Hands-On Review: Arcam AVR600 Audio-Video Receiver

PLUS
Massive, effortless, room-filling sound
Extensive connectivity

MINUS
Limited SACD support

Based in Cambridge, U.K., Arcam (A&R Cambridge) is a designer and manufacturer of high-end audiophile gear. Besides a couple of very fine A/V receivers,  the company also makes an A/V processor, multi-channel power amplifier, a DVD player, plus a wide range of two-channel music components.

This receiver is a beast. Accounting for a large chunk of its weight is a big toroidal (ring-shaped) power transformer. While this type of transformer is more expensive than conventional transformer designs, it can deliver more energy more quickly to the amplifiers, allowing for bigger, more effortless sound.

The AVR600 employs audiophile-grade components, and a very sophisticated power amp design. The amplifier operates in Class A mode up to 20 watts output; so there's no switching distortion at modest levels where that kind of distortion would be audible. At higher levels, where switching distortion will be masked by high signal levels, the AVR600 switches to more efficient Class G digital operation. Rated power is 7x120 watts, all channels driven.

As you'd expect, the AVR600 supports all the high-resolution surround-sound formats used on Blu-ray Discs, including Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio, and of course standard formats like Dolby Digital and DTS. It also features Dolby Volume; when activated, this feature maintains consistent volume levels and tonal balance as programming changes.

The AVR600 is available in white or black finishes, with styling that clearly shows its European heritage. One quibble: instead of rotary knobs for adjusting volume and choosing signal source, the receiver has up/down buttons. And there are no front-panel inputs, say for hooking up a camcorder or game console, though this will likely not matter for this product's intended market.

The remote control is well designed, with clearly marked keys whose function is obvious. However, it would be nice if the remote were backlit so it could be used in dark rooms. The manual is very thorough and a model of clarity. Although the receiver's text-only menu system looks basic, it's very straightforward.

For automatic setup, the AVR600 comes with an unusually high-quality calibration microphone. After connecting the speakers and source components, and using the receiver's menu system to set the rear surround channels in bi-amplification mode, I started the auto setup system. It set the subwoofer distance about two metres too far; but otherwise, speaker distances and levels were set accurately.

The AVR600 also connected to my home network without any problem, and located the digital music library on my Linksys NAS200 server. The menu system made it easy to navigate the music on my NAS drive and choose Internet radio stations (by country or genre). Users can customize Internet radio settings at Arcam's Website.

Source components were all connected via HDMI. I ran into a couple of hiccups. Occasionally, there were transient thumps through the speakers when I hit the stop button on my Pioneer Elite DV-48AV DVD player.

The second issue will affect only people whose music collections include SACDs (Super Audio CD). SACD is a DVD-based music format for recording very-high-resolution multi-channel music. Unlike the other three receivers reviewed here, the AVR600 will not decode the DSD (Direct Stream Digital) bitstream contained on SACDs. So if you're connecting a disc player that supports SACD to the AVR600 via HDMI, you'll have to set the player to output conventional PCM digital audio.

Granted, SACD is very much a niche format; but it's a format that interests many audiophiles, so the limited support for SACD is a bit surprising for a high-end receiver that specifically targets audiophiles. A technical representative for Arcam's Canadian distributor said this isn't a big issue, because most audiophiles who have SACD players will prefer using an analog connection and selecting the receiver's analog direct mode, which bypasses all of the receiver's digital circuitry.

Anyone buying the AVR600 will be doing so for the sound. So how does it sound? In a word, magnificent. On both movies and music, it produced the best sound I've ever heard in my home theatre: gigantic, effortless and supremely natural - everything one would expect given the massive power supply and sophisticated amplifier design.

For example, the DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack of Valkyrie on Blu-ray Disc was staggering. Chapter 16 begins with a full room of teletype machines clacking away, and it was if I was surrounded by these machines. The scene where the Deutschland Guard Berlin is assembled had awesome power; as did the drums and brass in the martial musical score.

The Dolby True HD soundtrack of The Dark Knight was similarly overwhelming. In the big chase scene in Chapter 20, the helicopters, gunshots, Batman's motorcycle, the police convoy and the Joker's transport truck all roared with wonderfully effortless clarity. On both of these dramatic soundracks, there wasn't a hint of distress or compression.

Music was every bit as satisfying. A multi-channel SACD recording of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony was simply magnificent. The massive score was produced without a hint of strain, and the surround-sound mix had me sitting in the Leipzig Gewandhaus concert hall.

On The Girl in the Other Room by Diana Krall, the percussive opening of "Temptation" just jumped out of the speakers. Terri Lynne Carrington's drums and Anthony Wilson's guitar sounded very fast and dynamic. This dynamic production is a good test of an amplifier to deliver power quickly, and the Arcam aced it. And Krall's smoky vocals were wonderfully expressive.

The AVR600 was equally at home on more delicate material, such as Canadian pianist Louis Lortie playing music by Maurice Ravel. The sound had lovely sparkle, with every nuance in Lortie's playing beautifully produced. There wasn't a hint of electronic glare.

I could do on in a similar fashion, quoting ad infinitum from my listening notes. But readers should get the idea by now: while it lacks some operational niceties, this is truly an audiophile's A/V receiver. Indeed, I got the feeling that I wasn't hearing everything the AVR600 could do. As good as it is, I wonder whether the Energy Reference Connoisseur speaker system I used for this review does full justice to this receiver. A truly high-end speaker system, say a Paradigm Signature Series or PSB Platinum Series, might more fully reveal what the AVR600 can deliver.

Article Tags:  avr600, receiver, arcam, A&R, Cambridge, transformer, Dolby, DTS, TrueHD,