Posted Wed Sep 23, 2009 at 10:00 AM PDT by Mike Attebery
Audiophiles will already be familiar with the Arcam AVR600’s impressive performance, but the $5,000 price tag may have been enough to drive people away. Arcam’s new AVR500 strips a few features and knocks $1,000 off the MSRP.
Arcam assures that the build quality of the AVR is still very much the same as that of the AVR600, though a bit of its functionality has been taken out. Features often seen as extras, such as internet radio streaming and IP Control have been removed along with a network card. Compatibility with older hardware may also be diminished due to the lack of some legacy video and audio outputs.
Of course, the Arcam AVR500 wasn’t lauded for amazing networking capabilities, and it didn’t get rave reviews for its ability to stream Pandora. It was known for one thing and one thing only – audio quality.
Inside the shell of the Arcam AVR500 lies a seven channel amplifier rated to 100 Watts, able to decode all HD audio formats and including the popular Dolby Volume feature. Further details on the specs are yet to be revealed, but expectations are high.
The AvR500 is expected to sell for 2,500 pounds in the UK. No ship date for the UK or US has yet been announced.
Source: Home Cinema Choice
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