Arcam
AVR300 Receiver -
Widescreen Review Arcam AVR300 Receiver - What Home Cinema
From August 2005 review:
Arcam has a respected musical heritage, and the AVR300 lives up to the brand's quite considerable reputation. Music is handled with finesse and its performance ranks as one of the best sounding home cinema amplifiers we have heard... its appealing sound is as effective with music as it is with movies.
Arcam AVR250 Receiver - UltimateAV (Stereophile's Guide to Home Theater)
From June 2005 review:
A press release claims that the AVR250 delivers "absolute clarity and stability of the soundfield, regardless of volume." I'd normally write off such talk as mere marketing blather, but this time the hyperbole is justified.
My home theater has played host to plenty of AV receivers with triple-digit power ratings and even higher price tags that can't hold a candle to the AVR250 in terms of sheer musicality, bass reproduction, or the ability to drive the most demanding high-resolution speakers at realistic volume levels with no sign of distortion or breakup.
The low end was as tight, punchy, and musical as anything I've ever heard from a receiver, regardless of price or power rating. Clearly, it's not how many watts you have, it's how you use them that counts, and the AVR250 uses its watts very, very well indeed.
I've been reviewing home theater gear since 1989, and this is the first time I've ever been tempted to describe the sound of an AV receiver as "thrilling." But that's the adjective that springs to mind when I consider the Arcam AVR250.
Arcam
AVR300 Receiver -
Widescreen Review
From the April 2005 issue:
"The Arcam AVR300 is easily the world's best A/V receiver... And it is also far more than that. The Arcam AVR300 utterly and completely transcends the label and category of A/V receiver. ...the Arcam AVR300 takes its place alongside the finest, most expensive high end A/V separates, and deserves to be considered with them as its true competition."
"Also, at it's modest price of $1,999, the Arcam AVR300 is more than a bargain, it is actually five bargains, for the price of one... best sounding basic power amplifier... best sounding surround processor... best sounding analog line section... best sounding multichannel D/A converter... and a bargain way to add Pro Logic IIx. Of course, the Arcam AVR300 is actually all five bargains, all rolled into one unit, which gives you all five perfectionist high-end components for the ridiculous high-end bargain price of $1,999, plus a tuner, plus the convenience of a receiver."
"The Arcam AVR300 transcends categorization. It is an A/V receiver, but is is also so much more. The Arcam AVR300 gets my vote as best product of the year. Not just in one category. Best product of the year, period."
Arcam AVR300 Receiver - Home Theater and Sound
From March 2005 review:
The AVR300 sounded excellent in standard mode, but in biamped mode it sounded more like expensive separates than an A/V receiver. In some ways, I preferred the sound of the biamped AVR300 to that of my reference Anthem Statement D1 processor ($5000) and Bel Canto eVo6 power amplifier ($4290). With the biamped Arcam, images were more focused, the soundstage wider and deeper. Madonna’s Ray of Light, which sounded so amazing through the biamped AVR300, lost some of its authority and power when played through my reference separates... Considering that the Arcam costs less than a quarter of the Anthem plus Bel Canto, this is an incredible achievement.
Given the DiVA AVR300’s excellent multichannel and stereo sound, I can’t think of a better way to spend $2000 on home-theater electronics.
Arcam AVR300 Receiver - Custom Retailer Magazine
From November 2004 issue:
The AVR300’s value proposition is that the customer’s money is going toward sound and picture quality instead of extra features that they probably won’t use. Pure performance isn’t necessarily the easiest sell on the floor, but consider that in terms of picture and sound quality, the AVR300 can more than hold its own against the best receivers out there from Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer and others, some of which cost more than double its price.
For $1,999, you get noticeably sweet sound and picture, up-to-date connectivity and signal processing, elegant cosmetics, and a bit of British cachet to differentiate your mix. This one is definitely worth checking out.
Arcam AVR300 Receiver - The Perfect Vision
From TPV Issue 59.
Then I spent some time with the Arcam AVR300. I'd been skeptical whether it would make much sense to move up from my $1000 audio-video receiver to a model, say, twice as expensive. They're both receivers, after all. Could there be that much difference, at least for watching DVDs? In the case of the Arcam (which retails for $1999), the answer is: Yes, it makes quite a bit of difference. The improvements are subtle but significant. Here's the gold standard: The Arcam does enhance the experience, the pleasure, of watching movies in the home.
Arcam
AVR300 Receiver -
What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision
Let's cut to the chase: we're smitten! We've been waiting in vain for a receiver like this to come along for over a dozen years – but finally, someone has done it...
...most home cinema receivers wouldn't even get vaguely close to the audio performance of a good integrated amplifier. This Arcam really does.
"So far so fantastic, but let's talk movies. Here, Arcam's experience with the awesome high-end AV8/P7 combination [$9,500] bears fruit. The AVR300 isn't as capable as that mighty pairing, but it's extremely impressive all the same — from the precision and accuracy of its sound with fast effects shifts, to the sheer power it can impart in action movies."
The multichannel receiver we've been waiting and wishing for - a great music and movies solution in one: flexible and upgradable, too...