Mark Fleischmann

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AV Receiver Reviews
Arcam AVR750 AV Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 04, 2014  |  9 comments

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $6,000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Rail-switching amplifiers
Muscular dynamics
Smooth, not sizzly
Minus
Extra-cost wireless
Vertigo-inducing price

THE VERDICT
This British audiophile receiver is steeply priced but worth every ha’penny, and its rail-switching amplifier is among the best there is.

The Arcam AVR600 blew my socks off when I reviewed it in 2009. I’ll discuss how it sounded later&mdashbut for the moment, I want to tell you how it made me feel:: pleased, then surprised, then amazed, grateful, stimulated, intrigued, and determined to play as much of my music library as time would permit before the review sample was pried out of my covetous hands. Only the price kept me from adopting it as my new reference receiver. But just because I have to live within fiscal limits doesn’t mean you should. I want you to have as much fun as you can afford.

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CES 2017
Arcam Demo Blows Socks Off
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 05, 2017  |  0 comments
Among the better Dolby Atmos surround demos at the Venetian was one featuring Arcam and KEF products.

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CES 2015
Arcam Does One-Box AVR and BD Player
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 08, 2015  |  0 comments
The first thing we noticed about Arcam's Solo Movie, a combo AVR and Blu-ray player, was that it was cute.
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CES 2009
Arcam Goes HDMI
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 11, 2009  |  1 comments
The AVR600 ($5000, bottom) is the first HDMI receiver from British manufacturer Arcam and therefore the company's first model to support lossless surround. It's HDMI 1.3, of course -- otherwise why bother? -- with five ins and two outs. The seven times 120 watt amp is Class G, which combines Class AB power output with a linear tracking power supply that ensures peaks are well-supplied with juice. Though Arcam had previously used Class G in HTiB products, this is the first implementation in an a/v receiver. Shipping in February. The company also showed a prototype of a forthcoming Blu-ray Profile 2.0 player (top) – Tom has the details below.
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Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews
Arcam irDAC USB DAC Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 18, 2015  |  0 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $699

AT A GLANCE
Plus
PC-worthy USB DAC
iOS-worthy rear USB input
Coaxial, optical inputs
Minus
No headphone amp

THE VERDICT
About the size of a thick paperback, the Arcam irDAC is a USB DAC that will make your audio files—from lossless to lossy—sound great.

The USB DAC is the missing piece in many of today’s audio systems. Most AV receivers have iOS-friendly USB inputs, but few have the PC-friendly kind. If you want to connect a computer’s USB output to your system, you probably need something like the Arcam irDAC to mediate between computer and system.

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CES 2010
Arcam Offers Junior Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010  |  0 comments
The Arcam AVR600 is one of the best receivers we've ever reviewed. Making its debut at CES was the slightly slimmed down AVR500, with 100 watts times seven, versus the older model's 120. Arcam's Class G amp topology has to be heard to be believed. A preamp-processor and multi-channel power amp were also on display.
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CES 2013
Arcam Offers Sonos Solution
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2013  |  0 comments
Yes, that's a Sonos streaming unit. But this bloggette is about the blank white base it's sitting on. That's the Arcam SonLink ($350) which gives your Sonos fix a little of that old DAC magic. It was one of several DACs shown; another was the AirPlay-compatible airDAC, coming in four months at a price to be announced. But the most exciting news is that Arcam is working on the successor to the AVR600, one of the best a/v receivers we've ever heard. We eagerly await it.
CES 2011
Arcam rCube Is Cool as Ice
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 08, 2011  |  0 comments
Arcam is one of those legendary "low end of the high end" amp makers that traditionally "punches above its weight," if you'll forgive the use of two audio-reviewing cliches in one sentence. Now it's in the iThing docking system business with the rCube ($800), shipping now.
Soundbar Reviews
Arcam Solo Soundbar System Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 20, 2015  |  0 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,500 (updated 10/14/15)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
HDMI, lossless surround decoding
UHD-capable video passthrough
Minus
High-end pricing
No HDCP 2.2 DRM for UHD

THE VERDICT
If you close your eyes, the Arcam Solo Bar and Solo Sub sound more like a decent component system than a soundbar.

Soundbars take three forms. The main distinction among them is what serves as the heart of your system. With a passive soundbar, the A/V receiver—with all its features, joys, and woes—is the clearinghouse, and all signal sources go through it. With a less expensive active soundbar, the TV often replaces the receiver, and all signals go through the TV into the bar. But the Arcam Solo Bar is the type of active soundbar that replaces both the receiver and the TV as the heart of your system.

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Arcam's Universal Player Has DVDO
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 17, 2006  |  1 comments
Top-flight DVDO deinterlacing is the highlight of Arcam's DV139 DVD-Video/-Audio/SACD universal player. It acknowledges the latest fad in video specsmanship by upscaling images to 1080p though it is not a Blu-ray or HD DVD player. Still, given the fact that the first-gen Blu-ray and HD DVD players don't play SACD or DVD-Audio, the DV139 may deserve a place as the second (or first) of two players on your rack. (Feeling artsy, I forbade removal of the water bottle.)
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