Arcam FMJ AVR600 Review
Dear Gary:
I have been a loyal reader of your magazine from the very first issue and continue to enjoy the articles and information. However, this month's review [Issue 140, May/June 2009] of the Arcam AVR receiver has caused me to have some real doubts about the objectivity and conclusions of the reviewer.
If I am to believe his writing, this product is now the Holy Grail of A/V receivers. No point listening to Denon, Sony, Yamaha, Pioneer, Anthem, Onkyo, Krell, Marantz, etc. etc. By his review, this one beats all of them by a large margin. Even beats regular high-end stereo equipment. Right.
Coincidentally, other magazines have also recently reviewed this product (i.e. Hi Fi News and other British publications). None of them enthused to the extent of your reviewer. They liked the Arcam, but there were no wild statements and hype declaring this to be a watershed product. It got good reviews, but nothing special. Nobody suggested trashing their current high-end stereo systems for this product, nor did they suggest that Arcam had some special deal/arrangement with Dolby that allowed them to get better performance than anyone else.
I don’t know how you "temper" a reviewer’s enthusiasm for a product, or if you have a hands-off policy. However, I don’t ever recall any product in your magazine having such a glowing review of this nature, and there have been many fine products reviewed. Does the reviewer get paid by Arcam? Did he buy the demo unit at a "special" price? I notice this review is now linked to the Arcam product Web site. I know these comments make me sound like a jerk, but this has been my hobby a long time (40+ years) and I have seen a lot of baloney over the years by reviewers. Your magazine has largely steered clear of this nonsense and has also had excellent editorial comments on the state of the industry.
Simply stated, I don’t know what is going on here, but I find the review less than credible, and I really hate to say that. I have read the article, extended version also, and simply do not find any breakthroughs in design or engineering that would account for such a miraculous product to emerge from what many of us consider an “above average,” but not great British company (ARCAM).
Bob Guerin
editorgary@widescreenreview.com
Editor-In-Chief and Publisher Gary Reber Comments:
Peter Moncrieff is a highly respected reviewer, and over several decades he has published the IAR Journal. I’ve known Peter for decades and have found him to be a dedicated and conscientious reviewer and writer. He is extremely knowledgeable and an experienced engineer. Peter doesn't get excited too often, but the Arcam unit really impressed him, as it has others, and me, at Widescreen Review. And Peter has access to just about any piece of equipment he chooses to investigate. He has a track record of review experience and he has a reputation for “brutal” honesty in his evaluations and findings.
Peter was not paid for this review by Arcam.
Following Peter’s review, I put the Arcam FMJ AVR600 into my primary reference system. I immediately noticed the superb fidelity of the reproduced signal through the Arcam. Unlike Peter, my focus is on HDMI throughput, as required for DTS-HD Master Audio™ and Dolby® TrueHD. The sound quality was spectacular, better than any other preamplifier that I have experienced in the past. I did find some problems with the switching modes in HDMI sources, but there is a new V-1.9 firmware update that has fixed these problems.
Peter will be reviewing the Arcam AV888 A/V processor and P777 multichannel power amplifier soon. The AV888 is the result of a nearly three-year R&D effort and features Wolfson 8741 24-bit 192 kHz digital-to-analog converters (DAC) in the signal path. These are deployed across all eight channels and are claimed to result in the ultra-linear conversion of digital audio signals. Individual, multi-regulated power supplies feed all critical audio stages with studio-grade Burr Brown DRV134 balanced line drivers used for balanced audio outputs. There are even multichannel 7.1 analog inputs for DVD-A or SA-CD sources.
We will publish Peter’s next Arcam review in the October or November issue.
You can E-mail Widescreen Review @ editorgary@widescreenreview.com