AV9 Announced At CEDIA

gostan

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Jim Piscitello of Next Level AV has indicated that Arcam surprised all at CEDIA in Indianapolis with the announcement of the new AV9 which is supposed to be available by the end of 2005.
 

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surprized? Definate lack of BNCs and XLRs for me :)
 
Very interesting - I wonder what other improvements to the pre pro have been added (DSP's, DACS, Interface, Room EQ, Upconversion etc etc) and whether there is an upgrade path for AV8 owners?
 
Some information quoted from nextlevelav forum - this guy Jim Piscitello saw the new AV9 in person as was able to obtain the following info:

The AV9, yep, a new processor is due out by end of 2005. This was a shocker. I have known about other releases months before they're due but this was truly kept a secret. Current AV8 owners will be able to migrate to this unit by sending their units in for updating (software and hardware). There is a new software patch available for the AV8 that was just released and if an owner performs this upgrade, it'll be 80% that of the AV9. Key feature on the AV9, you guessed it, HDMI switching --- what a surprise considering what they put into the AVP-700.

Quite excited by this announcement! Anyone got anymore info? Crusty? Andy Dutton? JD? :D
 
80% of an AV9???????????????????
Not quite what av8 owners might have secretly hoped for?
 
I am sure that Jim will be able to obtain more information about the AV9 today!
 
You mean - Mad Darren - because I have upgraded to Version 4 on my Arcam FMJ AV8 that it will be about 80% of the performance of the yet to be released AV9?

I hope that I have not misunderstood.
 
I believe him to mean - after the hardware upgrade.
 
I think the Fmj AV9 will support the Hdmi ver 1.1 protocol with multichannel audio unlike the Diva AVP700. Hopefully you can now use a true one cable solution for video and multichannel hi-res audio - Dvd Audio and SACD !!I've been waiting patiently to put in full use, my Fmj DV29 HDMI connection and I hope this is it.
Maybe they should re-consider balanced (XLR - BNC) analogue line level outputs (ala AVP700)to its' mating 7 or (more??) channel amp. :lease:
 
From the information it is implied that there is perhaps not such a significant hardware upgrade - perhaps solely the support of HDMI in one form or another. Interesting to know that HDMI 1.2 standard has been set with full support for SACD/DSD streaming audio.

Best case scenario would be:

- HDMI 1.2 support (unlikely as Arcam do not make an SACD player given the future uncertainty of the format)
- some form of advanced equalisation of audio channels (Room Eq)
- Support and headroom for future decoding formats

Now if the AV8 with version 4 is 80% as capable as the AV9 then does HDMI switching/input make up that 20%?? What else other then updated input provision has Arcam provided? I guess until a formal announcement is made we could speculated enough to drive us nutty as a squirrels fart!

From a purists view, I would rather a processor had excellent audio qualities combined with ease of use and reliability rather than cramming all the technology that the yearly updated Jap receivers attempt to provide - hence their almost immediate obsolescence!
 
HDMI 1.1 I think is all people need for the Arcam product.
New formats (HD ones would be nice) but not essential
Room Eq would be nice again.

Glad they haven't changed the AV8 TOO much as it is a great processor. Personally I still need XRs but thats just me.
 
I bought the Arcam AV8 / P7 combination last month ex - dem for a good price. I have upgraded to Version 4. The Arcam AV8 / P7 is a very good combination with both music and movies. The sound quality impresses me every day.

To tell you the truth I am a little disappionted that the AV9 has just been announced but it could still be another year of waiting till it is released. Arcam Technical support denied that a successor was on the way when I rang them a few weeks go. But I suppose Arcam had to keep it a secret, after all they have a business to run.

If the AV8 sounds so good now how can Arcam improve on this significantly? Only our own ears can decide that.

I am sure they can upgrade the DACs and other components as was said earlier as they will be cheaper than three years ago. I do not need HMDI switching or balanced outputs at the moment so I am happy for now.

At least Arcam releases a new piece of hardware every 2 - 3 years and not every year like the Japanese manufacturers.
 
There ia always something new around the corner, enjoy what you have in the knowledge it is one of the best available.
 
Indeed - the future waits for no one though if I constantly worry about tomorrow how can I enjoy today?
 
looking at that photo I wonder if the hdmi interface is an add-on card - there seems to be two extra screws (one at either end) of the bank of hdmi sockets ... can anyone get a look at the back of their AV8 and see if there is a suitable space for a hardware upgrade ? !!
 
jont said:
looking at that photo I wonder if the hdmi interface is an add-on card - there seems to be two extra screws (one at either end) of the bank of hdmi sockets ... can anyone get a look at the back of their AV8 and see if there is a suitable space for a hardware upgrade ? !!

The entire rear plate of the AV8 is one piece so unfortunately the HDMI socket board cannot simply be inserted into an available slot.

Funny how you wait for an AV8 upgrade for two years and two come along together. Call me sceptical but am I the only one who thinks the picture of the AV9 rear panel has a certain "Photshop" look to it? The position of the six HDMI sockets shoehorned in just below the lid strikes me as odd, especially in comparison to those of the AVP700.
 
Tag did exactly the same with it's after market fixes, a new design is VERY expensive for the customers, I suspect this is a good call by ARCAM to save you money.
 
What would be nice as well is two extra optical ( digital ) inputs on the yet to be released AV9 - there is room for two more. These days some people have digital TV, two games consoles and a DVD recorder. This requires more optical digital inputs.

No one has mentioned the price of the new AV9 - I would GUESS it will be around 3500 pounds with perhaps the hardware upgrade costing 500 - 650 pounds ( hopefully ).

But we will all have to see ... it could be another year of waiting!

Andy Dutton and Crustyloafer - any news or thoughts?
 
Interestingly, Crustyloafer did post a threat on the forum back in June relating to an HDMI hardware update for the AV8 which was due before Christmas. He then had it withdrawn almost immediately as he said it was "currently unconfirmed and possibly innacurate" Maybe it was more accurate than Arcam liked at the time?
 
Sab said:
Andy Dutton and Crustyloafer - any news or thoughts?

I have neither, that is until I have any confirmed information that is deemed to be ready for public consumption. I'll keep you guys posted as and when I can.
 
This is promising but I hope those HDMI slots do more than simply video switching. With BD & HD-DVD just round the corner, I hope they'll support HD audio formats from Dolby & DTS with an appropriate DSP board upgrade. Fingers crossed for the full monty :)
 
I asked a series of Qs a month ago on HDMI upgrades into the AV8 a month ago on the software upgrade thread and how it related to the this. It was never in doubt for me, more when....
 
Looks like if we are lucky HDMI 1.1 chips may do SACD (HDMI 1.2) with a firmware upgrade. Mind you the rest of the system has to understand / or be able at least to translate DSD to PCM for it all to work (the latter for ARCAM I suspect).
 
jakeman said:
Until the hdmi switching problem is resolved on the avp 700 I doubt Arcam will ship the AV9.

Well Arcam Support told me today that the AV9 release was "immanent" and that a retrofit upgrade for the AV8 would be available, but were unable to give any product/ date details.
 

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