxial digital connection from a cheap DVD or CD player would probably get reasonable sound, though would obviously be beaten by the DAC on a decent CD player such as the Cyrus.

I should also mention that all my speakers have split crossovers and can be bi-wired/bi-amped. Whilst we didn’t test either, the general consensus seems to be that bi-amping does yield an improvement, and the Arcam AVR-300 is capable of bi-amping the front speakers, even with a full 5.1 setup.

To sum up, if you can afford it, I think the Arcam AVR-300 is a pretty good starting point, and will allow movie reproduction, will not overly hamper a good CD player, and can be connected to a power amp (via pre-outs) in order to improve sound quality.

There was only one slight problem – the dealer didn’t have any units in stock! (I have placed an order though).

sploo,

Thanks for your input, that's exactly what I've been looking for. I still haven't had a chance to listen to the Arcam AVR300 but plan too within the next month. What I'm really looking for is an improvement in stereo CD quality without spending an arm and a leg, plus I don't have room for pre/pro, mono blocks, etc. I only have room for one unit and one amp, and they can't be monsters weighing 100 lbs. each, plus I need to drive two other zones. I currently use my Denon 3805 with a HK PA2000 for the other zones.

So did you receive your 300? If so do you have any additional thoughts to share?

Hi,

Hopefully, I should be picking it up tomorrow evening (UK time).

Unfortunately, I'm redecorating my living room, so it'll be a few days before I get a chance to listen to everything 'in-situ'.

Having said that, the only difference between 'in-situ' and my testing at the dealer is location* - I took my speakers for the test.

My budget won't stretch to a CD player just now, but I hope to be able to borrow a Denon DVD A-11 from work. I'll be very interested to see how that (hugely expensive) player copes with CDs, compared to the (still not cheap) DVD 3910.

*Yea, OK, the room does have a huge impact on the sound, but my DIY skills don't extend to knocking down walls

I just got AVR300. The difference in sound from Sony STR-DA5000ES is huge. Arcam sounds much better, even my wife said and I did not ask her.

I am still tweeking it, but one great thing noone mentioned, that, if you don't use all 7 channels on Arcam, you can reconfigure it and use channels 6 and 7 to bi-amp you front speakers. So you could almost double the power to the main speakers. This is huge feature, which to me beats any feature on any other receiver.

Bi-amping, lots of discussion here!

chelentano said:

I just got AVR300. The difference in sound from Sony STR-DA5000ES is huge. Arcam sounds much better, even my wife said and I did not ask her.

I am still tweeking it, but one great thing noone mentioned, that, if you don't use all 7 channels on Arcam, you can reconfigure it and use channels 6 and 7 to bi-amp you front speakers. So you could almost double the power to the main speakers. This is huge feature, which to me beats any feature on any other receiver.

Click to expand...

I am very happy to hear that you like your new Arcam - I am hoping to hear one someday - especially if I can hear one in the same environment with the same speakers compared to the Denon. I do appreciate how the Arcam designers followed their own path so that it doesn't follow the look alike pattern used by other manufacturer. On the other hand either you have to buy all Arcam to get a coehesive look to your system (accident of marketing? I think not ), or not mind have a components that look wildly different when you mix and match brands.

The real reason I am writing is that your reply seems in imply that the AVR300 uniquely offers bi-amping capability among receivers. I know I have read of other equipment in this forum that is specifically designed to do so and there are tons and tons of words written about bi-amping the Denon 3805 in a 5.1 system. Poor Gene, our administrator, has written several posts to that effect.

Marie

Difference between receivers
It seems that not everyone can hear huge difference between receivers. Many actually believe receivers within a certain price range sound similar to the point you cannot tell the difference in a double blind test.

I have never been able to A/B compare receivers in the same environment with the same speakers. The closest I experienced was A/B a Yamaha RX-V2400 and an Anthem separate system, in a high-end store. The speakers used for the demo was a pair of Paradigm Studio Reference 100 version 3. I brought my own CD with me, one of them being Patricia Barber night club, along with some classical ones. I can only say that I felt that the Yamaha sounded a little thin, but not enough for me to say I could pass a double blind test.

At that time I had a Sony DA4ES for H.T., and I used the my old Adcom GFA-555 to power the front channels for CD listening. I used a pair of Polk Audio Rti38 for H.T. and Energy Reference 22 Connoisseur for music. The system sounded great and I saw no need to upgrade the receiver.

My listening experience with an Arcam AVR300 and an Arcam CD player (didn't check the model no.)
I eventually traded in the Sony for the 3805 mainly because of features such as PL2X, HDCD & Dlink. The 3805 did not improve the sound for me so I started shopping for speakers. Since I had already auditioned the Paradigm, and being in Canada, I wanted to focus on Canadian speakers, this time the Veritas 2.3i. The dealer demo’ed it with an Arcam AVR300. It sounded fantastic and I bought the speakers. The Arcam receiver/CD player sounded completely transparent in terms of clarity when playing Patricia Barber nightclub. It was also great in classical strings and brass, sounding smooth and full. I took the speakers home, played the same CD’s that I used to audition the speakers in the dealers place. Well, I found that the same speakers in my home environment powered by the 3805 sounded just as good as the Arcam AVR300. It is possible that I could hear the difference in an A/B comparison but I am also certain I could not tell them apart in any blind test. I was happy to learn that the 3805 costs a few hundred dollars less. Let me be clear, you cannot go wrong with the Arcam AVR300, but based on my experience, the speakers make the most difference. Only those who can clearly hear the sound improvement through the AVR300 can tell you it is worth the premium.

I strongly recommend those who are contemplating to spend big money on gears that are not mass produced (e.g. Arcam, Rotel), to bring their own favorite CD/DVDs to a dealer where you can A/B them with mass produced models such as Denon, Yamaha & HK. If you are sure you can hear the difference clearly, then go for it, chances are you may not, while others can. One thing for sure, Arcam and Rotel don’t sell as many receivers as those who are mass produced, so their higher prices reflect their higher manufacturing costs but not necessarily better components. I am sure Denon, Yamaha, and Sony can buy for less, if only because of their greater purchasing power, or volume discounts.

MarieonCape said:

I do appreciate how the Arcam designers followed their own path so that it doesn't follow the look alike pattern used by other manufacturer. On the other hand either you have to buy all Arcam to get a coehesive look to your system (accident of marketing? I think not )

Click to expand...

Marie, Arcam comes in choice of black or silver. I prefer silver, which is a perfect match to all my other components, even though Arcam has different unique minimalistic design. No hi-fi manufacturer makes all types of components, so you have to mix and match: receiver, DVD/CD palyer, cable receiver, power conditioner, plasma TV AV box, Home Theater PC. And though Arcam CD and DVD palyers r highly regarded, I can not justify spending $700-1800 on CD palyer. I believe I can use any cheap DVD player as CD transport, if I use optical (or coax) output into my receiver. The player sound quality comes down MOSTLY to the quality of DAC of receiver.

The other thing is that I don't play much regular CD. All my music is ripped off my original CDs (not stolen) in digital lossless format (NOT mp3) and stored on Home Theater PC hard drive. Very convinient: music could be organized in varety of ways and playlists, and original CD is rearly opened avoiding chances for scratches. And, of course, the PC is hooked up to the receiver via optical. My Home Theater PC, by the way, is also in silver It's real fun to navigate throgh these music playlists on my 50" plasma TV.

MarieonCape said:

The real reason I am writing is that your reply seems in imply that the AVR300 uniquely offers bi-amping capability among receivers. I know I have read of other equipment in this forum that is specifically designed to do so and there are tons and tons of words written about bi-amping the Denon 3805 in a 5.1 system. Poor Gene, our administrator, has written several posts to that effect.
Marie

Click to expand...

Bi-amping 6 and 7 channels in Arcam AVR300 is suppose create effect of bridged amplifiers delivering tons of clean power to the mains. Arcam AVR300 is actually designed for bi-amping 6 and 7 channels. It's in the manual. You actually have to reassign 6 and 7 channels in receiver setup menu (this would redirect power of 6th and 7th amplifiers to mains, and it would also redirect 6th and 7th channels, if you use any 6.1 or 7.1 surround mode).

Is it the case with Denon? I did search for threads about bi-amping Denon and it appears to me that the results of Denon bi-amping are not very succesful:
"we have seen some complaints of noise (hiss) from some people who have done the bi-amping with specifically the AVR-3805. Accordingly, Denon is not "officially" endorsing this practice on this specific model."
- http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7787&page=2&pp=10&highlight=bi-amping+Denon

"I spent hours on the Denon biamp experiment...using zone 3 to get more punch to my lows...it sounded awful. Tonal imbalance. and the hum was annoying"
- http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9429&highlight=bi-amping+Denon

It appears the Denon bi-amping is mainly done as experiment by enthusiasts, since Denon is not designed for by-amping and this feature is not supported. I was trying to find it in Denon manual but I could not find it. If you aware where the 6 and 7 channel bi-amping of Denon described in the manual, please let me know what page its in, I would love to learn about it.

Right!

Finally got everything together, pics here:

http://spikyfish.com/1.jpg
http://spikyfish.com/2.jpg
http://spikyfish.com/3.jpg

All the bits in the pictures are homemade - bar the projector screen, and, of course, the receiver. Credit where it's due - the AV rack is based on the Flexy Table + by Tony Gee (originally the TNT FleXy Table by Mimmo Cacciapaglia).

I initially tried some stereo music, using an old portable CD player (my bank account's too injured to sustain another purchase this month )

The results were pretty good, but nothing vastly impressive. I then re-setup the front speakers to a bi-amped configuration (from bi-wired) and the difference was huge; Not much treble improvement, the CD player's not much good anyway, but the bass was way better - much more full, and cleaner.

DVD's are currently handled by a PC, outputting to a butchered LCD screen on top of an overhead projector (sound is coming from a coaxial digital cable to the amp).

Movies are great - really clear, with plenty of 'thump' and 'grunt' (no subwoofer required!). Surround-sound music (AIC unplugged, Bjork's Vespertine on DVD-A) is stunning.

Still running on cr*p cables, so I'll probably sort that out at some point.

Hope some of that's of interest to someone...