Arcam AVR600 - Page 3

The unit is still in production but I'll let you know when I get mine, hopefully in december. YES ITS definitely 5K!!!!!_

Thanks rded.

Just found out what the asking price is in Toronto. It's 6k (CDN$). That's exactly how much Denon is asking for their 5308. I thought the AVR600 would have been priced as the 350 was (under 3k CDN). Whoooops. At 6k (msrp) I'd be more inclined to lean towards the Denon. Actually I would be buying separates.

But please do post when you get yours.

If you dont listen to a lot of music then I guess the Denon 5308 should fit the bill... I have the 3808 right now and its soso for music and soso with upscaling that's why I want to upgrade.

looks like I won't be affording any Arcams in the future

http://www.arcam.co.uk/diva_description.cfm

DIVA range discontinued

Yeah! I heard from reps about 3 months ago that Arcam is going to do away with DIVAS. No surprise here. The AVR 600 does not come with an "FMJ" prefix but is listed under it anyway.

In the Denon range only the 5308 is good for handling HD. The others use the Faroudja chip. Which used to be good. Not sure what happened. And I also read some reviews confirming this. Which is why I'm not looking at the 3808. Would have been nice to save a few grand.

You've heard the 5308 with music? I would think it would be fairly adept in this area as well as when watching BD's. But the 5308 is 6k (MSRP). Not crazy about the ida of shelling out 6k for a receiver. Much rather go with separates for the same money or less. But who knows...will see when I'm about to buy (which isn't till Feb 09).

It's too bad Arcam has decided to ask for 6k for their receiver. Doubling what they were asking for their 350, 200 and 100 back in the day.

Arcam's DiVA line is & was great bang for the buck. Hope they come up with new products in the same price range otherwise they will be just pricing themselves out. I agree that for 5-6k I will be more tempted to look at separates.

It's looking more and more like Arcam is catering to just a single price point from here out.

At 5K, this receiver will blow away the Denon 5308 and will seriously challenge separates. Ok, aside from the SIM pre 20k,Denon pre which is 7K and the integra dtc 9.8, name anothe pre that has hdmi 1.3, will decode all current highdef audio and is audiophile quality? All I'm saying is that this is the most bang for the buck receiver with the audiophile in mind. Auddessey is a joke anyway

Have you heard it yet?

Nobody has hear it yet as I was imformed it is still in production.

Atleast from my experience Audyssey is certainly not a joke & is useful in certain conditions. It may not work for all rooms. In my setup Audyssey does not do much in my main theater room as it is treated to a reasonable extent but it does wonders in my family room setup as in that situation you are limited in how much room treatment you can do. IMO 5-6k receiver without any form of available room correction is a serious oversight in 2008.

Just informed from a US distributor that it will be available in mid December

Same info here, from our regional factory rep.

I can't wait for this piece. (Wish it was cheaper, but oh well.) To answer a few questions asked in this thread:

1. There will be a network card available as an add-on. (Rep said "I'm guessing around $200, but that's a guess.")

2. Auddessey was not included, according to the folks at Arcam, for precisely the same reason many of you guessed. Namely, proper professional system setup is simply better. And for $4-5k, your dealer damn well better be at your house, helping with setup. (And lets all be honest: we're all going to tweak our gear for 6 months after purchase. So why muddle up the signal path for a 'feature' that's going to get over-ridden by the customer 99% of the time.)

3. BD player by summer '09.

Can't wait for this thing to hit.

just sold my Arcam

amazing as it was - no EQ was a killer for Home Theatre duties IMO

I am really stoked about this unit! I've been waiting for this for a year now! I was kinda hoping that the BDP will be out by spring but I guess I'll dream on! Do you guys know if it'll play SACDs and DVD-As?

C'mon, baby!

This is Arcam we're talking about.

Arcam motto: "Yeah, it's 5 years behind. But it sounds better!"

I'm just guessing here, but you should expect an Arcam all-in-one DVD player some time in the spring of '12.

In the fall, would be my bet.

Well, there is loose talk among dealers and insiders that the new Arcam BDP might do SACD and DVD-A. Thats why I asked if it was for certain.... Besides I'd say Arcam was pretty quick on releaseing its BDP. At this rate,they'll beat out meridian, Lexicon, Simaudio, parasound etc to it.

If they can get one released for under $2k, it will own the high-end segment. I'll ask the rep about it, the next time I see him.

9th of November, on AudioShow I’ve seen and heard the new Arcam AVR600 with Monitor Audio speakers. There was only a prototype and final version may be different but I was impressed. As I talked to exhibitor during the listening the difference between this model and Diva 350 is noticeable. There wasn’t told it’s a receiver - worked in stereo mode and it sounded great. This model will be issued in the middle of January and If it only work with my Dyns as excellent as with MA I’ll purchase it.
Regards

Tomasaki, I am elated to know that you've heared and liked it. I wish I was able to hear the prototype This unit should be out by Mid December-so we're about 3 wks away. I have heard the Dynaudio and Arcam combo on many an occasion and the synergy is fantastic. Just FYI, when I get this unit it'll be mated with Dynaudio contour 3.4s. I was told by a reputable dealer that the AVR 600 has enough current to drive a C2.

Audyssey is no joke and AudysseyPRO is certainly no joke. What do you think a professional uses to professionally set up your system? At $5k I find this a serious omission. My dealer will NOT come FREE if I make some minor change to my system that requires re-calibration. And what is one to do if one lives many miles away from that dealer? And if you are "tweaking" your system for 6 months, how will that affect your PRO set up? AudysseyPro allows one to calibrate their system and then apply WHATEVER tweaks to alter/improve it--for FREE--FOREVER--at ANYTIME with unparalled quality.

I challenge anyone to ACTUALLY listen to a professionally calibrated system and compare it to the SAME system using AudysseyPro or Trinnov--most will not be able to tell (or measure) any audible difference. The ability of today's ultra-sophisticated hardware/software is NOT the same as it was even 2 years ago. The Brits need to get with the PROGRAM. (pun intended)

Classico

sorry - must be missing something here - how will the dealer professionally set it up ? what functionality does the Arcam have to allow this ?

I'm talking EQ etc ?

the only reason I got rid of my AVR350 was lack of EQ

interestingly to see that Arcam have gone for Crystal DACs (exact one unknown) - bit of a departure from the normal Wolfson ones they use

The dealer must bring all of his own testing devices, microphone and programs to your house (that he takes away when he leaves) and then adjusts the receiver to optimize its signal according to his measurements of your listening space. In other words this professional must use whatever equalizer is provided for in the receiver. It is assumed, however, that he will have special access to finer settings that are NOT available to the user.

On the other hand, AudysseyMultiEQ and AudysseyPro incorporates a virtually infinite adjustment equalizer to fine tune its optimization, that can be measured from SIXTEEN (8 for AudysseyMultiEQ) different positions to optimize the sound in your listening space.

It should also be noted that when you upgrade to AudysseyPro you also get a professional coming out to set you up for the first time and TRAIN you on how to properly use this tool--so you can DIY whenever necessary--which is why I maintain that Arcam's refusal to make this amazing tool available is a serious omission. (and NO folks, I do NOT work for Audyssey or any other company)

If you have any room issues, (and who doesn't?) the difference will be astonishing.

Classico

thanks - so do we know what sort of adjustments will be in the Arcam or are they TBD ?

will they really be more sophisticated than the likes of the Pioneer Elites (I've just gone from a AVR350 to a SC-05) - with 9 band EQ, standing wave correction, phase correction etc ?

AVR350 was superb but could no way produce the soundfields that the Pioneer can

with the Arcam each speaker felt very much like a discrete entity

in follow up to my above post - Classico where is the info to show that the Arcam has any such setup features ?

mentions nothing of it in the specs - nothing at all - where was it mentionned ?

The unit is too new to know what hooks are available for pro setup. It would have to be extensive since they obviously felt comfortable in leaving out any significant end-user capabilities. One would hope anyway.

The AudysseyMultiEq would be like your Pioneer EQ-- ON STEROIDS.

Classico

I hope thats sarcasm ?

I'd say 95-99% chance there will be no EQ etc adjustment (other than very basic treble etc), by either user or dealer/Pro

IMO as I haven't seen it mentionned elsewhere

Mark.

Hi, I’m worry about current efficiency as well - The AVR 600 was bi-amped with small Monitor Audio PL100 Platinum speakers (they cost the same as AVR600) and it sounded fantastic. I have compared this set to Creek amp (stereo) with Epos speakers (I don’t remember models) and Arcam sounded better (I have listened Dire Straits).

If, indeed there is NO EQ (at least 6-9 band) then this unit has REAL issues. In the 600 description there is an RS232 interface which could access advanced functions.

The description does not mention a GUI, but it would be another incredible omission for a $5k unit as complex as this one to leave out such an important feature. EQ is BASIC to any AVR and this one will certainly have it.

Classico