How many home cinema fans with mid-priced AV receivers ever bother to upgrade with a multi-channel power amp? According to Arcam's Geoff Meads, very few indeed - which goes some way to explain what looks like an AVR-350 'lite' arriving on our test bench.
This is Arcam's DiVA AVR-280 - shaved of features (such as pre-amp outputs) but a substantial £300 lighter on the wallet and promising all the sonic magic of its acclaimed bigger brother. As Mr Meads had to enlist a team of wild horses to part me from the AVR-350 review sample, the AVR-280 looks dangerously priced. Dangerous for my credit card.
Okay, so there are no pre-amp outputs save for the subwoofer but, as much as I searched for functional and operational differences, that really is about it.
The AVR-350 is already a minimalist design, eschewing RoomEQ, auto-set up and video scaling. The AVR-280's HDMI connections are still pure pass-through switches - albeit with auto source detection - and the user interface is mono block text circa 1995 vintage AV amp. Hey-ho.
If you want to use a DiVA receiver at the heart of a multiroom install, however, it is bristling with custom install features, including RS-232, 12V triggers, IR pass through, RC-5 codes and Scart control in RGB mode.
Beneath the hood the differences are just as subtle. The sexy Crystal Semiconductors DSPs, Wolfson DACs and Burr Brown op amps are all present and correct, and the circuit design and base-mounted cooling system is equally sumptuous.
There have been subtle changes to Arcam's Mask of Silence and the layout of the Stealth Mat material, but the largest change is a notably smaller transformer and different power supply arrangement. This translates into fewer watts at the business end of the speaker terminals. Power is rated at 80W to seven channels. You can still use the two rear-back channels to bi-amp the front main pair if desired.
The AVR-280 comes with Arcam's latest RC100 remote control, which is smaller and easier to navigate than the one originally supplied with the AVR-350, and has a far greater library of IR codes, including the likes of Sky HD.
It's so good, in fact, that the CR100 now ships with the AVR-350 as well. On paper, the AVR-280 is some 20 per cent cheaper than the AVR-350 for the loss of only about 5 per cent of the features and benefits. Interesting indeed....
