Arcam AVR390 or...

RudigerS said:

I pulled the trigger on an AVR390 from BB yesterday. Distribution center only had a handful left, so I figured why not.



I thought there would be a lot more info on here about it, but seems as though its not a very popular model.



I am not trying to spend more than $2K on a receiver. My current one is a Pioneer Elite SC-07. Its been OK, but time to move on. And I never really liked the center channel performance out of it...



My theater is set up as a 5.2.4. Is there something else I should be considering receiver-wise?

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Do you already have an amp so you can run 5.2.4? What speakers will the Arcam AVR 390 be driving? What made you choose Arcam?

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QUOTE=RudigerS;58709244]I pulled the trigger on an AVR390 from BB yesterday. Distribution center only had a handful left, so I figured why not.

I thought there would be a lot more info on here about it, but seems as though its not a very popular model.

I am not trying to spend more than $2K on a receiver. My current one is a Pioneer Elite SC-07. Its been OK, but time to move on. And I never really liked the center channel performance out of it...

My theater is set up as a 5.2.4. Is there something else I should be considering receiver-wise?[/QUOTE]

I hope you got a good deal. MSRP was lowered to $1,495.00 at CEDIA

skylarlove1999 said:

Do you already have an amp so you can run 5.2.4? What speakers will the Arcam AVR 390 be driving? What made you choose Arcam?

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Speakers are an old Polk Audio RT5000 theater system. I have a couple 2 channel pro amps I was going to use for the ceiling speakers.

Honestly I went to BB looking at the Yamaha 3080, and wanting to compare it to a similarly priced Denon and/or Marantz. Sales people were big on the Arcams… I don't have it in my possession yet, its all paperwork right now, so I can surely change. I just figured I'd jump on here and there would be an Owner's thread or the like, and I'd have all the info I could want. I was wrong...

mmiles said:

I hope you got a good deal. MSRP was lowered to $1,495.00 at CEDIA

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Yes. was less than new MSRP

RudigerS said:

Speakers are an old Polk Audio RT5000 theater system. I have a couple 2 channel pro amps I was going to use for the ceiling speakers.



Honestly I went to BB looking at the Yamaha 3080, and wanting to compare it to a similarly priced Denon and/or Marantz. Sales people were big on the Arcams… I don't have it in my possession yet, its all paperwork right now, so I can surely change. I just figured I'd jump on here and there would be an Owner's thread or the like, and I'd have all the info I could want. I was wrong...

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For my money right now this is what I would buy.

Denon 3600 MSRP $1099. Available at Best Buy.

https://www.audioholics.com/av-receiver-reviews/denon-avr-x3600h

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skylarlove1999 said:

For my money right now this is what I would buy.

Denon 3600 MSRP $1099. Available at Best Buy.

https://www.audioholics.com/av-receiver-reviews/denon-avr-x3600h

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This would keep me from having to use an additional 2-channel amp, and the price is very nice!

RudigerS said:

This would keep me from having to use an additional 2-channel amp, and the price is very nice!

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My thoughts exactly.

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I have an AVR390 myself, but I use it with an external Arcam 7 channel power amp (and only use the 390 to power one pair of height channels). I like the sound it gives and Dirac room eq, but I wouldn't recommend it to power speakers at much more than very modest listening levels; mine would trip when I was running two surrounds and two heights (I had a 5 channel power amp at the time).

I only really bought it effectively as a processor, so this doesn't bother me (and I still doubt I'd hear any difference using the Arcam AV860 processor which is essentially the same processor stage as the 390, bar a 'better' power supply transformer). In your case it sounds like another AVR may be more suitable though.

Kelvin1965S said:

I have an AVR390 myself, but I use it with an external Arcam 7 channel power amp (and only use the 390 to power one pair of height channels). I like the sound it gives and Dirac room eq, but I wouldn't recommend it to power speakers at much more than very modest listening levels; mine would trip when I was running two surrounds and two heights (I had a 5 channel power amp at the time).

I only really bought it effectively as a processor, so this doesn't bother me (and I still doubt I'd hear any difference using the Arcam AV860 processor which is essentially the same processor stage as the 390, bar a 'better' power supply transformer). In your case it sounds like another AVR may be more suitable though.

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I'm glad you mention this. I tried to make a point of the modest wattage ratings AND the fact that the salesman was demoing with primarily small satellites and even in-wall speakers. He assured my there was plenty of power. I was skeptical. Now even more so!

I don't listen loud, per-se, but the room is about 24' x 18' x 11' ceilings, so a lot of volume to fill, and the Polk RT3000 fronts shine with lots of power!

I appreciate your input!

Kelvin1965S said:

I have an AVR390 myself, but I use it with an external Arcam 7 channel power amp (and only use the 390 to power one pair of height channels). I like the sound it gives and Dirac room eq, but I wouldn't recommend it to power speakers at much more than very modest listening levels; mine would trip when I was running two surrounds and two heights (I had a 5 channel power amp at the time).

I only really bought it effectively as a processor, so this doesn't bother me (and I still doubt I'd hear any difference using the Arcam AV860 processor which is essentially the same processor stage as the 390, bar a 'better' power supply transformer). In your case it sounds like another AVR may be more suitable though.

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What LCR speakers did you get it to trip on? This is a concern to me as the Polk RT3000 speakers do like power.

RudigerS said:

What LCR speakers did you get it to trip on? This is a concern to me as the Polk RT3000 speakers do like power.

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I wasn't even running my LCR from the 390: At the time I was using the 390 to power one pair of MK S150T surround speakers and one pair of MP150 height speakers* (both 4ohm speakers). There was a scene on a film I had at the time that I could trigger the shut down when listening at around 10dB below reference.

I was crossing over the speakers at 100Hz, so I increased to 150Hz which stopped this happening until I got my power amp repaired. Now I only use the 390 to power one pair of height channels and my 7 channel amp powers everything else in a 5.1.4 set up. I haven't had issues with shut downs since I'm only powering the one pair of heights, so I haven't bothered getting a 2 channel power amp as was my original plan: I'm more into guitars these days, so money is better spent there for me.

*To be fair these are actually LCR speakers, but I upgraded my fronts to MPS300 so I reused these as height speakers.

I'm thinking about getting an Arcam SVR390 but how to stream or do wifi bothers me. Will this very cool gadget work? https://www.amazon.com/Comtrend-Pow...9172KIT/dp/B00X3GX99C?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1&th=1

Looks like you plug a cable into your router, the gizmo uses your house electrical wiring as a conduit then run an ethernet cable into the receiver, right?