ampenstein

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $700.00 from Audio Gallery Rotter

Summary:
Very nice sounding amp together with the cd72 creates a rich and pleasant sound.
I am using this together with a P75 to bi-amp my Amphion Argon 1.
In use for more then 5 years now and still enjoying this set that is good with all kinds of music.
Finding the right cable is very rewarding, i found the van den Hul d102 a very good match. For speaker cable, i fell in love with kimber's 8tc a long time ago.
Very nice system at a fair price.

Strengths:
rythm, musicality
reliable, 5 years no problems
Price

Weaknesses:
The metal case is thin. Damping material on the inside will reduce vibration (diy)

Similar Products Used:
Harman Kardon 680
denon Pma 2000
Bryston Bst4

Price Paid:  $899.00 from LISTENING ROOM

Summary:
Used almost 1 yr. Very pleased w/ amp. Am currently driving Triangle Antals. Low level detail better than any previous amplification. Sound becomes a little harsh at "insane" volume. Excellent bass articulation as well as accurate mids & highs.Handy, functional remote. Regardless of speakers used, right channel is not balanced w/ left. I must adjust balance regardless of speaker or listener location. Not serious, but annoying. In summary, an excellent integrated or preamp.

Strengths:
Low-level detailed Tight punchy bass, accurate mids & highs treble & bass controls build quality & ability to be used as a preamp

Weaknesses:
Right channel weakness slightly harsh at higher volume

Similar Products Used:
NAD amps & integrated Rotel integrated McCormick Amp

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Sound is detailed and very powerful, even at low volumes. No background noise or hiss. Comparable to Creek 5350SE that I owned for more thana year. Altough just 50W/, sounds more powerful than Creek 5350SE (85W/c), NAD C370 (110W/c) and SANSUI AU-G99X (160w/c). I find tone controls absolutely necessary (that's why I had to get rid of the Creek) and they have them. Comes with a civilized remote unlike the other crappy ones that come with more expensive high-end products. Sometimes they go for around $500-600 at Ebay, this is a perfect deal. Much better sound than NAD C370 at a similar price. Believe me, 50W/c is more than enough for a living room. They easily power my full-range Dynaudio's with 4 drivers.

Strengths:
nice detailed sound (with magic), very nice remote, nice built quality.

Weaknesses:
absolutely none at this price. Thank to Arcam for this product.

Similar Products Used:
Creek 5350SE, Sansui AU-G99X, Onkyo TX-8511

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Ebay

Summary:
I am going to start off my saying that the A75 is, hands down, one of the best values in the world of entry-level high end audio. Worth the $999 retail? Absolutely. Worth $500 (what I paid on Ebay)? Burning in hell for eternity would be the only adequate punishment if I had missed that bargain. I upgraded from a Harman Kardon receiver, the AVR110, and the difference is night and day. But I've also been obsessed with audio for quite some time, so you can imagine how many different speakers, components, and wire I've heard in my gradual search for the ultimate yet affordable stereo system. The A75 has so many qualities of great sound reproduction that I really don't know where to start... SOUNDSTAGE: Although the depth and width are average (this obviously changes dramatically depending on speakers), the amazing thing about the A75 is its ability to locate the musicians within their playing space. If you listen to classical, for example, the A75 paints a clear picture of ambience, letting the listener imagine the place in which the music was originally played/recorded. Each instrument has its own air and space, and I can clearly separate the locations of the musicians. DETAIL: Fantastic. I hear subtle details that I never heard in my recordings, and I'm literally rediscovering my entire disc collection. Things I never even knew existed previously are now an integral and vital part of each track. You really are presented with the utmost inner detail of every disc. HIGHS, MIDS, LOWS: Highs are beautifully clean and airy. Weather it's the sizzling shimmer of a cymbal or the highest peak of a singer, the A75 presents massive detail without adding harshness or fatigue. One great thing about every disc with the A75 is that the louder I turn it up the more engaging the music becomes, not the more fatiguing. The mids are fantastic as well, powerful, transparent and full of body. Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, and Diana Krall...all the great voices shoot threw my chest. Depending on the type of recording, I either feel like I'm at a concert or like the singer is in the room with me. Bass has become SIGNIFICANTLY deeper, tighter, more noticeable, and more engaging. The A75's bass isn't exactly forceful and definitely won't reach dynamic depths, but it's punchy and accurate. LOOKS: Very good-looking. Not cluttered at all, stays completely simplistic and stylish, yet offers you a multitude of options. BUILD QUALITY: Very good. It doesn't really compare to some of the competition, the Musical Fidelity's stunning chrome tank lineup for example (A3.2, A300, and A3), but those are around $500 more retail, so you get what you pay for. But internal/external build is very good, all metal, quality parts...gold plated binding posts and connection terminals. I love the BFA connectors that accommodate spades of any size, banana's, whatever. The power cord is also detachable for upgrades, which I also love, but have come to expect. The A75 packs a solid 50 watts per channel, and the sound is so clean and has virtually zero distortion (0.01% THD), the thing really just makes every disc come alive. One sign of every great component/speaker is that it is engaging at low volume levels--you don't have to make the neighbors call the police to have fun with your music--the A75 definitely has that feature. I highly recommend the A75 for all those that want great audio at an affordable price. It wipes Nad's C370 out of the water in my opinion, and is even betters the Musical Fidelity's in many ways, although in the end has more disadvantages when compared to those units. MY SYSTEM: -Arcam A75 Integrated amp -Harman Kardon Fl8370 CD player (I'm planning on upgrading within the next year either to the Arcam CD23 or the Naim CD5) -Wharfedale Emerald 97 speakers (I'm planning on upgrading within the next year to either Thiel or JM Lab) -Kimber KCAG interconnects and 8tc biwire cable.

Strengths:
Really everything about it is a strength. For the price, there isn't anything better.

Weaknesses:
For $1000? I don't think so. It does everything a $1,000 integrated should, and plenty more.

Similar Products Used:
NAD, Musical Fidelity, Harman Kardon, Nakamichi, other Arcam, etc.

Price Paid:  $750.00 from High Quality

Summary:
I own a Arcam A75 amplifier hooked to a Arcam CD72 CD player and OPERA Superpavarotti loudspeakers (www.operaloudspeakers.com) + Sennheiser HD600 headphones. I upgraded from a cheap set not even worth mentioning here. It took me some time to find the right combination, I even brought back a set of Chario speakers that sounded very disappointing once placed at home. The OPERA loudspeakers are the most natural sounding speakers I've heard up to now, and the Arcam is completely up to the task to drive them. Extremely clear and well defined in the mid- and high- tones with a deep dry penetrating bass. The whole set offers a rich and enchanting sound that overwhelms me every time I turn it on. Although the speakers especially excel with acoustic music, the Arcam manages any type of music perfectly, so do the Sennheiser headphones. I agree with other reviews that the Amplifier needs a few weeks of use to offer it's best sound.

Strengths:
Sound quality and design.

Weaknesses:
None worth mentioning.