Arcam A5
Contents
We were incredibly curious about this Arcam (supplied by Terrason). After all, it is a brand new series now made under the wings of Harman / Samsung for the first time.
The Arcam A5 immediately manages to grab us with pleasant, smooth and relaxed playback. The grip that amplifier has is easy to hear. The difference from the Atoll in this, though, is significant. The Atoll plays a bit bigger, but the Arcam gives more insight and tightness.
Notable with the Arcam is the insight into the music. There is a lot of insight into sound and into musical structure. This is a very nice feature that you are going to enjoy a lot. All in all, the Arcam leaves a good impression with the Alpha Team.
Measurements Arcam A5
Arcam – unlike Atoll – uses a large amount of feedback. That reduces distortion and also the noise floor which comes out around -120 dB. Good. The distortion is – as with several amplifiers – volume-dependent, though. We recommend not running above half. Then it shoots up quite a bit. The power on paper, by the way, is a little optimistic, we think. We do not exceed 40 watts into 8 Ohms and 60 watts into 4 Ohms before the distortion shoots up.
Striking is the large phase shift in this amplifier: -50 degrees at 5 Hz and 50 degrees at 20 KHz. This is quite substantial. Such a shift can give coloration differences in the bass / mids and treble.
Specifications Arcam A5
| Brand / Type | Arcam A5 |
| Power 8 Ohm | 50 |
| Power 4 Ohm | 75 |
| Inputs | Phono 3 x rca in |
| Outputs | Pre-out |
| DAC | 1 x optical, 2 x coaxial |
| Price | 849 |