Price Paid:  $500.00 from Peachtree Acoustics

Summary:
I just purchased as an upgrade to the NAD 350 and I am surprised by the difference. I have been a very big fan of NAD but there is a distinct difference in the 2 units. After the initial listening, the Arcam is far more open and detailed. But, it does not sacrifice any warmth in the process. The NAD is warm but not nearly as open. With my set up, I also have the NAD270 power amp running speakers in another room and the different between the c270 and the arcam is also remarkable. Before, with the NAD C350, both the living room and my listening room sounded very similar. Now, my listening room is dramatically different. It has a much more open and detailed sound. The sound stage is larger and more dimensional. THe arcam, even though it is 40wpc as compared to 120wpc sounds and feels more powerful. WIll update this review after another month or so as the arcam is not even broken in

Strengths:
soundstage, warmth,

Weaknesses:
cannot power down from remote

Similar Products Used:
NAD c350, NAD c270, NAD c370, Denon 3801

Price Paid:  $550.00 from UK

Summary:
Having heard the first A65 model briefly I can agree that the A65 plus offers at least a marginal improvement. Though I have not really had a great chance to test this unit in full swing (ie. with a high quality source) it's quality is undeniable. To label this product as anything less than audiophile grade shows a little snobbery, even though one could certainly find better equipment with a greater budget. Warmth and finesse spring to mind here. Of course, Arcam is famous for this but I did not expect such distinct characteristics. This would be great for jazz listeners but would perhaps put fans of rock at a disadvantage. It is arguable that there is a certain loss of resolution as a result of this warmth - the mid-range is far more generous than with some other integrated amps, and this could be heard to undermine the clarity of the treble and minimise bass presence. However, soundstaging seems pretty good even though separation is not the very best in town. It also strikes me that the sound is a little bass light, even though bass response is fast and fairly tight. Then again, perhaps this is my meagre source equipment speaking. Build quiality is superb and cosmetics are attractive. There are adequate inputs and the pre-out provision is pleasing. Binding posts are also of high quality. One thing I will never understand though, is why on earth a company like Arcam insists on wasting money on tone controls and fancy source select switches. Oh well. All-in-all, this is a great product. Just take care wih partnering equipment. Try to find fairly neutral source components and perhaps a sassy pair of loudspeakers that don't take much driving and will provide plenty of treble insight.

Strengths:
Great warmth, if that floats you boat. Refinement and control. High build quality and good looks.

Weaknesses:
Great warmth, if that sinks you ship. Some silly extravagances, like tone controls - really, who needs them? I would have spent the money on a bigger transformer. A simpler switch for source selection would also cut costs. Be careful with partnering.

Similar Products Used:
Aura va80 se-X minimalist integrated amp Musical Fidelity A1 integrated amp

Price Paid:  $600.00

Summary:
Great mid-range amplifier. With Arcam, as with other small specialist manufacturers who rely on their products performance and reputation with users instead of their multi million dollar marketing budgets, you get what you pay for, more importantly you get what you expect. While not strictly an audiophile product, its performance is far better, at the price, than what you get out of people that make dishwashers, cameras, and audio equipment. Previous reviewers, except one, have given an adequate description of this product's attributes. I read all the reviews and then tested the product ( along with others) and found it to be accurate in keeping with the general flavour of these reviews. great natural midrange, not too flabby at the bottom end, and good precision in placing instruments and vocalists. I plan to upgrade with one of the Arcam power amps to bi-amp before going one up again in system ( it's a never ending cycle). One thing to note is that the headphone output - a direct feed from the pre-amp I guess, is not that crash hot. Compared in this regard to the NADC320BEE it sounds thin and tinny. It would suggest Arcam do their magic on the output stage. If you've got about USD 500 to spend you should listen to this one. Drives my 87dB standmounters with no problems.

Strengths:
midrange, accuracy, warmth, naturalness

Weaknesses:
headphone sound poor, rear speaker terminals - where do you get things that plug into them?

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha, Dennon etc

Price Paid:  $600.00

Summary:
As an entry level audiophile wanting to move away from mass market gear ( NAD/Yamaha) and into the low "high end" I researched far and wide at all options for a 2 channel integrated that would match other system gear ( present and proposed)and provide upgradability. Looked at Rotel 1060 ( well built and powerful but it did not provide detail, and the sound was not quite "natural", particularly the midrange), Creek 5350 ( very good in terms of dynamic range and accuracy, light years ahead of Rotel, at a higher cost - particularly with jazz/instrumental- but could not help feeling some of the music was missing), Arcam 75 ( powerful but not quite there in detail, soundstage accuracy or warmth), Rega Mira ( cheap construction, almost too warm and laid back), various other mosfet based integrateds and some bottom end valve units, and finally the Arcam 65 plus. All the above were tested with various floor standing speakers in the multi $1000 range ( B&W CDMNT's, JM Labs, Kplisch, Whatmough,etc) I got the Arcam 65plus. Tested with more than one speaker and on more than one occasion it offered the warmth (close to valves), midrange accuracy, dynamic range ( even though it's a 40 watter)pinpoint positioning of instruments and vocalists and musicality that all other candidates failed to deliver to some degree. The second comer was the Creek, at double the price. The Arcam did have something else going for it which others did not, you simply want to keep listening to it. Even the retailer felt the same way ( even though he could have pushed other products), and in fact kept the unit playing after I left the shop. In my opinion that is the best indicator of a good amplifier. Yes it could do with more power, and perhaps more reservoir in its power supply as it will loose the bottom end a bit it at very high volumes ( I should stress at a volume level far higher than you would use to wake up the neighbours). For the budding audiophile on a budget it's worth a listen. I plan to upgrade to a power amp stage in future to round off the system, before upgrading to CARy monoblocs or similer.

Strengths:
Warmth, superb accuracy and definition, sounds "like the players are in the room" quality.

Weaknesses:
Another 10 watts would be great, or perhaps more capacitance in the power supply.

Similar Products Used:
NAD, YAmaha, Revox,

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Audio Concepts Dalla

Summary:
NAD, Rotel, Adcom killer! This amp is great.Got out of an ill fated attempt at home theater, and bought this amp after leaning towards the Audio Refinement Complete (twice the list price). Paired with my Paradigm Reference Studio 20's, the amp cooked. I then switched to a pair of ProAc Tablette Reference 8's and the room was transformed into a concert hall. The soundstage opened up and I heard definition that I never heard with my NAD separates/Paradigm setup (pre-home theater). A great starter or second room system.

Strengths:
Neutrality, depth, soundstage.

Weaknesses:
BFA connectors for speaker connections. Can't power unit on/off with remote.

Similar Products Used:
NAD 340, Rotel, Adcom, Audio Refinement Complete