Ett intressant inlägg från en "audiofil" på AVSForumet om (ljud) jämförelse mellan 'Arcam 850' och 'Marantz 8820A':
"I did. Spent two weeks with the Arcam exclusively (850). I already decided that my MM8077 was better than the G class under the 850's hood. So to level the field I used it as a preamp, calibrated with the Umik and spent plenty of time fine tuning the EQ curve until I achieved what I think is the best Dirac calibration in my room. And I thought it sounded rather good.
But today, after two weeks, after getting used to Arcam and Dirac and being rather pleased with it, I plugged back the 8802A and there is no competition. The Marantz is *much* better, despite Audyssey. It is more transparent, more dynamic, it resolves fine details better, nuances, refinement. Sorry guys, the 850 is a fine machine and certainly the best Arcam to date but if you ask me - I know you don't - there is better SQ to be had for your money.
On a positive note Arcam has a better headphone amp than 8802. But it's the only positive I can think of against 8802. 8802 is a lot more flexible in terms of setup, it can do a lot more, it has a comprehensive format support, it sounds clearly better. Dirac is a fine software but it can't make up for the better hardware.
This concludes my experiment. Arcam will go, Marantz stays. I wish my findings were different, it would have made my life a lot easier but no, not this time. Maybe the next generation."
“…this was my experience with the two Arcam's, I am not promoting a brand and I am not bashing Arcam.
People ask how to best spend 4000£ or 5000£ or 10000£ and there are no comparison on the internet, at least none that I am aware of, between Arcam and separates. Dealers are also contractually bound to refrain from comments so I simply offer a point of view and personal experience to those of you who are considering a purchase.
I don't expect anybody to take my word for it, there are plenty of dealerships where auditions are possible so please don't judge by schematics or by what you heard from a third party.
Marantz is by no means perfect, after all there is a Datasat, but neither is Arcam. The 550/850 could support several Dirac sets of settings, the amplifiers should be assignable, the UPnP player, since they bothered to implement one, should support 24/192 and so on. None of them deal breakers if the sound quality makes up for it and, for the most part, it does so I believe the 850 is indeed one of the best receivers currently on the marker.
My problem is that by pricing it at 4500£ Arcam is positioning it in high end separate territory and a separate-killer it is not.”
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AVS Forum: ‘Arcam AVR-850 & Arcam AVR-550’