ARCAM AVR600 Reliability Issues



I'm considering the purchase of an ARCAM AVR600 but have read a lot of older posts on various forums about reliability/operational issues with it - weird noises from the speakers, the unit freezes up, random volume changes, etc.

Has anyone had similar experiences? Have the more recent firmware updates addressed these issues?

The sound of the ARCAM blew me away but I don't want to invest in a piece that's going to drive us crazy. I'm also considering the Integra 80.3 and the NAD T187 to use with my existing power amps. Any thoughts on those units in comparison to the ARCAM?
audioengineer99

Showing 1 response by savdllc

I'm probably a bit late to the party here, but I own an A/V integration company in Atlanta and sell a lot of Arcam products, so I thought I'd chime in to share my experiences with the brand. To start off with, I'll just cut right to it: the AVR600 platform did, unfortunately, have a lot of problems, and people who were new to the brand at that time were understandably turned off after the terrible ownership experience that some of them had with this particular model.

However, I think it's important to remind everyone that virtually every company in every industry has had issues with at least one of their products at one time or another, and anyone who is familiar with the brand will know that outside of this unfortunate blip in their history, Arcam has an excellent track record and in general makes an outstanding product. I have personally owned several models over the years - many of which were purchased as a consumer before starting my own company and selling the brand, and I have always had great experiences with them.

While I don't expect this to persuade a former AVR600 owner to consider purchasing another Arcam unit after their experiences with the brand, I would strongly urge anyone new to the brand to not make the mistake of assuming that because they had one troubled model that everything they make is therefor a poor quality product because that is simply not the case. Furthermore, their current platform (AVR390, AVR550, AVR850) is extremely well-reviewed and features the best room correction software on the market right now (Dirac Live).

So in closing, I would like to say to those who have owned the AVR600 and had a poor experience with the brand that I'm genuinely sorry for the frustrations you have incurred, and you have every right to feel the way that you do. However, I would encourage you to try to be open minded about the brand going forward and to remember that your experiences are not an accurate representation of the brand as a whole and will not be shared by the majority of their customer base.

Kind regards,

David Campbell
President - Southern A/V Direct, LLC
404-948-8585
www.SouthernAVDirect.com