Sweet Christ
For enough money to buy a pretty damn good tuba, it better be an incredible piece of equipment!
A new AV receiver from British stalwart Arcam is always worthy of note, as the brand has an enviable reputation for creating audio electronics that are uniquely musical. Arcam FMJ AVR400 Musical box: Arcam's FMJ AVR400 An Arcam amp, be it a seven-channel monster like the FMJ AVR400 reviewed here, or one of the brand’s …
lovely bit of kit, but it sort of sums up the UK. We produce lots of top end stuff like this and we have numerous hight end Hi-Fi makers, but it doesn't sell! I'm not going to go out and get one as I can get an Onkyo, Yamaha, Sony or Pioneer that'll do more and cost less. And I speak as an owner of several bits of Arcam gear over the years, currently I have a A85 amp and Kef speakers (another good UK company) but my blueray is american (oppo) and my suround amp Japenesse (Onkyo) and TV Japenesse (Pioneer)
Speaking as a long-term Arcam fan who unwisely defected to Denon for a few years before seeing the error of my ways and returning to the fold, the fact that Onkyo, Pioneer et al offer more features for less money is only half the story. The simple truth is that Arcam's amps sound significantly better than the Japanese competition, and that's what matters. The AVR400 deserves to sell like hotcakes to anyone who cares about sound.
The less said about their Blu-Ray player, the BDP100, the better, though - it's a cheap Broadcom reference design with a souped-up stereo DAC that is being sold for a seriously uncompetitive price. Top marks for the amps; null pointe for the BD player...
They might sell like hot cakes to those in the know, but the trouble is in volume terms that ain’t many people! As a manufacturer the UK just don’t seem to be able to do it at the mass market level, which is sad.
And my Onkyo 808 is half the price of the Arcam, and I don’t think the Arcam will be twice as good. That said they do make nice kit and I’ve owned several in my time.
You are comparing high volume low profit (& relative quality) to low volume high quality (and expensive) products.
It's like saying why on earth is an Aston Martin a 170K plus when Ford can produce a Focus RS for 30K or so... Who in their right mind would buy an Aston when the Focus can do so much more!
It's a pointless comparison. For those who's main point is 'has to be the cheapest' there is no point in competing. For those who wish to have a nicer sounding set that won't be as much a consideration.
My JVC stereo with Bose speakers sounded fine, but it does not compare to the Cyrus with B&W CM9's that replace it.
As long as enough people find them worth the investment the company stays in business and carry on producing amazing kit.
Audio preference is by nature always going to be something of a personal thing: one person's "bangin' donk" is never going to be another's Berlin Symphonia.
But generally, those who spend their lives listening to mass-market 'hi-fi' don't realise what they're missing (in terms of reproductive excellence) until they sit down one day and listen to something seriously top-end.
Horses for courses - very much as-per the Focus and Aston analogy.
Thing is the Aston is by far a better car on a number of levels, you can't really say the same about the Arcam when compared to the Jap Amps (And I'm not having a go at Arcam, I own some of their kit and have done for years) The real point I was trying to make is that it is a shame that the UK doesn't compete in manufacturing things that the average consumer wants to buy.
Do we have a mass market car manufacture? No
Do we have a mass market white goods manufacture? No
Do we have a mass market Hifi/TV home entertainment gubbins manufacture? No
When I think how much stuff I have in my house very little of it is British. Ovens, hob and dishwasher all Siemens so German. Freezer Panasonic. TV Pioneer and another Panasonic, AV amp Onkyo so all Japanese. Blue Ray Oppo, American. Speakers, Kef, Amp Arcam and SkyHD Pace so British. Vacuum, a iRobot, American and a Dyson British. PC is a shuttle and just about everything inside it will be from the US. I like my decent hifi and gadgets so in Mr Averages home there will probably be even less home made stuff, pretty piss poor.
Were there any issues with firmware or did you not get that far?
I considered an AVR500 and 600 but the problems with firmware meant I just could not risk it... no sound, stuttering playback, random power switching etc is not something you expect from a £3k AV amp - I seriously hope they've cracked it with this or Arcam and AVR will become direct sales only as no store will carry them.
I wasn't particularly... it was very good for music and probably if that's important it is better than the Japanese models... however for films it wasn't as impressive IMO.
I opted for a Marantz SR7005 in the end as it was more suited to my needs and also doesn't have the abysmal history when it comes to updates.