Arcam FMJ A22 or DiVA A85?

sr78

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I'm going to buy one of these amps, but I haven't decided yet which one. I've listened to the A85, and I loved it. However, my dealer suggested the A22, which was a lot cheaper as it has been superceded by A32. The amps are now around the same price. I understand that both have an AV mode, which allows the volume of the amp to be put at a fixed gain. This is an option that is extremely important to me, since it will be used in conjunction with an AV receiver.

Are there any suggestions why I should take one or the other (like upgradeability to DVD-A etc.)? I'll be listening to the A22 tomorrow, and if it sounds better (which it should), I'll probably go for that.
 
Quote: . I understand that both have an AV mode, which allows the volume of the amp to be put at a fixed gain.

What's this fixed gain thingie?? Kindly explain. Thanks
 
It allows the Arcam to operate at a fixed gain when working in conjunction with the AV amp. This means that while fronts are driven by the Arcam and the surrounds by the AV, you only need to adjust the volume of the AV amp to control the volume of all speakers. If you don't have this fixed gain mode, you're constantly adjusting the volume of both the AV and the Arcam when watching movies.
 
Isn't there a way to go around stereo amp without that feature? For example, I have a Yamaha AV with pre-out for front main speaker. I intend to buy a NAD C370. The AV pre-out goes into NAD AUX input. For calibration, I can use the C370's front volume knob to set the amount of gain coming into the AUX input and i will make a mark on the knob, say...at 10 o'clock. Everytime I watches movies, I have to switch on BOTH the AV and C370 with the latter source set to AUX and knob at 10 o'clock. Front main speaker connect to C370.

For pure music, I have the DVD/CD hooked up to C370's CD input. I don't even have to switch on the AV.

Do you see anything wrong with that setup? In fact, I just called my dealer to order the C370. If there is, pls let me know fast.....

thanks
 
I'm no expert on this, but I believe the FMJ A22 is a slightly tweeked version of the older Alpha 10 which accepts the DAVE surround module. The new FMJ A32 is an upgraded version of the DIVA A85 and will accept the new multichannel input board.

My guess is if you liked the sound of the A85 you will prefer the A32 to the old A22. To my ears the new range of amps have a different type of sound to the older ones.
 
Isn't there a way to go around stereo amp without that feature? For example, I have a Yamaha AV with pre-out for front main speaker. I intend to buy a NAD C370. The AV pre-out goes into NAD AUX input. For calibration, I can use the C370's front volume knob to set the amount of gain coming into the AUX input and i will make a mark on the knob, say...at 10 o'clock. Everytime I watches movies, I have to switch on BOTH the AV and C370 with the latter source set to AUX and knob at 10 o'clock. Front main speaker connect to C370.

No, that works fine, except if you want to change the volume during the movie (when it's too loud for instance). You'd have to adjust the volume every time on both amps.
 
That doesn't make much sense to me. If I pre-calibrate the incoming signal's gain at say...10 o'clock, then when watching movies, the only way I can increase the front speaker sound volume is to increase the AV''s volume knob. In another word, the C370's volume output is now totally dependent on the amoung of signals strength coming from the AV.

BUT if I DID NOT pre-calibrate the volume knob on the C370, then I will do as you say....having to change volume knob on BOTH AV and C370. Think about it.....
 
Yes, the FMJ A22 is based on the Alpha 10, and has a slightly warmer and more laid-back sound than the A85 (and the A32, which is effectively an uprated A85). Your ears will be the best judge of which sounds better, but I would be leaning towards the A22 purely because it has the ability to take the DAVE module.
 
Kongg... there's a bunch of topics on this related to the Arcam A85 I believe... sorry if my explanation doesn't make a lot of sense. Try to find the topics, I don't have time to do it myself.


Oops, thought of another reason why the fixed gain is nice: when you switch to CD on your C370 and you forget to turn the volume back... WHAM!!! (ten o'clock won't be enough, I think 12 is recommended, depends on the amp though).
 
There might be a sound penalty hit using fixed gain. Let me relate an experience.

I tried the NAD C270 power amp with variable input and fixed input. To achieve sound level on all 5 speaker the same, I used the variable input and set it to 1 o'clock (the maximum of the variable input at 5 o'clock is the same as the fixed input) because my front main are far more sensitive then the rest. When listening to stereo, the sound is very bad. But once I set the variable input to MAX (equal to the fixed input), there was an immediate improvement in sound. Of course, this may or may not apply to your A22. Just something to look out for.
 
I'm not sure I understand. In stereo mode, the Arcam will be working totally independently of the AV amp, since both stereo sources (CD player) and stereo outputs (fronts) are directly connected to the Arcam.

The C270 is a poweramp though, so naturally it would have to work together with some sort of pre amp. Maybe it wasn't set up correctly.
 
Oops. I think I made a mistake there. You are right.

What I should have said is that whenever possible, having the input gain at maximum may improve sound quality. In the case of the NAD C270 variable input, that certainly was the case.
 

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