New Arcam AVR's

My local arcam dealer hasn't received new models yet but don't like the look
They also surprised they shipping with no Dirac! They think firmware to make everything sing will take six months...
U wanna be the guinea pig....
 
They think firmware to make everything sing will take six months...
Sounds like the DIrac Live v2 model. Announced in December 2017 & buggy, barely usuable version released in November 2018.

Hard to fathom how they can be struggling so much with software when they have four years of FMJ cock-ups expertise as a blueprint.

Undercover spy reveals Arcam/Dirac joint software venture:

school-visit-bbc-micro.jpg
 
My local arcam dealer hasn't received new models yet but don't like the look
They also surprised they shipping with no Dirac! They think firmware to make everything sing will take six months...
U wanna be the guinea pig....
We have had some stock, DIRAC will be added by the end of the month. Im told future updates will be over the air so no more USB stick/factory reset malarkey, if you then leave the unit connected to a network and set to ‘automatic’ updates units you will have any new firmware updated as and when they release the software.
 
We have had some stock, DIRAC will be added by the end of the month.
Curious as to what the issue is exactly. Not sure how Dirac is "missing" given that it's an external & separate piece of software?
 
It will be the same reason all of the amplifiers with 16+channels are waiting, they will have had to most likely re-write the software I would imagine. Same reason the DIRAC isn't on the Emotiva as yet.
 
Understand that but in my mind that means the product is not ready yet and is not ready for full release.. Maybe they could do a scheme where they release an early adopters / beta version at a reduced price to promote adoption / bug fixing by people who don’t mind / want to buy beta kit.
It’s a bit cheeky of the manufacturers having it on full retail display / sale at full price when it’s not finished.
I’d personally would love one even as an early adopter but don’t want to pay full price, especially if it’s not finished as I’d like to be compensated for being a beta tester.. :)
Imagine BMW releasing a new car, but the turbo’s not turned on yet and we’ll do that in 6 months time when we’ve written the software update to do it!!!
 
Also requires buyer to have an element of trust/faith in the manufacturer. Arcam squandered that with their handling of the flaws in the last series IMHO. I won’t be buying on a promise from you Arcam, not when you have demonstrated contempt for your customers.....fool me once.....
 
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Been in receipt of one of the new HDA range for a week now (previously had one of the FMJ range). Experience so far is showing this is definitely a step up feature wise and sound compared to previous generation seems more refined presumably as there’s an improved DAC. Keen to get DIRAC in place.

As an idea for anyone else upgrading, you can likely note the speaker distances and sizes and set them up in the interim. I took photos of each menu before unplugging the old unit :).

Loving the screen so far and the readability of what’s playing. I was apprehensive about the cosmetics but the AVR is looking great and not at all out of place.

Web management is really nice, great to be able to configure / play / stream through a browser.

Firmware can now be applied without using USB through the web interface which makes the update process a lot easier. The firmware shipped had already been superseded so a sign that updates are coming through quick and fast from what I can see.

All the basic features are mostly working. Including Atmos decoding, Dolby vision pass through etc.

Roon is fully working out the box, AirPlay 2 is working out the box which are nice features to have at last vs the previous line up.

Not been able to use chromecast as of yet, but been advised by Arcam support that it should be working in the next firmware release in the coming 2 or so weeks once it’s through their internal testing (was working in their lab on the next release that’s being tested).

There are a couple of niggles I’ve had selecting sources, but I’m confident they’ll be addressed soon enough.

There seems to be some discontent about how Arcam’s firmware hasn’t been updated regularly / reliability in the past and isn’t yet 100% for the new product line but apparently that this is a brand new platform module based on the Harman acquisition and having spoken at length to their support team could sense there’s been a massive effort to get the new platform perfected and tuned by the R&D team in Cambridge, and with that comes a few iterations of firmware (presume this is likely the case for most manufacturers)?

My FMJ experience was mostly positive so I’m giving Arcam the benefit of the doubt in terms of the firmware, especially as they appear to have a new approach to firmware development and testing going forwards.

For those with the FMJ generation of Arcam receivers was also told by the Arcam support team that there’s a new firmware in the pipeline for those products if it helps. You’ve not been forgotten :).
 
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My FMJ experience was mostly positive so I’m giving Arcam the benefit of the doubt in terms of the firmware, especially as they appear to have a new approach to firmware development and testing going forwards.
Definitely new approach - FMJ at least had Dirac implemented on launch :)
 
Been in receipt of one of the new HDA range for a week now (previously had one of the FMJ range). Experience so far is showing this is definitely a step up feature wise and sound compared to previous generation seems more refined presumably as there’s an improved DAC. Keen to get DIRAC in place.

As an idea for anyone else upgrading, you can likely note the speaker distances and sizes and set them up in the interim. I took photos of each menu before unplugging the old unit :).

Loving the screen so far and the readability of what’s playing. I was apprehensive about the cosmetics but the AVR is looking great and not at all out of place.

Web management is really nice, great to be able to configure / play / stream through a browser.

Firmware can now be applied without using USB through the web interface which makes the update process a lot easier. The firmware shipped had already been superseded so a sign that updates are coming through quick and fast from what I can see.

All the basic features are mostly working. Including Atmos decoding, Dolby vision pass through etc.

Roon is fully working out the box, AirPlay 2 is working out the box which are nice features to have at last vs the previous line up.

Not been able to use chromecast as of yet, but been advised by Arcam support that it should be working in the next firmware release in the coming 2 or so weeks once it’s through their internal testing (was working in their lab on the next release that’s being tested).

There are a couple of niggles I’ve had selecting sources, but I’m confident they’ll be addressed soon enough.

There seems to be some discontent about how Arcam’s firmware hasn’t been updated regularly / reliability in the past and isn’t yet 100% for the new product line but apparently that this is a brand new platform module based on the Harman acquisition and having spoken at length to their support team could sense there’s been a massive effort to get the new platform perfected and tuned by the R&D team in Cambridge, and with that comes a few iterations of firmware (presume this is likely the case for most manufacturers)?

My FMJ experience was mostly positive so I’m giving Arcam the benefit of the doubt in terms of the firmware, especially as they appear to have a new approach to firmware development and testing going forwards.

For those with the FMJ generation of Arcam receivers was also told by the Arcam support team that there’s a new firmware in the pipeline for those products if it helps. You’ve not been forgotten :).


Well if this post is from a real end user then it looks like the new range looks like it might be ok

But is it a real user the member has only posted once, does not say what model he has and goes into a lot of detail about the background to the product it does read a bit like PR spin. It could be a fake posting from a P.R outfit paid to make Arcam look good. Not saying it is but there is a lot of that type of marketing around so you never know.
 
Well if this post is from a real end user then it looks like the new range looks like it might be ok

But is it a real user the member has only posted once, does not say what model he has and goes into a lot of detail about the background to the product it does read a bit like PR spin. It could be a fake posting from a P.R outfit paid to make Arcam look good. Not saying it is but there is a lot of that type of marketing around so you never know.

It was my first post, not really had anything valuable to say so haven’t spoken to date, but have been reading the thread with interest as I had pre-ordered my receiver 2 months ago so thought my initial feedback may have been useful for others. My feedback was not meant to be overtly positive, there are shortcomings with the HDA vs the FMJ, e.g. no chromecast, no DIRAC, switching sources, etc.

I’ve only had the amplifier for a week so it’s still early days. I didn’t think the model I own was particularly relevant as the feedback was about the line up vs the previous line up?
 
Still would be interesting to know, presume it’s not a state secret? Would also be interesting to know where you bought it from, presuming you bought it?
 
Still would be interesting to know, presume it’s not a state secret? Would also be interesting to know where you bought it from, presuming you bought it?


Yes would be good to know, It is a shame but nowadays fake news is in use everywhere so one needs to be very careful what one reads. It is a little odd that the model number is not mentioned in the posting. Come to think bout it no mention of the FMJ model the poster has.

"There are a couple of niggles I’ve had selecting sources," well it works or does not work thats how things are with HDMI can you expand on that if poss

When you say chromecast does not work - are you saying you plug the chromecast player in it does not work?

Really do not want to sound harsh just careful. If you are a real end user I am sure you will understand.

If this was a PR post it is a shame that it got through for posting where as a genuine offer of help from a manufacturer is banned unless the manufacturer buys add space on this site. still that's the rules.
 
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Chromecast is not working at all yet, I managed to get my Tidal to work via the browser, but not via the application that I previously used (Musiclife), so hopefully that'll be addressed soon.

Some of the settings don't appear to be able to be set via the browser from what I could tell which was quite interesting - e.g. speaker distances, so I ended up using the remote to set the settings.

The issue with sources (inputs) is that when using Apple TV for example, then switching to Sky, the sound stopped completely, resulting in a need to switch the amplifier off and on again.

I also had an issue with two HDMI outputs being used at the same time (had the same issue on the FMJ platform) where I wasn't able to get video on the TV when two devices were both plugged in, but was told that it's something that is being looked into and that the new HDMI board may make a difference - will continue to test and report back as the new firmware get's released.
 
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Do we know if they are going to allow multiple crossover points instead of the 1 per layer deal of the FMJ range?

Apologies if I missed a response to this but do we know the answer to this yet?
 
The issue with sources (inputs) is that when using Apple TV for example, then switching to Sky, the sound stopped completely, resulting in a need to switch the amplifier off and on again.
Mmm, I sometimes have this with the AV860. I hoped this was fixed in the new series..
 
Just got home, and the amplifier had a new firmware to install! I've been through three versions since I received the receiver which is more than I remember getting with the previous FMJ model I had!

The latest version is showing as 0.100.239 vs. 0.100.191 that was installed previously (note: you can save a log file to see the configuration).
  • Musiclife control seems to be working now (wasn't previously)
  • Still no Dirac, but settings are shown in the web menu
  • Airplay version seems to be a higher version, can't say for sure, but think the number (366) is higher than earlier in the week
  • Browser settings seem to stay in place now, tried changing a speaker setting and it didn't revert back when moving between menus which is good to see
  • Whilst tidal is working, tidal MQA isn't working yet (caveat that it wasn't previously)
  • Chromecast menu is navigable via the web interface, but still not able to see in the google home application yet
  • Will see how well the audio is working between sources and if HDMI is any different and report back after I've had a couple of days to try it out
 
User manuals now on the Arcam site, Manual shows Dirac to be obtained from live.dirac.com that has version 2.3 for download. So I guess when it is downloaded it works on the new AvRs but with no BM
 
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Reports from a user over on AVS forum that has one is his hands says the latest firmware still does not have Dirac enabled.
 
The room EQ option (that from recollection was previously used to store the DIRAC settings) appears to be greyed out having checked if it helps.

Screenshot 2019-12-07 at 05.06.07.png
 
As I understand it from the user manual page E31 "Not Calculated: (Information only) There are no EQ filters, so cannot be selected."

So if it is like the FMJ,s Dirac needs to be run and the filter sent to the AVR before EQ selection works

Have you actually tried the advice in the manual to run Dirac on your unit? It looks like Dirac 2.3 is supposed to work. What type of mic was included with your unit?
 
Not tried yet. There’s a USB microphone included, hard to tell what make and model it is. Will plug it in to my laptop and see if it detects and says anything around what is is; version etc. and see if I can get hold of Dirac online
 

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