ARCAM

This company has been very busy updating its analog and digital offerings with two new disk players, three new integrated amplifiers, two new power amplifiers, and a new preamplifier.

The UDP411 ($2000) is a universal player that can play all types of disks (CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, and SACD) while also having the ability to stream content such as movies and music from your home network. The UDP411 is a 4K capable device and can upscale all video sources to that standard. ARCAM has, of course, used its decades of audio and video design experience to create a player that excels in both audio and video quality and which is head and shoulders above competing players which tout similar specifications. Thus, for example, the UDP411's advanced audio circuitry, based on designs used in ARCAM's best audiophile CD players allows for music playback of the same high quality as in their dedicated CD players. This simply cannot be said of the other Blu-Ray players on the market.

On the other hand, if one wishes to have the best possible playback of CD and SACD disks but doesn't care about movies, then the CDS27 ($1499) is the disk player of choice. This model shares much of the advanced audio circuitry that is used in the UDP411 such as the Burr Brown PCM1794 DAC, single-ended and balanced outputs, a critically-damped chassis, multiple advanced power supplies, and much more. In addition to audiophile-grade playback of your disks, the CDS27 also offers high quality streaming of music from your home network via either a WiFi or Ethernet connection. The CDS27 is designed with a single purpose; to deliver the very best music experience for discerning owners.

The next three products we'd like to discuss are the A49 integrated amplifier ($5750), the C49 preamplifier ($4750), and the P49 power amplifier ($5000). These three products represent the pinnacle of ARCAM's stereo audio engineering. Drawing on the many years of amplifier design experience at ARCAM, all three products use the best quality components and engineering practices to produce products that will give many years of musical pleasure and reliable service. With Class-G amplifiers, toroidal based power supplies, acoustically damped chassis, paralleled transistor output stages, and exceptionally low levels of distortion and noise both the A49 and P49 are capable of reproducing music with all its original authority and detail. Both the A49 and C49 feature dual mono volume controls and a balanced signal path all the way through the product together with distortion nulling input multiplexers. Both the A49 & P49 have been designed for unrestrained dynamics and excitement with a massive 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 400 into 4 ohms. They deliver 50 watts of pure class-A power before shifting to their latest generation Class-G topology for huge extra power reserves. Distortion is measured in less than one part per million so that this massive power is deliver with total control and finesse. Both the A49 and C49 also have phono inputs for superb LP playback without the need for an external phono preamp. Finally, all three models have both RCA and XLR connections to support both single-ended and balanced connection.

Closely related to the P49 is the P349 at $5749. This is a 3-channel version with the same performance per channel as the P49. It is designed to run the front three channels of a home theater system, left, center, and right. It can also be combined with a 2-channel power amplifier such as the P49 to provide a complete 5-channel setup.

If you want the fabulous sound quality and features of the A49, but don't feel you need that much power, there are two alternative choices. These are the A39 at 120 watts per channel ($2699) and the A29 at 80 watts per channel ($1599). Both units are state-of-the-art in their respective power and price ranges and offer the user the same advanced design and concomitant audio quality as the A49.