New Arcam avrs

[cwt]

More details on the new 16ch models with a look at the pcb's ; note how the hdmi board lives up to the 2.1 replaceable spiel from Arcam support

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* Arcam has made every possible effort to make the AVRs upgradable to HDMI 2.1. This includes making the HDMI board easier to remove. Arcam has also done all that they can to ensure an upgrade will be possible should compatible hardware arrive in a timely fashion. But since a HDMI 2.1 certification process does not currently exist, nobody can know for sure. This applies to all AVRs manufacturers, and not just Arcam, despite any claims other manufacturers make of already being HDMI 2.1 compatible.

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.areadvd.de%2Ftests%2Fxxl-exklusiv-preview-brandneue-arcam-av-receiver-avr20-und-avr30-mit-revel-performa-lautsprecher-setup%2F

 

Some very nice comments from an audio perspective even with these beta prototypes 

Edited November 13, 2019 by cwt

[Guest]

Australian pricing and availability now confirmed:

https://www.stereo.net.au/news/arcam-unveils-new-models-in-hda-range

[cwt]

14 hours ago, Marc said:

Australian pricing and availability now confirmed:

https://www.stereo.net.au/news/arcam-unveils-new-models-in-hda-range

Some nice value there Marc considering Arcam r&d is incorporated somewhat into other oem Harman brands  You may want to alter the channels driven quotes though ; the avr10 '20 and 30 can drive 7 channels only ; not 12 or 16 ; that's the new processing chips .. though more grunt in those 7 than a lot of others .

[Guest]

You're right, the words implied it was 16 channels of amplification when in fact, it was the receiver's overall processing ability. Thanks for pointing that out

[Hi-Fi Whipped]

As much as I love Arcam gear you'd want to be sure its a keeper for years to come because the second hand market for Arcam gear is surprisingly stagnant usually resulting in some significant depreciation.

[Soundfever]

My first Arcam was the Avr400, wow, it blew me away. the power and bass and dynamic from it. It sounds like there is an external power amp attached to the system.

Not sure how Arcam will implement the 16 channels when the sound track only have 11 or less. Hopefully they upmix it have a better sound fill and not just no sound from the none active speakers. 

Edited November 15, 2019 by Soundfever

[cwt]

1 hour ago, Soundfever said:

My first Arcam was the Avr400, wow, it blew me away. the power and bass and dynamic from it. It sounds like there is an external power amp attached to the system.

Not sure how Arcam will implement the 16 channels when the sound track only have 11 or less. Hopefully they upmix it have a better sound fill and not just no sound from the none active speakers. 

On the promised list the pre pro at least has dts-x pro [which increases the dts 11ch limit] and auro3d . So hopefully the pressure dts is putting on studio mixers will result in higher than the 7.1.4 pinned soundtracks that Disney and others are releasing 

They have cleverly limited the number of power amps needed to cover 7.1 ; 7.1.4 and 9.1.6 .  Either  the 4ch for 11ch;s  or  2  of them  for the lot . Not game to release a 8ch to drop the box limit a bit  Makes it a bit awkward to feed the av40 its 9.1.6 with less than 3 power amps though ...

[Soundfever]

dts-pro look promising but I feel that Dolby already has a stronghold of the market. I am also hoping that Arcam let us channel assign the avr, however, looking at the Cedia video, it seems this is still not possible. 

[cwt]

10 hours ago, Soundfever said:

dts-pro look promising but I feel that Dolby already has a stronghold of the market. I am also hoping that Arcam let us channel assign the avr, however, looking at the Cedia video, it seems this is still not possible. 

Channel assignment should be more comprehensive with the likes of Audio control and JBL Synthesis at a higher price ; those OEM's are more aimed at the installation market . The Audio control top receivers have 

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six channels of user-configurable outputs, ideal for high-pass channels, additional subwoofers or height channels

The other similar Monoprice HTP1 prepro if released out here is pretty flexible but it has again been delayed in the US till December iirc

[Soundfever]

5 hours ago, cwt said:

Channel assignment should be more comprehensive with the likes of Audio control and JBL Synthesis at a higher price ; those OEM's are more aimed at the installation market .

Maybe a simple implementation like the Marantz 7012 or Denon x3600 where the user can select to which 2 channels to preout for a 9ch amp, either LR or Height 1&2. That way can utilise the internal amp for the 4 height speakers and better external amp for the 7 floor level speakers. 

 

I am currently using the Arcam 390 with a 7 + 2 channel external power amps. My set up is Rear surround left + right using the internal amp. Everything else is using external power amps. I would prefer to assign the 4 height with the internal and everything else with external . This way they will better tonally matched. 

 

Another item on the wish list is auto lipsync, at the moment I have to manually set the lipsych delay for Dts (15ms), Atmos (5ms) and other at 0ms. Maybe I am doing it wrong but not sure how to have it set and forget. 

[cwt]

6 hours ago, Soundfever said:

Maybe a simple implementation like the Marantz 7012 or Denon x3600 where the user can select to which 2 channels to preout for a 9ch amp, either LR or Height 1&2. That way can utilise the internal amp for the 4 height speakers and better external amp for the 7 floor level speakers. 

 

I am currently using the Arcam 390 with a 7 + 2 channel external power amps. My set up is Rear surround left + right using the internal amp. Everything else is using external power amps. I would prefer to assign the 4 height with the internal and everything else with external . This way they will better tonally matched. 

 

Another item on the wish list is auto lipsync, at the moment I have to manually set the lipsych delay for Dts (15ms), Atmos (5ms) and other at 0ms. Maybe I am doing it wrong but not sure how to have it set and forget. 

Its a similar situation with NAD ; restrictive assignment when you want the built in low power bed channels unable to be assigned to heights except for 2 back surrounds say  Denon/Marantz have a better clue indeed .. 

 

Strange on the lip synch ; its usually a consequence of too much scaling /processing being done somewhere in the chain and being communicated back to 1 device to correct it . You may have an upstream component doing strange things with a particular codec ? Bob Pariseau is the expert on this

 

 

How the hell does HDMI's "Auto Lip Sync" work? - AVS Forum | Home Theater Discussions And Reviews

WWW.AVSFORUM.COM

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I keep reading how HDMI 1.3b and 1.3c support auto lip sync correction . I purchased two HDMI 1.3c cables hoping to correct...

 

[Soundfever]

@cwt thank you for the tip. Found the issue, it is the extra processing done by the projector that increased the delay. I have 3 options:

1. Turn frame insertion from normal to off. 

2. Turn image processing from fine to fast. 

3. Turn both features off. 

 

So far Option 2 is the best compromise, in this setting I left the delay to 0ms and everything works. 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Soundfever

[cwt]

New entry level Arcam with 12 channel processor coming ; has optional dirac to bring price down ..

ARCAM's AVR5 Becomes the HDA Range's New Entry-Level Immersive AV Receiver | AV NIRVANA