Arcam AVR 300 A/V Receiver ?
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John Wagner Unregistered guest | I want a receiver for 90% music and 10% HT. Could this be the best on the market at any price? LOOK at this http://www.iar-80.com/page130.html |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 6341 Registered: Dec-03 | Only if you put cream and foil in it and gold contact enhancer You just recommended that to someone on this thread...how can you, in good conscience, recommend stuff you have absolutely no idea about??? Oh wait...you do that a lot...nevermind. |
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John Wagner Unregistered guest | Berny, the foils and creams and contact enhancer just gives you a taste of what the two Clever Little Clocks does for your whole Audio/Video system! All my friends can't believe it! It is that GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! |
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Gold Member Username: NuckParkhill, Ontario Canada Post Number: 1443 Registered: Dec-04 | Beyond all the shite, I would rank the Arcam 300 with the very best, top 3 avr receivers available. At any price. |
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Silver Member Username: GmanMt. Pleasant, SC Post Number: 841 Registered: Dec-03 | The Arcam is an excellent receiver. That said, if one has a universal dvd player with firewire connection, getting a good receiver, such as a Pioneer Elite 74TXVi with firewire (i-link) would be excellent. Also, the PE has a great speaker and acoustics balancing sytem, whereas the Arcam doesn't have any. The Arcam has a superior amp section, which might be beneficial in a larger room with not as efficient speakers. The PE 74TXVi has similar power in 2 channels as the Arcam, but is about 60 watts with all channels driven, as opposed to 100 watts for the Arcam AVR 300. This is probably not a big deal for most people as the surround speakers rarely play that loud. There are a number of very good receivers out there, depending on your budget and what functions you want. Certain receiver models from Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha, etc. are also very good. Talking about a best receiver is a difficult question. Best at what? Some receivers have features that others don't, which could be quite important for some people. |
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John Wagner Unregistered guest | Gregory, I listen to both of these receivers, Pioneer Elite 74TXVi and the Denon 3806 and they both sound about the same to me. The Denon rep told my friend that owns a stereo shop that the new Denon 2807 just Blows Away the Denon 3806 in every way! |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1205 Registered: Sep-04 | Gregory, The jewel in the Arcam's crown is its preamp stage which is extremely clean and has great resolution. The Pioneer, even when used with the i-link, sounds like a muddled mess by comparison. At least, it does to me... Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: Kfree1966Post Number: 12 Registered: Jan-06 | John, I had the same requirment, 2 channel audio first HT distant second. Went with the Arcam AVR 300 & CD73T. Really love the combination. Check out the January issue of What HI-FI. There review states if music is number 1 priority, ARCAM. If HT is more important, check out the Yamaha RX-V4600. |
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Gold Member Username: NuckParkhill, Ontario Canada Post Number: 1473 Registered: Dec-04 | The Arcam avr300 also is equipped with pre-outs, to possibly take advantage of that lovely processor. Oddly(to me) the slightlr lesser avr250 does not. |
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Silver Member Username: GmanMt. Pleasant, SC Post Number: 850 Registered: Dec-03 | All these receivers sound about the same, as long as they aren't clipping and the signals aren't being adulterated. Sure, the ones with the more robust amp sections wil likely sound better in loud circumstances. But I doubt the Denon AVR 2807 will sound better than the Denon 3806 or the PE 74TXvi in a double blind test in non-clipping and flat modes. The main difference is in the robustness of power supplies, the features, build quality, and the perceived value of purchase. Sure, the Arcam's are sold in audio salons-hence their perceived value is higher. The Denon AVR 2807 has a far superior utilization of HDMI than the more expensive 3806. But if your salesperson is saying the Denon AVR 2807 sounds better than the 3806 I would be very dubious. I'm confident Denon attempts to keep their sound as neutral as possible regardless of the price point. Most differences are in the feature sets and the sophistication and implementation of the various features. That said, these can definitely have dramatic differences. To my ears the PE74 TXVi sounds every bit as good as the Arcam avr300 and gives the user far more useful features and bang for the buck: Auto-setup speaker calibration and EQ, THX Select 2-certified, 2 i-Link (FireWire) inputs, 2 HDMI inputs with 1 output, XM radio, IPOD integration and control, USB input compatible with MP3 and Windows Media 9 formats, and source upconversion to HDMI. The reviews from Ultimate AV (basically Stereophile's online AV site) and Sound and Vision agree that the PE 74TXVi is a wonderful receiver. Ultimate AV's conclusion: "The Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi delivers seamless and powerful multichannel sound, accurate automatic setup/calibration, and connectivity options galore. It is also an excellent value at its $1500 list price. The closest competitor is the new Denon 4306, which lists for $500 more than the Pioneer. The Auto MCACC calibrates and equalizes the system with superb results and HDMI transcoding accommodates all component video signals, not just 480i and is Bi-amp capable." |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1208 Registered: Sep-04 | Gregory I appreciate that the automatic setup modes of the Pioneers and Denons are extremely attractive. It always takes me more than twice as long to setup an Arcam with an SPL meter than it does one of the other receivers with their automoatic modes. It's a fabulous development which ensures that less technically minded consumers get better results at home, and I dearly wish Arcam would introduce the same thing in their processors (we spent 2 hours setting up an AV9 on Saturday for a demo). However, all these receivers do NOT sound the same. They each have their own character and deliver the signal in their own unique way, even at low levels. Regards, Frank. |
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Silver Member Username: GmanMt. Pleasant, SC Post Number: 853 Registered: Dec-03 | I think the Arcam AV300 is a top drawer receiver. I just feel that it is overpriced for what the buyer gets. The PE 74TXVi and the Denon AVR 4306 & AVR 2807 gives one far better bang for the buck. I found that I got much better performance by spending the extra money on better speakers and some room treatments (rugs, tapestries, RealTraps, etc.)The RealTraps were particularly an eye opener, or should I say ear opener. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1213 Registered: Sep-04 | I would think that in the US, the Arcam isn't such good value for money. Over here the Arcam is £1300 whereas a Denon 4306's MSRP is £1500 and it can be got for £1275. I have a feeling it's cheaper than the Arcam by quite a margin where you are. |
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Silver Member Username: GmanMt. Pleasant, SC Post Number: 854 Registered: Dec-03 | It is. The Arcam costs $2,000 here, while the Denon AVR 4306 can be bought from $1500-$1950. |
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Silver Member Username: GeekboyTampa, FL United States Post Number: 393 Registered: Dec-03 | But what about the gold contact enhancer? (Please, don't answer that.) |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 6550 Registered: Dec-03 | LOL...Oh no, you done did it now! You have invoked the village idiot  |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1216 Registered: Sep-04 | Interesting - so the Denon is a heap more money here which naturally changes the value for money rating. I still prefer the presentation of the Arcam, but I appreciate that it will have less of a following with that discrepancy in price. Berny - cracking up! Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: JethroLansing, Mi Post Number: 31 Registered: Jan-06 | in my honest opinion recommending a *receiver* for 90% music and 10% HT is like wiping ur butt and then takin a crap.. just by separates for music if ur that far up in the price range, cause a receiver will just be a waste considering u will only basically be using its functionality 10% of the time. later |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1226 Registered: Sep-04 | Jeff You may want the quality that your money buys, but there could be any number of reasons why you wouldn't necessarily want the extra boxes in your main living room. You may not have the physical space for them, the idea of all those boxes certainly doesn't have the aesthetic appeal of the simpler solution, etc. Even audio-only stalwarts like Linn and Naim have introduced all-in-one solutions for customers who want quality but are limited in terms of space. Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: MgkaplanCalabasas, CA USA Post Number: 98 Registered: Mar-04 | The ARCAM is an absolutely outstanding receiver. |
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