How good is the AV8/P7 as a Hi-Fi amp ?

[RICK67]

I’m just making the move to Home Cinema, but don’t want to compromise on the Audio front. I currently own Arcam amps – A Delta 290 bi-amp with a 290P. I have a chance to buy an AV8/P7, does anyone have any thoughts on how these will compare in straight stereo to my current amps ?

Thanks

[Mad_darren]

IMHO very, very good. I use the AV8/P7 with a Marantz 9500 and Kef IQ9 speakers and am very satisfied with the sound. I overhauled my system(s) 13 months ago and sold my Musical Fidelity A3.2 Pre/Power stereo combination.

Unless you are the most discerning of audiophiles, the FMJ AV range is an excellent all rounder. Your best bet, as ever is to go have a listen and be your own judge!

[Greggles]

I would concur with Mad Darren. When I purchased my AV8/P7, my priority was more inclined towards multichannel than stereo replay, but I am often surprised by just how good the combo is for the latter. Indeed, I have put off buying a dedicated CD player (I use the DV29) thinking that its performance would be limited by that of the processor/amp. I was therefore astounded by how good the CD36 (my next major purchase) sounded playing through the combo. The down side is that the limitations of my speakers have become more evident!

[robfitzp]

If you are moving from your earlier Arcam rig I think it would be an excellent combination. As a 'do it all' pairing it is superb.

Having said that, I was never very convinced about the P7 for stereo use and sold mine on quite quickly. Pretty average really. The AV8 is much better as a stereo preamp but is not comparable to a very good hifi pre amp like the Music First Passive I use for 2 channel at the moment.

But it is an excellent surround processor

Cheers
Rob

[Mad_darren]

One man's meat and all that - I find the P7 to be an excellent amplifier, not bright but plenty of detail through the range. It is perhaps on the ever-so-slightly warm side of neutral, though very musical.

As has been mentioned before, as an all round system - superb!

[EvilDead]

If you have a DVD player with a decent on-board decoder have a listen to an A32 with 7.1 card. Coupled with a P35 to bi-amp, I thought it better for music than the AV8/P7.
With AV stuff though it isn't as flexible and not quite as good, though I was surprised how close it was.

[RICK67]

Many thanks for the feedback everyone. The A32 route is a good option, but I really need to keep the box count down. I’m just hoping that I can at least get the same Hi-Fi performance from the AV8/P7 that I currently enjoy from my 290/290P amps. As I will only be running the home cinema in 5.1 for a while I guess that I can use the spare amp channels to bi-amp, which would further improve the performance. Unfortunately no dealers have so far let me borrow them for a home demo so that I can do a straight A to B comparison…are there any other Arcam dealers/owners out there who may be able to give their options based on any experience of the respective amps ?

thanks again everyone.......

[Ambo]

Don't think you will be disappointed with the AV8/P7. It's a fantastic combination IMHO and my main interest is music. Would just say that if you are listening in 2 channel, make sure to use the Direct button as it makes a big (positive) difference.