Arcam P777 or Theta Intrepid

" One amp is not more talented or dimensional than the other" ........are you deaf.....or even stuppid. Wenn you do not even know the different properties of these brands you do not understand music and audio. Arcam has a much less deep and less wide stage compared to Pass labs. Wenn you don't know this, I would look for another hobby if I were you!!

Guess you are referring to me Bo. Yes, I said that and hold by it. Please point to amplifier specs that measure and verify "talent" and dimensionality". If they exist, I will gladly say your right and retrack my statement to the OP.

Regarding your other statements..for one, I am certainly not deaf. Second, before you call someone stupid Bo, I suggest you learn how to spell the word. And other words too. Now you are really calling the kettle black. If you understand what this idiom means.

I think I'll continue to stay in this hobby Bo. I wish you lots of luck as an Audio Salesman.

It was a joke ofcourse, don't take it personal. Every amp has his own personal sound and the way the stage is build. What I did for some years wenn I worked in a shop. These days I only do consulting and presentations for some brands. I gave a demo with different amps to let people hear the difference between a 2-dimensional and a 3-dimensional sound. The most positive thing about it was that all people prefer depth and a 3-dimensional sound far over a 2-dimensional sound. So What is a 2-dimensional sound. Wenn there is no depth or maximun of 1 metre. Instruments and voices of a recording are almost on the same line. Wenn you use this recording and use stuff what can make a deep and wide stage you easilly can hear that the instuments are a lot different in depth. There is a better separation of all the parts of tehe recording. Wenn you also get a more sharp focussed image and instruments and voices will have the right proportion as in real music will become more intimate. At shows you often hear a wide and deep stage but with instruments and voices played too big in proportion. You need to solve this problem as well. Wenn you do many tests as I do you can easilly hear and understand all the differences in amps, sources, cables etc. Wenn you use the different properties/talents of all the tools in your system you can get a more what I call complete sound. How good a speaker can give a deep and wide stage has to do with the quality of the filters and the box were the spakers are put in. Crossover filter quality will a big influence how good the stage will be. For example I used the more expensive B&W spakers for over 8 years. The 800 Signature was the last one. B&W is an example pof a brand who is not the best in making crossover filters. My stage was not that deep. I wanted to go to a higher level in sound realism. So I sold the B&W and wanted a speaker who can give a wide and deep stage. With this you enojoy your music a lot more. Now you hear all the parts of the recording in your room. There are no speakers anymore. It is playing live infront of you.

I apologize for my bad writing. I have to admit that I do not read back what I write. I am a little lazy in this. You are right about this. It is as it is!

Even Arcam is a 2-dimensional brand, it is one of my favorite brands in there price range. I sold it a lot and I had a lot of fun with it. I love the sound and I met the people of Arcam. Very nice and dadicated people.

I just wanted to let people know that I was able to borrow a P38 from a local dealer in a test of Arcam amplification. If this is their best 2-channel amp, then I assume the quality of sound from the P777, although a different amp, I know, will be similar.

Honestly, I am really disappointed. I don't have many, if any, good things to say about it so far. The upper and lower ends of the spectrum are missing. It thus sounds midrange heavy and congested/compressed at that. Imaging is more vague and not as big. It does sound fairly flat. Control definitely took a step down, and vocals sound less real... The one positive is that it sounds a little less edgy than the Bryston, but that is, of course, because those frequencies are probably missing.

I have let it play for two days and will continue to break it in. Not impressed, though. We are talking about a comparison versus a Bryston 2B-LP. That amp's design is at least a decade old--before ST even. It's rated at 60W (tested at 75W on their sheet), cost @1000 new, and walked all over this P38 at 1600 new and 105W, with updated technology. I really don't think amplification is Arcam's game, at all, which is what led me to the Bryston amp years ago with the Arcam preamp and CD. Now, I wonder about their quality, though... I tested the highest end Adcom (GFA-something?) at the time and even a BP25 preamp and just found it too dry. I thought the Arcam/Bryston combo was nice.

I can borrow an Anthem amp from another dealer, which I might do, but I think I will end up with the Theta. I have heard nothing but good things about it, and the Ayre stuff (very similar design) sounds really good.