Arcam SA20

Excelent power!!!

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Worth it over the SA10

I had originally bought the SA10 and loved it, but once the honeymoon phase ended, its limitations became clear. The SA10 was great cranked, but at lower-medium volumes(60-70db) it was a tad flat with little dynamics. In busier songs, the sound would get uncontrolled. The SA20 has a more refined sound. It is warm, but vocals are more defined, instrument separation is better, and bass has more detail. The biggest improvement was at lower volumes. The Class A really shines!! You get the richness of the speaker without needing to crank it. I think with a more efficient and bright speaker the Focal Chora the SA10 would have shined. The added power and clarity of the SA20 really made my Revel Concerta2 M16s sing. My wife typically doesn't care about high quality sound, but I played her favorite Pentatonix song, and she was completely captivated. She listened to if for another 30 minutes and went, "Wow, that is much clearer than the old amp". Now she's joined me on my past few listening sessions. Nice to see her enjoying my hobby too.

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Arcam SA20

This amplifier is an incredible pairing with my Wharfedale Lintons. All features are easy to use and the Outlet unit I purchased looked brand new. The service from Crutchfield was impeccable, as always.

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Flawless Victory!!!

Awesome amp! I'm using it to power a pair of Kef Ls50 Metas and it sounds incredible. Before this amp I was powering my Kefs with a Nad 316BEE v2. The speakers sounded clear but missing that much needed low end and mid bass. This Arcam sa20 amp is a much better match for the Kefs! I also picked this up at a nice discount from scratch and dent with basically no noticeable scratches or dents just a beat up box. Thanks again Crutchfield!!!!

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Arcam SA20

Great amplifier runs cool sounds terrific.

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Arcam SA20

Extremely smooth and a lot of low Power. This integrated amp has a very high-quality feel.

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Needed a modern Amp

Love this amp. Having a Sansui 990db and a Primaluna prologue one this amp hits everything that those amps miss.

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Great sound

Compared the Rotel A12, Arcam SA10, and the Arcam SA20. The Rotel seemed outdated in comparison. The screen wouldn't dim enough/shut off, the remote was from an 80's VCR and was not back-lit. The sound seemed more sterile overall. The SA10 and SA20 were harder to compare as it was subtle. The higher wattage didn't make much difference in volume but the SA20 seemed to have a bit better instrumental separation and be better at lower volumes. This may be due to the slightly better DAC and class A low-end power. That said, both have great neutral to slightly warmer sound. Arcam's strike a good balance between detail and musicality. String instruments still have the sharpness without being harsh. I assume the higher wattage is a better match for the 6ohm Elac Carina's. I could see the AMT tweeter being a bit much with a brighter sounding amp. Overall, it's a tough choice between the two Acram units. My OCD is having me keep the pricier of the two. I don't need a lot of volume in my bedroom/stereo setup with SVS Micro 3000. I want clarity, with the ability to crank it from time to time. Volume around 30 is normal , with 50 being too loud for most streaming music sources. My TV has a low signal and requires it to be around 85 for movies. It's the TV's fault in that case. Still good volume.

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Arcam SA20

This amp is a game changer with the Morrow MAP3 power cord. This is the first time my system has that wow factor. This is an audiophile amp for sure with a huge soundstage at any volume sounds great.

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Arcam SA20

Replaces a failing Arcam A65+, similar 'house sound' , but much more detailed with wider & deeper soundstage. Midrange is lush and vocals stand out, a worthy upgrade in sound quality. Digital inputs are good, but can be bettered with a good external DAC.

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Arcam SA20

I got this arcam on sale about 2 months ago. It is amazing. I have monitor audio silver 50 and a klipsh 10 inch sub hooked up to it. It is all I can ask for. The volume stays at 49 and is plenty loud enough. As of yet I haven't played with the features, just use the aux and play using tidal via my android. Arcam is my first amp so I can't compare. At the price I can't see how you can go wrong.it shipped fast and no damage from the outlet store. The only problem I had was it cut power at first. I use bare wire to the speakers. When I tightened down on the binding post the problem never happened again.

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charlotte

The ARCAM SA20 very clean sound amp musical ( ENOUGH SAID ) sorry for a short review ( OUTSTANDING )

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Sonido suave no agresivo

Dios los bendiga ,Este integrado suena agradable ,neutral ,nada agresivo ,sus 90w por canal son suficientes para trabajar cualquier parlante lo estoy usando para mover un par de vienna beethoven baby grant ,obtuve mejor sonido que mi antiguo amplificador de potencia MaCormack 225.El dac muy bueno mejor que mi oppo 103 .

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Great Buy

Wonderfully musical. Rich , full, clean sound, a bit on the side of warm. Cables make a big difference in connecting to other components. Great listening at all volume levels. Lives in Standby mode, you will have to use the remote to wake it up. May take a couple pushes of the On button. Can't beat it for the price.

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Big difference!

The A20 is truly eye opening. I upgraded from a NAD 316BEE & did not expect a huge difference. Au contrar! Instead of having to crank the volume to hear "all" the music & individual instruments, the A20 allows a more mellow volume level with a clarity and crispness to enjoy & process every nook & cranny of the studio or live performance. A very happy audiophile here!

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Arcam SA20 truly wonderful amplifier.

Truly wonderful amplifier. Mated with Arcam CDS50, using coax cable (reviews on YouTube suggested this was far superior to using RCA cables). Musicians are in the room!! Clarity and purity without being fatiguing. Piano sounds like a piano, without artifacts. My wife, not "into" such things, was immediately impressed and mentioned how pleasing and realistic the sound was. The joy of listening music has increased a multiple of times. True with all forms or types of music. Don't know the reasons, but we'll take it. Use it also for TV sound. Noticeable difference for that use too, which was unexpected.

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Arcam SA20

This is a solid amp with a really good DAC implementation. Phono preamp is fairly good, but the amplifier section was not to my liking. I thusly returned the unit.

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Arcam SA20

My new Arcam is everything that I was expecting! I am well pleased with the description that Crutchfield gave this Amp. It is "spot on" as the British would say. Well done Crutchfield! Is it any wonder that you have earned your place as a reputable company to do business with. Keep up the good work.

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Class A goodness

A lot of good Amplifiers out there today. Some; and few can set themselves apart. Well! this one does. The delivery of almost pure unimaginable Mids from this amp will leave you wondering what else have I've been messing. Grab your favorite CD's or Licorice Pizza and behold a sound you only thought possible from Live music or Amps costing 4-6 thousand dollars. On low volume you can tell the difference in the Class A amp mode, it does change as the sound increased but that shift is smooth and precise. I have had this for a couple weeks now and used several sets of Speakers. NOTE... The Kef's Q150 sound like thousand dollars floor standing speakers. The sound stage and presents is almost irritating when considering its easy to spend a couple grand on alternatives. I have played this amp on a pare of Monitor Audio silver 8's and wow did they come to life. I compared this to a Denon AVR 3500. No comparison, the Denon failed is every aspect. The low bass is on point never a hint of over exaggeration, you do not see the bass in front of you, its all around deep and rich. As noted the Mids. Life like presents and so real. Dave Mathews sound 10 feet away. Tom Petty's rich guitar rhythms come out of the center stage. I would recommend this. My main speakers I got with are KEF R3's. Such a great Match.

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Arcam SA20

This is the integrated amplifier I have been looking for. The sound quality is full and detailed, on the warmer side of neutral and not at all fatiguing. Some might describe the SA20's top end as sweet sounding, which is quite desirable. It offers plenty of power and doesn't sound strained at higher volumes. Build quality is excellent and it feels heavy for its size. Overall, this is a fantastic amplifier from a great British brand!

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Arcam SA20

I brought out some heritage speakers handed down to make a home office makeshift system. Sound was not great until I bought this amp/DAC combo and wow new life brought to the speakers. I thought maybe they had been damaged in moving or this thrown together system with no special interconnects, power cord etc, had too many weak links in the chain, but no, this made bass tight and vocals holographic. Love what this did to the sound. Super happy

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Arcam SA20

An outstanding Integrated. I bought it to use with Vienna Bach speakers but I like it so much that I am using it in my main system driving Vienna Beethoven Baby Grands. I like Parasound but a second one was too expensive. That's 90 watts replacing 140 watts. The main reason I chose the Arcam is the use of ESS Sabre chips in the DAC. I favor that DAC approach because the Parasound Integrated uses them as well as my 15-20 year old Oppo DVD player. A good DAC eliminates the often heard complaint of a very strident high end. For me a fabric tweeter is crucial as well as a good CD transport . I listen to a lot of Mahler and Wagner as well as brass music andBritish brass band. I also wanted to try the hybrid Class G amplifier. The results are outstanding. I can now listen to the many DGG recordingsI have that are always on the bright side -with this current system without listen fatigue. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a very good Integrated Amplifier and the 90 watts is absolutely as much power as needed.

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Quality AMP!

Very happy with the purchase. Great warm sound, solidly built. Pairs very well with my Focal Aria speakers.

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