Well, the Arcam is up and Running!

Ric5811

The AVP 700 arrived today along with the Oppo 83.

Very impressive so far, for what little time I was able to spend with it.

2 chan was rather impressive. Not that the Denon was bad at all, it was very good.

But for the very limited time I was able to listen, here's what jumped out the most.

Soundstage took on a whole meaning to "depth", seperation was outstanding, very neutral, midrange was spot on:), imaging was , well....fantastic.

The sound just went from very good and clear, to silky smooth, almost transparent...the bass, well, went even deeper and more clear, VERY defined and accurate. Just seemed to float about a foot off the floor everywhere, the only way I can put it with words. Still trying to find the words to describe the bass.

Threw in a BluRay real quick, well, this is where the Arcam(as if 2 chan was exciting enuff) really shined. Very,very clear. Great soundfield and imaging. And I still have to tweak it some more:D One example, as I got to work tonight, the fiance texted me asking how to turn of the surround speakers...i asked why? She said they were scaring the **** out of her! I was confused, it's not like surround sound was new to our house! She said she was watching a show, and someone shut a door, and she thought someone shut the back door at home! She was going for the gun before she realized what happened..LMAO!.

The Oppo, well, one of the best presentations I have ever seen when I have bought a piece of gear. Packaged awesome, excellent HDMI cable. Very class act. No wonder why it is so many reviewers reference player. So far, excellent picture and sound. Have yet to try the usb or play cd to try out it's DAC. The Arcam did a excellent job with my PC based music. New digital coax comes in on Monday plus new optical for the HDDVR(using rca'scurrently).

Will get some serious audition time on Monday and Tuesday! Fiance said we will put it through it paces on Monday,(she wants to go through her Coldplay playlist), then she said we fire up Guitar Hero! God I love that girl!

The Arcam was very user friendly, was able to set things up pretty quick without referencing the manual hardly at all.

One feature I loved right away, direct mode. It let that Dolby TruHD sing through!

Alright Polkies, that's all for now! Need to get back to work..yeah right:rolleyes:

jayman_1975

sweet... i need one. I just pulled the trigger on some new speaks so i might have to settle for the avp 700 instead of the big brother av9. Sounds like the 700 might just do fine. Now if i could just sell my avr300. If people only new what a heluva receiver this thing is it would be gone in a heartbeat. Congrats on the new purchase.

jayman_1975

oh i was going to ask you.... did you get the bdp 83 SE? If not was there any mods done to the one you got? I have been seriously looking at one of these too but it would have to hang with my Arcam dv27+ (just sold) which was a great cd spinner too.

Ric5811

jayman_1975 wrote: »

oh i was going to ask you.... did you get the bdp 83 SE? If not was there any mods done to the one you got? I have been seriously looking at one of these too but it would have to hang with my Arcam dv27+ (just sold) which was a great cd spinner too.

Nah, didn't get the SE, or any mods, thought about getting region, being that my girl is from across the pond and has some UK dvd's, but not enuff to warrant $2-300 increase. Just got the $499 player through Amazon. They have some used for $450.

Well, I had read a few reviews on your 300, and it's is a very nice AVR. Top notch, probably better than most of the usual supects around here.

But bells and whistles(shiny objects) attract a lot of people! I refuse to chase that train. I am surprised by those that chase the HDMI upgrades. I run mine straight to the display, why put one more possible signal degradation in the way? I don't need the pre/pro to upscale, I have 2 great players that can. Got rid of the VCR years ago and the tapes, gave my best friend my standard Sony DVD palyer, which was a great player.

The AVP 700 by all accounts sounds great with your amp, well it was designed for it! I would snag one, if you like the 300, you will love the 700!

I think the Oppo can hold with the Arcam dvd/cd you had. But I have not heard yours either, but just going by the reviews I read.

cfrizz

Very nice, congrats!

texas ed

Hey Ric5811.I just watched my first full movie thru the Oppo and it is so f'ng night and day better than I expected.I just got a new B&K amp and Emo UMC-1.I watched The Book Of Eli.That 50 cal scene in the movie was unbelievable...I only replayed it three times!!!!!!!! Just joking,but you think you are on crack from all the new"noises" you here on old movies and cd's....Enjoy your new toys as I will. Eddie

Ric5811

texas ed wrote: »

Hey Ric5811.I just watched my first full movie thru the Oppo and it is so f'ng night and day better than I expected.I just got a new B&K amp and Emo UMC-1.I watched The Book Of Eli.That 50 cal scene in the movie was unbelievable...I only replayed it three times!!!!!!!! Just joking,but you think you are on crack from all the new"noises" you here on old movies and cd's....Enjoy your new toys as I will. Eddie

Hey thanks Eddie! And thanks for your PM the other day, havn't had time to get back to you.

Well along with the Oppo and the Arcam, a lot of things have become new!

Ric5811

cfrizz wrote: »

Very nice, congrats!

Not at all;)

jayman_1975

Hey Ric. Have you compared the 2 channel analog output from the oppo vs pcm to the arcam? I am curious to see which piece has the better dac's.

Ric5811

jayman_1975 wrote: »

Hey Ric. Have you compared the 2 channel analog output from the oppo vs pcm to the arcam? I am curious to see which piece has the better dac's.

Briefly. I was first trying out my media center pc with digital out vs analog outs to the Arcam. The Arcam dac is good. Seemed cold though, very revealing, but cold. Switched back to the analogs with direct mode, much fuller at the low end and more laid back and smooth.

Now, the Oppo was outstanding in analog, didn't try the pcm yet, to see if it put out a better sound than my pc.

But I read that my pc when using the digital out only samples at 44khz for my particular sound card.

The strange thing is, it sounded better yesterday with digital coax. New cable though, might be part of the problem.

But I will say again, the Oppo 2 chan analog was one of those whoooaaa moments. I was impressed. I will post some more on the Arcam dac in a bit.