Arcam P777 or Theta Intrepid

Arcam is a 2-dimensional brand. I sold it for about 8 years. I know the talents/properties well. Theta has some depth in the way they let you hear the stage.

I had almost every Arcam in the shop ( current models). And I had almost every Primare as well. Wenn I used Monitor Audio Platinum speakers the difference in depth and wide was very big. Primare had a much wider and deeper stage. Arcam is better in sound than Cambridge, Nad and Marantz. But in stage they are almost the same. Quite flat. Maximum of 1 metre depth. With Primare you have 4 metres of depth. Wenn you go to highend audio like Pass labs the stage become even deeper and wider. Difference between Pass Labs and Arcam is huge in stage depth, wide and sound realism. Theta I tested had more depth than Arcam. But Pass Labs was superior in every aspect compared to Theta.

I sold many brands in my life. Every single tool ( cable, amp, pre-amp, source, conditioner etc)I test. I want to know what talents/properties it has. Use speakers which can give a wide and deep stage. Use a poweramp, pre-map which also can give a wide and deep stage. You can easilly hear how good a source or amp can give a 3d stage. I also used tubes for this. Wenn I changed a source by an Arcam dvd player or cd player most of the depth was gone. Also with a Arcam amp and source togheter you get the same kind of stage.

Arcam is in the mid segment the most warm sounding brand. There are many speakers which sound better cause of the warm sound. Many people prefer the warm sound over the more natural or clean sounding amps. I do not see this as a disadvantage. With Arcam you never can go wrong. A few yeard ago I visit the factory in England. There work about 60 people. Very kind and down to earth people.

It is as it is. Arcam is compared to Primare and Pass a 2-dimensional brand. But who cares if in there price range others are 2 dimensional as well. Difference between 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional is very easy to compare. All brands have there own talents/properties. Wenn you test them and compare them you will easily understand the difference. Depth for a speaker will occure wenn a brand is able to make very good cross over filter for there speakers. But for amps, pre-amps, sources you need the quality to make a stage behind the speakers. Even cables can make a big difference in how wide and deep a stage is. But wenn 1 tool is not good at depth, you will loose most of it. Instruments and voices are very small and direct in real. Because there are still many brands in cables who will make an instrument or voice to big in proportion. You will loose intimate focus. This menas the music is more away from you. This means less emotion. It is very esasy to let people hear the difference between 2-dimensional and 3-dimensinal sound. Just by using the talents/properties of brands. Nothin more, nothing less.

" One amp is not more talented or dimensional than the other" ........are you deaf.....or even stuppid. Wenn you do not even know the different properties of these brands you do not understand music and audio. Arcam has a much less deep and less wide stage compared to Pass labs. Wenn you don't know this, I would look for another hobby if I were you!!

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.

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.