Arcam P777 or Theta Intrepid

It was a joke ofcourse, don't take it personal. Every amp has his own personal sound and the way the stage is build. What I did for some years wenn I worked in a shop. These days I only do consulting and presentations for some brands. I gave a demo with different amps to let people hear the difference between a 2-dimensional and a 3-dimensional sound. The most positive thing about it was that all people prefer depth and a 3-dimensional sound far over a 2-dimensional sound. So What is a 2-dimensional sound. Wenn there is no depth or maximun of 1 metre. Instruments and voices of a recording are almost on the same line. Wenn you use this recording and use stuff what can make a deep and wide stage you easilly can hear that the instuments are a lot different in depth. There is a better separation of all the parts of tehe recording. Wenn you also get a more sharp focussed image and instruments and voices will have the right proportion as in real music will become more intimate. At shows you often hear a wide and deep stage but with instruments and voices played too big in proportion. You need to solve this problem as well. Wenn you do many tests as I do you can easilly hear and understand all the differences in amps, sources, cables etc. Wenn you use the different properties/talents of all the tools in your system you can get a more what I call complete sound. How good a speaker can give a deep and wide stage has to do with the quality of the filters and the box were the spakers are put in. Crossover filter quality will a big influence how good the stage will be. For example I used the more expensive B&W spakers for over 8 years. The 800 Signature was the last one. B&W is an example pof a brand who is not the best in making crossover filters. My stage was not that deep. I wanted to go to a higher level in sound realism. So I sold the B&W and wanted a speaker who can give a wide and deep stage. With this you enojoy your music a lot more. Now you hear all the parts of the recording in your room. There are no speakers anymore. It is playing live infront of you.

I apologize for my bad writing. I have to admit that I do not read back what I write. I am a little lazy in this. You are right about this. It is as it is!

Even Arcam is a 2-dimensional brand, it is one of my favorite brands in there price range. I sold it a lot and I had a lot of fun with it. I love the sound and I met the people of Arcam. Very nice and dadicated people.

I just wanted to let people know that I was able to borrow a P38 from a local dealer in a test of Arcam amplification. If this is their best 2-channel amp, then I assume the quality of sound from the P777, although a different amp, I know, will be similar.

Honestly, I am really disappointed. I don't have many, if any, good things to say about it so far. The upper and lower ends of the spectrum are missing. It thus sounds midrange heavy and congested/compressed at that. Imaging is more vague and not as big. It does sound fairly flat. Control definitely took a step down, and vocals sound less real... The one positive is that it sounds a little less edgy than the Bryston, but that is, of course, because those frequencies are probably missing.

I have let it play for two days and will continue to break it in. Not impressed, though. We are talking about a comparison versus a Bryston 2B-LP. That amp's design is at least a decade old--before ST even. It's rated at 60W (tested at 75W on their sheet), cost @1000 new, and walked all over this P38 at 1600 new and 105W, with updated technology. I really don't think amplification is Arcam's game, at all, which is what led me to the Bryston amp years ago with the Arcam preamp and CD. Now, I wonder about their quality, though... I tested the highest end Adcom (GFA-something?) at the time and even a BP25 preamp and just found it too dry. I thought the Arcam/Bryston combo was nice.

I can borrow an Anthem amp from another dealer, which I might do, but I think I will end up with the Theta. I have heard nothing but good things about it, and the Ayre stuff (very similar design) sounds really good.

Arcam has a quite warm overwhole sound. This means the focus is more to the mid's. Bryston has a total different sound. It depends about your taste and speakers you use? Maybe it is not the best match. There is one important thing you should think about. I did a lot of testing in roomcorrection in the last 2 years. With Audessey Pro I reached a level which I never would be possible in sound. In stereo I also reached a level what is better than when I had the Pass Labs XP-20. ( I owned for 2 years) These days I use a subwoofer because I have a full stealth integration. I never liked subwoofers for stereo use. Because of Audessey pro I got the sound where I dreamed of. The focus and 3d image is stunning. I play about 4 metres behind the speakers. And about 1 metre beside the speakers. With the Pass Labs XP-20 my stage was less deep and wide. Wenn you use Audessey Dynamics and volume correctly the articulation of voices well be so much more open and easy to follow.