Arcam or Denon

Tom @ Cinehome

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I am changing some equipment in our cinema, and I have narrowed down my choice of equipment to the following:

Arcam AV8 / P7 / DV27

OR...

Denon AVCA1SR / DVDA1

Price difference is £1600

The room is used for 90% films. Accompanying speakers are KEF THX EX setup with M&K 350 sub. Projector is Seleco 500 CRT.

I have dem'd both at length. The performance of the DVDs seem very, very close, with the Arcam having a slightly sharper image. Arcam has worse chroma errors on Region 2. Deinterlacing more or less identical. Problem is, the Denon sounds so damn good with cinema soundtracks. The Arcam has more bass but is no more cinematic.

I have been agonising over which to buy for weeks and the decision has to be made by 10am tommorow.

Which would you buy ?

Regards

Tom.
 
Originally posted by Edgeyboy
Which would you buy ?

Well you know much more about it than me, but just for fun...

Denon AVC-A1SR and Denon DVD-3800 would be my choice.
If content it's worth the extra money, choose Denon DVD-A1.

You have whittled out Tag / Bryston / Parasound / Rotel et al, so there must be a reason. The Arcam combo is interesting but the DVD player needs updating ( to justify £1600 ).
You have ruled out Denon DVD with Arcam amplification / processor too ?

Why not Tag / Bryston / Denon combo ?
 
Edgeboy.

Feel like i'm following you about here mate!:)

I haven't yet heard the Arcam pre-power combo, but have heard the Denon combo.....which i thought was pretty good.

However, my wallet would be inclined to go with the Arcam combination, as i believe, it is cost effective to go the processor route...due to the ever changing Audio spectrum coming up with new things & sound processes......

Flexible is the word.......

Seeings i am a fan of Boothroyd Stuart, have you not considered a 596 or 598/568.2 combination?

(although you could be looking at a 7K+ price here)

Adzman
 
hi Edgeyboy

im in sort of the same boat as you.

im ready to upgrade my amp(yammy a1)and i was concidering the denon, now ive set my mind on processor/amp cause i know that i will be wanting to eventually upgrade to proc/amp in the future.i know its more expensive initially but in the long run i think it would be about the same(cost wise).
by what i have been reading this is the way to go,sound quality wise and for future proof upgrades.
i would go for the av8/p7 or the tag's rather than the denon.especially the amount of money you will be spending.

have'nt heared any of these so take my opinion with a pinch of salt.im going to demo these within the next couple of weeks.

regards carl:)
 
Gringotts Direct: You are right, the Dv27 is in need of bringing up-to-date but nobody is offering any clues as to when (not to my knowledge)... Maybe John D could help ...

Tag / Bryston / Meridian et al not my bag (baby).

Whichever combo I choose it must all match aesthetically: I don't want a mixture of brands.

I looked at the Tag system, but I don't like the power amps.

By the way, any else noticed the Denon DVDA1 has a slightly soft picture ?

Anyway, we digress, time is ticking away...
 
from Denon and Arcam I would take Arcam any day.
 
Beekeeper:

Why, when used for 90% of the time in a home cinema enviroment rather than for music?

Regards

Tom.
 
At last.. someone trying to compare a top one box to a good pro/amp. I have been considering the pioneer vsx ax10 vs tag vs arcam.

If you were not including a matching dvd player in your criteria it sounds like you think the denon is better? considering its about half the price of the arcam pair.

I was swaying towards tag, but if the denon or pioneer are that good it seems like a waste to spend so much more.
 
I used to put most of my demo time into movie sessions, with only a small part set asside for a music / 2 channel demo.
However, this seems to have changed around a bit over the last 4-6 months. I put this down to owning some equipment, which is EQUALLY good in stereo as it is in multi-channel.
It is only when i heard 2 channel stereo of a certain replay quality, that i found myself getting back into using my AV setup as a CD re-revisiting tool:)

I can say that my Meridian 568.2 processor is a cut above any integrated amp i've heard to date......(Haven't heard the Pioneer flagship yet, heard Denon A1SR, Onkyo big guns etc..etc..)
There maybe more for me to hear, but i've not covered it all yet.

That includes multi-channel & 2 channel reproduction.

Meridians Motorolla DSP engines are super quick & have given me endless hours of enjoyment..

I'm looking forward to hearing Arcam's AV8/P7 combo.

Adzman
 
Originally posted by Edgeyboy
Maybe John D could help ...

I looked at the Tag system, but I don't like the power amps.

By the way, any else noticed the Denon DVDA1 has a slightly soft picture ?

Mr. Dawson will inform us when it's imminent ( i.e. the day it hits the road to dealers, quite understandable really ).

I didn't enjoy the 100x5R either.

I'm sure you have experimented with Denon's picture settings, but is it soft ? All the detail is there ( says me ).
 
Originally posted by The Beekeeper
from Denon and Arcam I would take Arcam any day.

Still with the proviso that you know more than I....

I have used the Arcam and DVD-3800 at home ( not DVD-A1 ), have to hold the opposite view.
The Denon is my preference.
 
I haven't investigated Meridian, only because of price if honest

Yes..Mr Boothroyd & Mr Stuart do like to make substantial inroads into your wallet......although they do bring hours of enjoyment into my measily life.

Adzman
 
Re the soft image: Changing the sharpness setting on the DVDA1 to +2 helps enormously. Not sure what the overall impact on picture quality is though. i've not seen any artifacts by doing so.
 
Well I want your money Tom, though it's past 10am and I've only just spotted this post! And you do get very personal service from Arcam.

DV27s shipping from now on include the latest Vaddis 5 processor with a number of useful improvements to the overall performance of the player. This version can be easily upgraded to support DVD-A if and when you need it for about £200. (And before you all ask this work can be done on everyone else's older DV27s for about £400 - we'll publish details when we are ready).

AV8s and P7s are now available too in case anyone was wondering.

Sincerely,

John Dawson (Arcam)
 
Hi John

Thought it strange that you had not replied...

What improvements does the Vaddis 5 processor provide ?

Does the Dv27 still use the excellent silicon image chip for deinterlacing on prog scan ?

Managed to stall my dealer 'til 5.30pm !

Regards
 
Originally posted by Edgeyboy

Managed to stall my dealer 'til 5.30pm !

Regards

With that sort of money I don't your dealer will mind. I certainly wouldn't!:)

I would definately go for the Arcam pre/pro, but I've not had the chance to compare the latest DV27 with the A1.
 
Hi Tom,

The Silicon Image board is exactly the same :)

The Vaddis 5 is the brains and heart of the player (not sure that's a perfect metaphor but you get the idea). It contains the main system micro, now 32 bit rather than 16 bit, the DVD decoder, a 32 bit rather than 20 bit audio DSP and 6 video DACs, used in the DV27 for the interlaced video. It has also a good PS engine which we use in the DV88 Plus. The DV27 will output both interlaced and PS video at the same time, which can be useful if you want a second screen e.g. in zone 2.

Some of the benefits over the Vaddis 3 we used before are : more memory for better disc playability, a better video scaler, with for example really nice zoom, a better DVD navigator (copes with most tricky discs), the aforementioned PS engine, the ability to support DVD-Audio, better menu screens and a rather nice CD/MP3 browser. This is not an exhaustive list, just what I can think of right now. A lot of the devil is in the detail of course so it is not easy to give a quick summary, but I am sure you get the idea :)

As before the player SW and drive firmware can be updated with CD-ROMs and the hardware is modular.

HTH.

John
 
Thanks for the info John.

Could you clear your PM box please.

Regards

Tom.
 
Hi Adzman.

Waiting for the arrival of a DV27 on friday to try with the AV8 and P7 so no concrete decision as yet.

I agree - my bet is that Arcam will get the order though.

I'll keep you posted.

Regards.
 
Edge.

Great...let us know...

I let my wandering ear listen to about 5 minutes worth of a soundtrack coming from the P7 amp in my local Sevenoaks.
OK it was only about 5 minutes worth, but as an 'on the spot' observation, it sounded pretty cool from where i was craning my neck from....Just wish i could've stayed longer!!!!!!

Also, not as big as i thought the amp would be.
I'm gonna go and have a good listen to it & the AV8 next week..

Adzman
 

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