Arcam DiVa A85

I have had the Arcam DiVa A85 amp for 6 years now and there isn't anything still close to the quality it can produce.

This evening I was out to hunt for new floor standing speakers for my new Onkyo dx-nr905., which is an AV amp.At the end of the day, the only think i realized after listening to so many other amplifiers and speakers is that - nothing even slightly significant has changed in the the stereo channel line at least, Because i was only shopping for the front two speakers for my AV amp. which are best judged in 2 channel mode.. :)

I auditioned a few setups to go with my Quad 21L floorstanders, which have a clear, laid back sound. I demoed the Roksan Kandy that the magazines rave about, but found that despite its 120W it sounded harsh, bright and quite distorted at high volumes. I tried its bigger brother the Roksan Caspian (70W), which sounded much clearer, but was lacking in grunt when pushed. I tried the Musical Fidelity A3.1 amp and CD. This sounded exciting and rhythmic, but I felt that the treble was too harsh for my tastes, and it cost a considerable amount more.

I auditioned the Arcam A85 twice, with the CD82 and CD92. I found that the sound was far more to the liking of both myself and the Quad 21Ls. The A85 needs time to warm up, and needs a run in of a couple of days. I was worried that being an amp with many digital controls and features that it would be compromised sonically. This is most definitely not the case. It sounds brilliant, with a warm, laid back approach, it allows you to focus on individual instruments. It doesn't add extra pizzaz like other amps, but failthfully replays good recordings. The treble is clean, but not too bright, vocals sound accurate, and drums are deep, rhythmic and taught. It has enough power (80W) to handle louder volumes without distortion, although as in motoring a bit more wouldn't go amiss.

The A85 can be biamped using the P85 power amp, which I am tempted to get for ultimate mid-range clarity, although really it is fantastic as it is. The A85 is now at the end of its life, and is being replaced by the A90, which looks identical, but has an improved power supply, giving an extra 5W. In reality it is probably just a slightly tweaked A85, so I doubt it will sound much different, so it is probably worth looking for a bargain A85.

In the end there was no real competition, so I went for the A85 and CD92. The likes of Cyrus/Roksan/MF get good reviews for their 'exciting ' (read too bright) sounds but I don't think you can better the Arcam at the price, especially when it is reduced in the sales.