Arcam a90

This is a big, solid and nicely built ninety watt amplifier from Arcam. Arcam are one of the biggest British hifi manufacturers and have been going a number of years. They have an enviable reputation for producing superb mid range hifi. This particular model sits at the top of there diva range which consists of two other models. It has the usual inputs and these can be renamed to suit. It costs £900.

Sound wise it really is a chip of the old block. What I mean by this is that it has what most people would characterise as typical Arcam sound. It is big warm and fairly detailed, with plenty of mid bass and a really sweet top end. It is far from analytical and has an upfront sound that extends forward of the speakers.

It is a live sounding piece of equipment and has good tone. It is not the most colourful amp, not in the league of something such as the Sugden a21 but it is pretty good all the same. Bad recording are dealt with very nicely and you can have access to some pretty rough sounding records with out your ears filling with blood!

Tempo wise it is quite slow. It is on time from top to bottom but can sound quite sluggish. If you switch it for a Naim Nait you soon get to feel what it is missing. Once you have got used to it though it is no big deal. One thing it can do is drive a very good number of speakers and is a good match for most. In fact the only brand they don't seem to like is Dynaudio. Pair it with some Linn or even better some quad speakers and the sound is superb.


In terms of how it competes with the competition I would say it does fine. I don't think it is the best amp in its class, I would personally have the Sugden but the Arcam will appeal to a different type of costumer. For starters it has remote control, it is better looking and it has ninety watts. It plays music in a similar kind of way but it does not have the smooth as silk sound of the Sugden and can sound grainy at times.

Over all this is a good solid amp. It does the job. It plays all music well and apart from tempo it has no real vices. The only problem I can see with it is some of the competition sound a little bit more distinctive. In a demonstration room it may get over looked which would be a shame because as a long term proposition the Arcam is likely to grow on you, more and more.

Ebay Alert!

In my experience this is not the most reliable of amps. Get a late one and pay up to £500.