Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Arcam AVR600

I'd be a little concerned about unplugging that fan, but I assume you've been monitoring temps.

Your concern is well placed. The amp runs ice cold with the internal fan on - but it is annoying. And since I was not using it the way it was designed - i.e., large venue outdoor performances - I figured I could get by with the fan unplugged. That worked for moderate listening and low HT use. (I think the Class H switches to a low voltage "rail" for low intensity use.)

BUT...when I cranked it up a bit and really ran it for critical listening, it got over 150 degrees fast. I guess that was the high voltage rail. So pulled out the trusty cooling fan I had and put it in front of the pro amp to suck out the heat. Works great, ice cold again, but not a permanent solution. I unplug it for most HT and light listening and fire it up for critical listen. Working on a better solution, which may include putting all the stuff in a closed rack so the noise wont bother me.

[Edit: I may buy the Deaf Monk's new cooling gel for amp innards, but I think it would void my warranty. I'll let you know.]

You could go all high tech and wire in a thermal switch that turns on the fan when the temp reaches 100 or so.

I was thinking about that. But for the cost, I'm leaning towards finding a very quiet fan to run all the time. If i buy a projector soon, I may go ahead and do an in-wall rack which would solve all my concerns. Well, all my concerns about fan noise anyway. Not sure it will help that monster under my bed!

The deaf monk will look after the monster

Hello!

Im too very interested in getting the Arcam. I think it will be an excellent unit once the bugs are sorted out with newer firmware.

I know there is alot of talk about different sounding recivers, and eventhough I dont have much experince I certainly belive there is a difference. Exactly the technical aspects that create them I dont know, but considering all the engineering that goes into these things I would think its a very complicated matter concerning everything from signal paths to DSPs, power etc.

If all recievers sounded the same then whats the point of developing new ones? More features and power only? I dont see all new recivers being more and more powerful and with more features only.

To say that the 3808 is as good as the Arcam sonically I dont belive for one second. Especially for music, recievers are known for not being able to deliver the goods. Just a couple of hours ago I did a comparison between the Denon 4308 and the NAD T775 on the same set of speakers, using CD fed over HDMI in direct mode/pure stereo whatever.
The difference is obviuos and the NAD is clearly superior.
Anyone who couldnt hear this must either be lacking some ability to hear certain things other people can, like being color blind only its affected your hearing rather than your vision. Or, just have made up their mind before hand and be too stubborn to even care.
I was originally set on buying the 3808 as many people here use them with their Axioms. But, I get the impression that most folks here are more orientated towards movies rather than music. Me, Im about 50/50, and eventhough the Denon has great features and a nice OSD I simply could not live with the knowledge of the musical wonders available elsewhere.
People are raving on about this AVR600 everywhere, and I cant believe that they are all wrong, and JohnK is right. One guy even switched from a 3808 to a AVR600, and described the difference as night and day. That cant all be just because of more power, or that its all in his head can it? I admit though that the guy writing that review seemed a little tripped up on something.

I will get that Arcam, I think it will be better than the Denon AVCA1HD, or 5308 as you call it. I only have to save some cash first for a (long) while.

I'd say that's an incorrect impression.

Ditto. There are many music fans here, but there is a strong voice of the group that believes there is almost no difference between budget AVRs and high-end AVRs. I'm not sure yet. But I do note that the Arcam lacks many of the features of the Denon 4310 - Dolby modes, Audyssey, name-brand upscaler, etc. If the Arcam sounds better, then it does, but for the price gap it better sound noticeably better, not just a touch better at certain places. And the Denon 4810 should be available for $3000 whenever it is ready. Wonder if it will "sound" better than the 4310.

I am not sure what the split is on this forum, but I certainly listen to music more than movies. Probably 90% music for me.

I just received my Widescreen magazine and read the review of the Arcam. The review is much too glorious for me to believe there is no sponsor bias, but the AVR does have my interest. It’s the first one that’s came out in the past couple years that has grabbed my interest. Ignoring the rubbish and praise of the reviewer, and looking at the receiver’s specs, functionality, video processing chip and user interface, it does look like one hell of a receiver at a price point that isn’t really out of line. MSRP of 5K, so figure a street price of around $3500. Not too bad considering what you get. My only reservation at this point, is how well it works. Most, if not all receivers that have HDMI come plagued with bugs. The 3808 has been bug free and that, to me, means more than some perceived or real idea of sound quality. If the thing doesn’t work correctly, or has a bunch of bugs, it really doesn’t matter to me how well it “sounds” because the damn thing will find itself being thrown out a window in an uncontrollable fit of rage after a few buggy hiccups. – I’m sticking with my 3808 till it blows up. And when it does blow up, I’ll most like by another one. It’s been a nice treat to simply hit the go button on my remote and have all my stuff work right……….