Flushed, no doubt, by the success of the original 'Solo', Arcam has now progressed to a three-band, half-width, receiver with built-in CD player - and that's usually the territory of Aiwa, Matsui and other faceless brands that no one has ever heard of.

All the same, Arcam is keen to point out that the Mini has plenty of Arcam cred, with features such as digital-to-analogue conversion and a 25-watt output (that's real hi-fi watts, not PMP0, or some such fancy concoction).

Combined DAB and CD player

There's certainly plenty of logic in combining a DAB tuner and CD player in the same unit, since they both need digital-to-analogue conversion. And, once you've done that, you might as well add a USB input, so that files on USB portable audio devices can also be played.

The power supply - which is a linear type based on a toroidal transformer - is common to all the stages. However, even with all the space saving efficiency that comes with surface-mount components, it was clearly a bit of a squeeze to get everything in the case.

The inclusion of a slot-loading CD mechanism could easily be seen as another compromise but, just because most slot-loading players are a bit ho-hum, we shouldn't be in a hurry to condemn this one.

The DAB module is the usual minute, self-contained affair and the FM/AM one likewise. Source switching and volume control are electronic and the final squeeze is in the power amplifier section.

It might have been just about possible to fit in a discrete output stage, but Arcam has opted for a power integrated circuit secured to a heatsink that, while on the small side, is more than adequate for any music duty we tried.

Simple operation

In case radio, CD and USB don't rock your boat, Arcam has thoughtfully provided four line inputs on the usual phono sockets at the rear, plus an extra one on the front in the form of a stereo mini-jack.

There's a fixed-level output, quaintly labelled 'tape', and a preamp output so that remote amps can be driven (the same output allowing the Mini to be upgraded by the addition of an external power amp). If you hanker after more, or more refined power, then also nestling at the rear are control connections for multi-room automation.