I purchased this amp without audition (not a reccomended practice) at an attractive price due to it's "discontinued" status. I read several reviews prior to my purchase and none of the reviewers accuratly described the qualities that make this amp extremly pleasing to listen to. I think that part of the reason for the reviewers oversights reside in the fact that this amp requires an abundance of break in time. Several hundred hours of break in time before the magic appears! Until then the amp sounds dull and lifeless with no sonic signature of it's own ( the last item is probably a good thing) as some reviewers described. After break in the sound opens up. The soundstage becomes wide and precise. The detail is plentiful without the slightest hint of harshness. The sound is colorful, mesmorizing and downright intoxicating. This amp offer more than a glimpse of hi end at an entry level ( Nad, Cambridge, Rotel) admission fee. Build quality and feature set are also exemplary. Just be patient and you will be no doubt rewarded!

Phono stage

Everything other than the phono stage.

This has to be one of the worst amps ever made in this price bracket. It is souless, unmusical and grating to the ear. Beware before buying. There are plenty of negative review all over the net. Do yourself a favour - stay clear of this one!

Reality of tone, voice, soundstage and detail without any fatigue

None.

As I write this the A70 has been discontinued. I am writing because this amp is something really special and right now available for big discounts to make room for the new line. Thta's one of the caveats. The new amp that is replacing the A70 the A18 is rated at 50 watts into 8 ohms both channels and 70 watts into 4 ohms one channel driven and includes tone controls the A70 no tone controls. The A 70 is rated at 50 watts into 8 ohms and 100 watts into 4 ohms one channel driven. Both of these things indicate an amp that might not sound as good as the A70. The A70 is very powergul for an amp rated at 50 watts. I am using Dynaudio Audience 42s with Nordost Flatline cables. I am getting up early in the morningand listening to rock, jazz and blues at all sorts of volumes and loving it. My cd player is NAD C525 BEE hooked up with Analysis Oval interconnect. This is the first time since I got hooked on audio (1985) that I've had this kind of reaction. The soundstage and imaging are very good. The tone and detail are exemplary but not at all bright, no listener fatigue at all. I have had separates Audible Illusions, PSE, with some very expensive speaker cables and interconnect from Audioquest, OCOS, This system is flat out addictive. You must do a couple of things to get things just right though. I read an article on the internet about shorting inputs to ground, not outputs. You use a 470 ohm resistor soldering one end to the signal and one end to the ground on an rca plug. I am horrible with a soldering gun and know nothing about electronics and was able to do this no sweat. The other thing I did was buy a PS Audio Power Punch cord for the A70 and left the ground pin in place plugged everything into a monster power center the least expensive one with enough inputs 75.00 maybe. The Audience 42 has also been discontinued and is available at big discounts used. The issue you will have with this system is break in. Even if you buy used they might not be broken in, and may be why they are being sold. The Dynaudios especially sound closed in and boring untill they break in and wow then it's a large piece of heaven. They are detailed without being bright and sound so real it is scary. Driven by the Arcam with the unused shorted to ground and an up market cord they handily beat the separates I have owned. Finally, I auditioned the Rega Brio and Mira, the Naim Nait 5i-italized with Dynaudio speakers and the Arcam beat all three. It sounds both more real and more powerful. Just remember break in is very long but once achieved you won't be thinking about other equipment.

Similar Products Used:

Audible Ilusions, PSE, Rotel, Cambridge, Creek

Evrything!

None

First of all thanks to audioreview for giving this easy option to its readers to add products of their own choice. I have been waiting long for getting the Diva A70 in the list sometime to write a review on it...and look wat..i just added it few days back myself n its ready with its page to win all round of applauses.

Well to start off..i must tell u of the Indian market scene for the High-end audio. Its in absolute nacsent stage n i feel it will take decades to reach to where others ve already started to move ahead. The exhibitions look so funny here n more over the ..."dont touch...just see n admire" attitude of the dealers have also created a whole lot of hype for these pure equipments. The morale is....all of this leads to just one situation where you dont have many option over the brands, their availability, their service support n moreover whether the product is really standing upto ur expectations or not. Inshort...they are projected more like lifestyle gadjets rather than a real high-end audio equipment which strives in ur living room to give studio grade performance of ur fav song. what ever is shown and played to u by these people might sound gr8 at that place...but a distinct difference in the sound of each equipment can only be noticed where u have multiple brands at one place. You must ve been scratching ur head as to what context i m writing all of this, mostly irrelevant crap here? I want to tell u about the miseries i faced scouting for a decent amp for my stereo...n i dont knw if u guys ever did this or will evn try doin this...i bought the DIVA A70 without even seeing it (forget about hearing)..earlier or infact any Arcam product for that matter!!! A good risk because i dont want to start another conversation saying that dealers aint friendly here...these thigns sell here like shoes..once sold...cant be taken back!

So what prompted me to buy this amp? I had actaully laid my eyes on the 3 other most probable brands here..marantz pm7200, rotel RA03 n nad C352. marantz is the only amp i played so much so that i actually consoled myslf to like its sound...it sounds very laid back..awesome for classical songs...n not fatiguing though but detailing is not gr8....but i indeed started visualizing it alongside my marantz CD7300 on the rack wating long time to spin some discs for me! then came the rotel..i remember hearing a pre-power combo of n older rotel model over a pair of quad floorstanders n wasnt pleased by its thin lean n harsh sound. So the doubt had creeped my mind. Nad...uff i ve seen some nerds swearing by it..is a total turn off in the high end world if build quality is the question...n the sound...is okay...not tonally balanced i think. The reviews on these guys r not bad either..with rotel being heavily awarded n marantz/nad equally decent...but i needed something more...quality...in sound, bulit and support. marantz has sadly become like a hoe n almost any dealer would instantly disown it. nad and rotel's do have dealers but pricing is not justified. So after doing my calculation..i realized that i can get a decent Arcam...since everywhere Arcam has pounded with its gr8 award wining products..i decided to take this calculated risk n bought the Diva finally.

Build Quality - Its n entry level product of Arcam but u must see this urself to believe it. I thought Bryston was a champion in this sector (expensive though)...but after seeing n hearing this...the level has certainly increased for entry level amps i would say. Everything from remote to the toroidal transformer to the chasis to the terminals to the heatsink to the buttons..everything speaks quality!

Sound Quality - I got the DIva for my B&W 603 S3 and the first time i heard it..i was like wow!!! wat a match! there's n utmost presentation of detailing first....smoothness in the sound...seperation in the channels as well as all the three lead frequencies...mid, high n low...the vocals are so well seperated from the high freqs that its a delight listening to these guys continously for hours. be it any genre of music..it excells in every sector..fast...very very fast in changing the dynamics...and very musical..The volume is well cotoured and there's no compromise on the detailing and bass front at any volume level. believe me...everything about this amp is built with lot of insight n patience....

Power-Performance - Practically if u see..it is unfair to run a 150W/ch floorstander on a 55w/ch amp or vice versa...y coz u dont get the slam at lower volumes...amp starts clipping very early n tweeter too says goodbye early! But we have heard all of this most times..n few have unlucky folks here have experienced this also...so is this amp any different? I strongly put it as YES. The Diva A70 is a power house in its category. On a reference volume resolution...it ranges from -72.0 (lowest) to 0.0 (highest). I havent seen my speakers shrieking or distorting even at -8.0 on the volume knob. I have continously played it for hours at -11.5 without feeling any signs of amp getting tired or clipping. I think..when u get this loud n big with a moderate amp like this...it sure becomes a surprising stunner and a demostrator of the underlying quality n design capability. It will truly amaze most of the audiophiles..just like it has done to me. I havent come across amps which are so capable of maintaing their sound at such extreme conditions. Does it become hot? Yes. very much..so much so that u cant keep ur palm on its top for evn 5 secs...but i havent got any safety cuts as of now...again a very positive indication of its quality!

Long Run - U need to give this amp a lot of time to burn..atleast a generous 500 hrs to open up. and believe me..when it does...how does it sound? like a true Tube + TT gear! believe me..its so musical n so warm...that u just cant stop playing it...it sounds like a decent class AB tube amp...non-fatiguing...it will b hard to make out the diffference almost instantly..but yes..for the price..size n the technology..it is a wonderful amplifier. Full marks to the Arcam team!

Similar Products Used:

Bryston, Musical Fidelity, Primare, NAD, Marantz, Sunfire