Arcam AVR20 vs. Denon AVR-a110 anniversary edition...
As the title suggests, I am looking for feedback on these two specific AVR’s... I currently have the Arcam, and I love it’s musicality in my setup, which is mostly used for two channel audio. I have had Pass Labs preamps in my rig with Carver Raven 350 power amps in the past, but having a family means trying to get the most out of my rig while taking up less space.
The Arcam is a great piece for that purpose, but I am currently on my 4th one in just a year. Reliability has been their downfall. I have an opportunity to trade for the Denon pretty much even on the dollar side of things, and was hoping someone here might be able to offer e bit of insight as to what the anniversary Denon sounds like. I know they are highly regarded in HT, but I am curious as th how they compare to the Arcam in stereo operation. My speakers are Polk Audio L800’s and sources are Yamaha CDS2100, streaming audio from computer, and soon a Pro-Ject P6.1 turntable that I am restoring....
I compared the Yamaha to the Arcam for two-channel listening and the Arcam was far superior. I was in a spot where my system needed to be downsized significantly due to having two young kids in the house. The Arcam is very nearly as good as the Pass X0.2 it replaced. Also replaced was a TOTL Pioneer Elite AVR, and for HT the Arcam beats that as well. One day I will go back to a separate preamp, but for my needs, the AVR20 exceeds my expectations by a long shot. |
I compared the Arcam to the Yamaha driving a pair of B&W 804 D3s extensively in the in the same system with audiophile-level recordings and it wasn’t even close. The Arcam sounded just like the Denon and Onkyo while the Marantz sounded like mush. The Yammy sounded a lot like like my $10k separates while the others sounded like, well, AVRs. What we’re you listening to with the Arcam? Hope it doesn’t fail on you out of warranty. Again, good luck with that. |
@nooshinjohn how would you compare the sound of the AVR20 to the 30 in to two channels? Curious, because will need to replace my AVR400 someday. @soix we will just have to disagree on Arcam versus Yamaha AVRs for two channel listening. I listened to both through multiple speakers and found the Arcam sounded like music to me while the Yamaha sounded like hifi. YMMV kn |
