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ARCAM AVR300 - beware

Heads up..DO NOT BUY any ARCAM products!

AVR 300 which have had a number of problems, including overheating leading to capacitor replacement, diode replacement and eventually motherboard replacement that occurred shortly after the warranty expired on 2011. I was able to resolve this problem by having the unit repaired for $400 at the time, however at the time I was never offered the partial buyback or upgrade option that Arcam rep, Mike Marko, admitted there were design/build problems with those series of receivers. Currently this same unit is having yet another issue. When I turn the unit on it powers off almost immediately after the "SAT" clicks on to hear my DVR. I called a local repair center and they said it's a known issue with the MB and a fix is in the $450-500 range. Unfortunately, the problem remains unresolved. I even contacted the new rep Tom Mcgee who was completely unhelpful. He never return any calls or responds.
jswell666
pdn
431 posts
 
Wow I feel your pain and frustration. Sounds like you've exhausted most options. What about your local audio dealer. Have they been any help or perhaps another dealer who wants your business? There's a similar thread at avsforum you may want to look at about the Arcam AVR 300 back in 2011.
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
1,033 posts
 
Regrettably the vast majority of HT electronics are Chi-fi disposables with an estimated reliability life mirroring the warranty period. ARCAM also moved it's top AVR production out of China back to the UK a few years back.

I also had a top CAMBRIDGE AVR that required warranty repairs to fix certain Chi Fi manufacturing Build quality issues. I eventually migrated to UK high-end separates .

This is an old model with known motherboard issues identified a decade ago without prejudice to the fact that it also well past it's sunset period

Your time to replace or upgrade the AVR is here.
rbtstock's avatar
rbtstock
8 posts
 
Thanks for the heads up Jswell666, I was just about to drop some serious money on a new unit, needles to say I wont be going with Arcam, its people like you that bring value to this site!
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
1,033 posts
 
(1) At it's worst, ARCAM is no worse than all the others in a crowded
strata of AVRs.

(2) At it's best, it's audio and video performance compared to the
alternate choices, are among the very best out there.
(3) WRT build quality and resulting reliability expectation: At the '300' price
point it was and still is "a pick 'em" choice in a built to the
cheapest cost in ChiFi arena that triggers a buzzilion choices from all
manufacturers.

Regrettably, that is why I eventually abandoned the AV receiver and
migrated up to three "hi- end" UK designed AND built power amps (non
Arcam), the ARCAM BluRay and a "hi-end" US AV preamplifier/processor
separates in a 7.2 HT system, (for the best-of-breed build quality and
reliability and not just for the performance uptick. )

The old discontinued models (like the 300) have been upgraded by
several replacement versions since these old models passed their sunset
milestones wrt to reliability.

There is an invariable time honored fact in this hobby, and especially so in
the HT market = build quality matters, and you get what you pay for.

The high(er) end ARCAM AVRs are class leaders (Google the reviews )
There are numerous posts in Audiogon about how ARCAM fell into the
Crappy Chi-Fi Build trap for a while before moving it's flagship AV
receivers back to the UK

The gremlins that initially infected and haunted the 300 and other sunset
products do not warrant automatically ARCAM as problematic. there are
equally many many posts of similar breakdown in all of the other receivers
More to discover