Recommendations for upgrade from Arcam AVR400

[Anands123]

Got used to the outstanding Arcam signature sound that this Amp produces. Very neutral, musical and exceptional sound stage to name just a few. But time has come to upgrade as it’s been a while and need latest features. Not very sure of the options available in India and where to buy from as I had bought this in the US and relocated since. I have paired It with B&W CM series and REL subwoofer which go really well with it. Want to get something that can equal or beat the sound and support the latest audio formats plus 4K video. Any recommendations on AVRs, dealers in Mumbai and approx price? Have been impressed by Anthem, NAD and some of the Denons based on reviews. Don’t think the latest Arcams like AVR20 Are available here? Budget would be around 3L. Please suggest...
On a separate note if anyone is interested in my Arcam AVR400, please pm me. Thanks.

 

[dillihifi]

I think the arcam 20 will be available, the 10 is around 2.2l

 

[oracle1974]

Try Yamaha RX A3080 . Will come for around 2L.
My earlier AVR was Arcam AV 750.

My suggestion is don’t for Arcam. They have serious quality issues.

All the best.

 

[Anands123]

I think the arcam 20 will be available, the 10 is around 2.2l

any idea where I can get it from?

 

[Anands123]

Try Yamaha RX A3080 . Will come for around 2L.
My earlier AVR was Arcam AV 750.

My suggestion is don’t for Arcam. They have serious quality issues.

All the best.

Has been good to me thus far over the years and I like the sound better than some of the Japanese brands I have had in the past including Onkyo, Denon or Marantz. Never tired the Yamaha. Let me look at this, thanks

 

[Anands123]

Also missed adding that I have a musical fidelity A5 which I use to power the front L&R channels. I am not sure if that means I don’t need too much power output from the AVR itself. by using the preouts for front L &R will it reassign power to the rest of the channels ?

also just have a 5.1 set up for now and being in a rented place don’t think of celiling level speakers right now but might do it a few years later to 5.1.4. Just some additional context for recommendations.

 

[liverpool_for_life]

Want to get something that can equal or beat the sound and support the latest audio formats plus 4K video. [...]Have been impressed by Anthem, NAD and some of the Denons based on reviews. [...]Budget would be around 3L. Please suggest... [...]

Have no basis for comparison with the Arcam and it is only a processor, but I've had no issues with the Anthem AVM 60 (other than for connectivity issues while using Play-Fi) in close to 3 years of usage in my setup. It was my speaker manufacturer's top recommendation ahead of the NAD 758 V3 and a Denon whose model number I forget.

I'd recommend a close look at the Anthem MRX 1140. Not sure if they're available here yet, but I expect they should be in/around your budget.

 

[oracle1974]

Has been good to me thus far over the years and I like the sound better than some of the Japanese brands I have had in the past including Onkyo, Denon or Marantz. Never tired the Yamaha. Let me look at this, thanks

Ok. I have also been a fan of Arcam products in the past - integrated, CD player and power amp. But I now feel, the premium that they charge on the AVRs may not be justified. I just use the AVR for movies / Netflix , etc. I don’t have a dedicated room for movies / TV watching and hence I settled for Yamaha A3080.
Had it been a dedicated room, I would have gone for Anthem which was more expensive and probably worth buying it .

 

[Anands123]

Have no basis for comparison with the Arcam and it is only a processor, but I've had no issues with the Anthem AVM 60 (other than for connectivity issues while using Play-Fi) in close to 3 years of usage in my setup. It was my speaker manufacturer's top recommendation ahead of the NAD 758 V3 and a Denon whose model number I forget.

I'd recommend a close look at the Anthem MRX 1140. Not sure if they're available here yet, but I expect they should be in/around your budget.

Yes, the MRX range on Anthem is available on AVStore.in. The MRX 740 comes in my range and will look at it. Thanks

 

[Anands123]

Ok. I have also been a fan of Arcam products in the past - integrated, CD player and power amp. But I now feel, the premium that they charge on the AVRs may not be justified. I just use the AVR for movies / Netflix , etc. I don’t have a dedicated room for movies / TV watching and hence I settled for Yamaha A3080.
Had it been a dedicated room, I would have gone for Anthem which was more expensive and probably worth buying it .

You make a good point about dedicated room which is unfortunately a challenge for me too living in Mumbai. The Yamaha A3080 sounds like a great buy as well. I am hearing mixed reviews about its room correction capabilities. Any thoughts on that?

 

[oracle1974]

You make a good point about dedicated room which is unfortunately a challenge for me too living in Mumbai. The Yamaha A3080 sounds like a great buy as well. I am hearing mixed reviews about its room correction capabilities. Any thoughts on that?

I have not tried to set my system using room correction software. Will try to do it at leisure. I am not so finicky about my home theatre. Reserve that for my 2 channel system which is in a dedicated room.

 

[insane79]

I would recommend staying with Arcam if you can, had the jap avrs earlier(Onkyo, Denon & Yamaha) & my last avr was the Nad T758 v3.
The Nad is good but i feel the Arcam has the edge over it. Anthem is also very good but the new Anthem avrs have not launched here yet.

The Nad T778 has a lot of bugs & hardware issues users are facing as i read in international forums, so i would stay away from the T778.
The new Arcam avrs had a lot of bugs too but are fixed in firmware updates since a year. Arcam AVR20 would be the perfect upgrade for you & might just come in your budget.

Cheers.

 

[renjith lal]

Yes, the MRX range on Anthem is available on AVStore.in. The MRX 740 comes in my range and will look at it. Thanks

Hi,

Arcam give 5 year warranty and I have tried Anthem before. Anthem is good but I felt Arcam 850 better.
Now there are some issues with Arcam, some issues with latest firmware. However in forums they recommend to use
an older firmware and once you do that it is good. I will rate the support bad may be due to the acquisition by Harman,.
However I really like the sound quality of Arcam 850 and Dirac room correction.

Thanks
Renjith

 

[Anands123]

Hi,

Arcam give 5 year warranty and I have tried Anthem before. Anthem is good but I felt Arcam 850 better.
Now there are some issues with Arcam, some issues with latest firmware. However in forums they recommend to use
an older firmware and once you do that it is good. I will rate the support bad may be due to the acquisition by Harman,.
However I really like the sound quality of Arcam 850 and Dirac room correction.

Thanks
Renjith

Thanks. Is Harman servicing Arcam products yet? I notice you are in the US but wonder if anyone has information on where I can get Arcam products services in India?

 

[Anands123]

I would recommend staying with Arcam if you can, had the jap avrs earlier(Onkyo, Denon & Yamaha) & my last avr was the Nad T758 v3.
The Nad is good but i feel the Arcam has the edge over it. Anthem is also very good but the new Anthem avrs have not launched here yet.

The Nad T778 has a lot of bugs & hardware issues users are facing as i read in international forums, so i would stay away from the T778.
The new Arcam avrs had a lot of bugs too but are fixed in firmware updates since a year. Arcam AVR20 would be the perfect upgrade for you & might just come in your budget.

Cheers

I have had the same experience with the Arcam after using Jap for several years. It was like a breath of fresh air. Any leads on where I can buy the Arcam AVR20 in Mumbai and also do you know if there are any shops which can service Arcam products in the city? Thanks

 

[liverpool_for_life]

Yes, the MRX range on Anthem is available on AVStore.in. The MRX 740 comes in my range and will look at it. Thanks

Just looked up the prices there. I'd suggest talking to some dealers. If you are willing to deal with someone outside of Mumbai, I can give my local dealer's contact (the one I purchased my AVM 60 from). For purposes of future proofing, I'd strongly recommend that you consider the 1140 over the 740. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Anands123]

Just looked up the prices there. I'd suggest talking to some dealers. If you are willing to deal with someone outside of Mumbai, I can give my local dealer's contact (the one I purchased my AVM 60 from). For purposes of future proofing, I'd strongly recommend that you consider the 1140 over the 740. Good luck with your decision!

Yes, can you please PM me your dealer contact? Thx

 

[liverpool_for_life]

Yes, can you please PM me your dealer contact? Thx

Done.

 

[oracle1974]

Thanks. Is Harman servicing Arcam products yet? I notice you are in the US but wonder if anyone has information on where I can get Arcam products services in India?

The standard response from Arcam is to send the AVR to their Dealer / Distributor in Chennai and for me it was very inconvenient being based in Mumbai and during the lockdown this time last time. After considerable pestering , they agreed to have Harman service the AVR at their service centre at Lamington Road. It was too late then as I had already sent the AVR to a local technician in Mumbai.

 

[RajithKumar]

Though Arcam has good reviews of their sound ,read in International forums that the recent models have firmware issues.Please have a look on av and avs forums and decide.
On the other hand u can also check Anthem MRX 1120 / 1140 series.