opinions on arcam avr200 please

[Andywilliams]

Hi everyone
i will be upgrading my receiver early next year and would like your valued opinions on the amps virtues .I use my amp 60% movies 40% music and would like the best of both worlds if possible.
thanks gonzo

 

[siluro]

Hi gonzo

the little arcam is a amazing toy, my needs are pretty much the same as yours and i opted for the avr 200 route. So far im pretty impressed with the little beast and i know theres a few more out there with the same impression, sound wise it really does rock following the usual arcam rep of being smooth and slightly warm which worried me a bit at first but it ist at all unpleasant as i found out. Alough i havnt been able to put it though a multi channel work out yet if its anything like the stereo performance itl bring a nice grin to ya face , but it really is a nice amp its just so detailed an sweet and most definatly looks the part

The thing id say be wary of in my opinion is to try and stay away from bass managment and use some decent mid size satelite speakers and, i know theres no such thing as a real 8ohm speaker but stay away from 4ohm jobies. She does have a impedance select switch but i think she`s really more at home with 8 ohms

cheers
lee

 

[Andywilliams]

hi siluro
Ihave mission m71i bookshelf speakers on stancette stands m7c2 centre m7ds rears relQ150E sub do you think these would be ok with the arcam amp thanks gonzo.

 

[siluro]

Im sure somone with more expirence can give you a better answer but i carnt see a problem with that, the reason i dont like the bass managment is it sets the the crossovers to 100hz which isnt adjustable and tho it does sound good with it, i think it sound a lot better without it. At the min im using m73s and hoping to go for gallo`s (and it does sound sweet with the missions) but i hope thier`l be ok with out it. Also the avr has a tone defeat button which helps a lot

Any more Q`s, just ask

cheers
lee

 

[paiger]

From your posts, it seems that the 'bass management' function is similar to 'small' and 'large' speaker settings on other amps. If you have full range speakers and no subwoofer you want your speakers set to 'large' or 'no bass management'. That is, the amp sends the full signal through the main speakers. You Missions should be fine in this respect. Obviously you will get lower frequencies from floorstanders but many people run bookshelf speakers as mains. As you have a sub as well, you could turn on the bass management and let your sub do the low end work.

S

 

[siluro]

cheers paiger

I do use a sub (velo cht 10) and set it to direct when using bass managment (which is small or large for speakers) but basicly what i should have said is i find using the feature you loose some of the sound stage and its not guite as detailed as the large setting which as i was saying i hope wont be a problem for the gallos`s (using the large setting that is)

cheers mate
lee

 

[triplebj]

Well, my mix is more like 80% music/20% movies, and I LOVE my AVR-200

And it does not seem to have any problems driving my (supposedly difficult) 4 ohm Dynaudio speakers - as a matter of fact, I think it's a match made in Heaven

BJ

 

[Andywilliams]

hi triplebj
how big is your room
thanks gonzo