What to buy as an upgrade from Arcam 350?

clockworks

Prominent Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2005
Messages
3,573
Reaction score
299
Points
631
Location
West Country
I've had my Arcam 350 for a few years now. Since neither the Arcam or my Panasonic plasma are over-endowed with HDMI sockets, I have to use an external HDMI switch. These things don't seen to last for long, and the current one is randomly changing inputs every hour or two.

Rather than just buying another switch, I decided to get another receiver - Denon 3312. The extra inputs and features would give me more flexibilty, and allow me to lose the HDMI switch and a couple of optical to coax convertors.

Stupidly, I bought the Denon from Simply Electronics. Cheap, but impossible to register with Denon for their warranty or upgrades. It's either a non-EU model, or a clone. Serial number not recognised.
Within 30 minutes, it died - power light flashing, even when stone cold. It's going back for a refund.

How much do I need to spend to get audible improvements over the Arcam, and what should I buy?
 
Stupidly, I bought the Denon from Simply Electronics. Cheap, but impossible to register with Denon for their warranty or upgrades. It's either a non-EU model, or a clone. Serial number not recognised.
Within 30 minutes, it died - power light flashing, even when stone cold. It's going back for a refund.

Simply Electronics are a Hong Kong based company and are well known as a company that brings in grey imports from the Far East and then sells them over in Europe to unsuspecting consumers.

Anyone buying anything of this sort of value should ensure that they are buying from an authorised UK dealer, preferably one that actually has the products on demonstration.

You will almost certainly need to return the Denon to Simply Electronics, most likely at your own cost, in order to get a refund.

How much do I need to spend to get audible improvements over the Arcam, and what should I buy?

The Arcam receivers are well known for their high standard of audio performance. My recommendation for a suitable replacement would be the Anthem MRX300 which retails for £1099 and offers absolutely stunning performance for the money as well as a room EQ system unrivalled amongst all AV receivers on the market.

They are not pretty, they don't have tons of HDMI inputs and other bells and whistles but they offer what matters, which is sound quality

You will find plenty other people that have good things to say about them and I know that a full review of either the MRX500 or MRX700 is due to appear on these forums imminently, that is if Russell ever decides to let it go. ;)

A/V Receiver - Welcome to the New Official Anthem® Audio Video Website.

If you need more info on these please feel free to get in touch.

Cheers,

Chris.
 
If you used your credit card I would also contact them and potentially put a claim in.

Simply Electronics use a number of methods to source stock some of which I have been told are VAT fraudulent.

On replacement products I would consider Yamaha RX-A3010 or A2010 and Marantz.
 
I thought that I was buying from a UK supplier. I confused Simply Electronics with Simply Computers, a company that I had bought PC stuff from in the past. Good ratings on Amazon assured me that I was dealing with a reputable company. Further investigation (after I had placed the order) showed that I was mislead.

It's the first time I've bought an expensive item on-line without personal recommendation, and I won't be doing it again. I much prefer buying in person, after a demo. Problem is, my local AV retailer (RJF) has shut up shop, and now concentrates on repairs, working from home. The local chain that sold some mid-range stuff (ETS) has gone bust. I guess I'm going to have to travel further afield.
Anyone know of a good AV retailer in Cornwall that sells Denon, Yamaha and Marantz?

I've already contacted my CC provider. I'm keeping copies of everything, and will put in a claim if Simply Electronics don't sort it out promptly, at no cost to me.

I'll look at the Yamaha receivers (listen, if I can find a reasonably local dealer) as well as the Marantz and Denon.

What's the background of Anthem? I've not been on the forum for a while, and it's a new name to me.

One feature of the Denon that appealed to me, and worked fine for the short time before it died, was Airplay. I've already got a couple of Airport Expresses on my home network, connected to the kitchen and workshop stereos, so iTunes-compatible streaming was a definite plus.
How do the alternatives handle audio streaming?
 
What's the background of Anthem? I've not been on the forum for a while, and it's a new name to me.

I believe Anthem is the same Canadian manufacturer as Paradigm. They've been making and selling hardware in the USA and Canada for some time now.
 
There are a few Yamaha 3067s around going for around £800 which would be worth looking at. They should be comparable quality to your current Arcam but demo first if possible to make sure. The 350 is a good amp and you will need to look at the higher end models to even match it and possibly look even higher if you really want to beat it by a significant margin.
 
I thought that I was buying from a UK supplier. I confused Simply Electronics with Simply Computers, a company that I had bought PC stuff from in the past. Good ratings on Amazon assured me that I was dealing with a reputable company. Further investigation (after I had placed the order) showed that I was mislead.

It's the first time I've bought an expensive item on-line without personal recommendation, and I won't be doing it again. I much prefer buying in person, after a demo. Problem is, my local AV retailer (RJF) has shut up shop, and now concentrates on repairs, working from home. The local chain that sold some mid-range stuff (ETS) has gone bust. I guess I'm going to have to travel further afield.
Anyone know of a good AV retailer in Cornwall that sells Denon, Yamaha and Marantz?

I've already contacted my CC provider. I'm keeping copies of everything, and will put in a claim if Simply Electronics don't sort it out promptly, at no cost to me.

I'll look at the Yamaha receivers (listen, if I can find a reasonably local dealer) as well as the Marantz and Denon.

What's the background of Anthem? I've not been on the forum for a while, and it's a new name to me.

One feature of the Denon that appealed to me, and worked fine for the short time before it died, was Airplay. I've already got a couple of Airport Expresses on my home network, connected to the kitchen and workshop stereos, so iTunes-compatible streaming was a definite plus.
How do the alternatives handle audio streaming?

Marantz also support Airplay and I think Pioneer do too. If you went with the Anthem I'd get an Apple TV for a 100 odd notes as that will get you airplay to the receiver
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom