In
the December 2002 issue:Arcam AV8 Surround Processor & P7 Power Amplifier - Stereophile Guide to Home Theater
Here's what Stereophile had to say about the P7 in the December 2003 issue:
...it's a wonderfully "musical" amplifier that offers midband richness and overall coherence that will be especially attractive to those using a home-theater system for music reproduction. More important, it doesn't overlay the music with hardness, etchiness, or mechanical qualities. Its presentation was well-balanced, dynamically assured, and rhythmically lithe for music, and sufficiently powerful and gripping to communicate the essence of the most complex, dynamically challenging film sound tracks.
Arcam AV8 Surround Processor & P7 Power Amplifier - What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision
In
the December 2002 issue:
…there’s only one word to describe the resulting sound: sensational… It was sheer sonic force, outright air-shifting, sofa-shaking muscle. And that’s quite something, especially because the Arcam manages to generate such amazing levels of force and drive while remaining utterly smooth, composed and refined. In short, it makes everything you play sound good, and with the best-quality soundtracks, it elevates the home cinema experience on to a truly cinematic plane.
We’ll leave you with this: this Arcam is one of the most impressive products we’ve heard this year.
"Verdict: Astonishing sonic performance; outstanding specifications, flexibility and build. Oh, and it looks nice too. Truly brilliant in every sense. One of the products of the year."
Arcam AV8 Surround Processor & P7 Power Amplifier - Hi-Fi Choice
From the December 2002 issue:
...the P7 is Arcam's most ambitious example of power engineering to date. The P7 comfortably exceeds its rated specification, delivering 2 x 190 watts into eight ohms and a full 2 x 235 watts into four ohms, with very little 'sagging' in its multichannel role where 5 x 180 watts or 7 x 175 watts is available simultaneously into eight ohms. As a result, my preferred combination of B&W's 802 (front) and 804 (center, surround) speakers reveled in the capacity of this amplifier, producing a wonderfully clean, clear and detailed sound that lifted free of the five substantial boxes to fill every corner of the room.
The P7 will drive 7 of the toughest speakers with relative ease.
...more than a match for the best that the 'rest of the world' might care to place in its path.