Arcam AVR390 / AVR550 / AVR850 including Dirac Live®

Status
Not open for further replies.
Some of the specifics are still being ironed out at the moment regarding Dirac, amp channels etc, but there is slightly more information available on the attached pdf.

Thats kinda funny actually. A month before release and they still don't know what they're doing exactly with Dirac and amp assign?

Cant wait to find out though!
 
Thats kinda funny actually. A month before release and they still don't know what they're doing exactly with Dirac and amp assign?

Cant wait to find out though!



I find that worrying to be honest
 
If they have Dirac for all the channels then I think that is quite a coup. The only other way to get Dirac on all speakers in an Atmos set up is either a very expensive Datasat processor or by joining two miniDSP DDRC88A units together (not a straight forward job either). Of course until it's confirmed exactly what it does do then we will have to wait it out.

Also I noticed the line about Dirac and 'your dealer being able to set it up' (paraphrasing there), but I would hope that with the aid of an UMIK1 owners would be able to DIY.
 
Thats kinda funny actually. A month before release and they still don't know what they're doing exactly with Dirac and amp assign?

Cant wait to find out though!
I find that worrying to be honest
Ironed out in-house, rather than electronics necessarily. Some of the team are in the USA at cedia at the moment. There could be differences between the models beside amplifiers etc. Time will tell.
 
Ricky unless I'm reading it wrong there's no mention of it potentially supporting DTS X..?
 
Ricky unless I'm reading it wrong there's no mention of it potentially supporting DTS X..?
It seems to have been omitted from flier, but has been confirmed on other documentation including press release, internal pricelists, and via reps etc.
 
Ahhh that's good to know...!
Thought for a minute it was going to Atmos only receiver...!
 
If Arcam allows Dirac on all channels then that would be a great result and a real winner for Arcam. I could use the 7.1 pre outs to my Arcam P7 for the main channels and let the internal amps do the two Atmos channels....!!! It seems that the power of Dirac is spreading.....as the new AVR's from Audio Control are also to include Dirac Live. :thumbsup:
 
Also I noticed the line about Dirac and 'your dealer being able to set it up' (paraphrasing there), but I would hope that with the aid of an UMIK1 owners would be able to DIY.
Good spot let's hope it's not only available for dealers to set it up. For most on here who change their setups on a regular basis that would be a pain.
Looking at the pictures although there is a USB port there is nothing marked as setup microphone.
 
Ironed out in-house, rather than electronics necessarily. Some of the team are in the USA at cedia at the moment. There could be differences between the models beside amplifiers etc. Time will tell.

I hope they don't shaft the 550 with some kind of Dirac lite. No way I'm getting the 850 just for that.
 
I hope they don't shaft the 550 with some kind of Dirac lite. No way I'm getting the 850 just for that.

It's not quite shafting though. The only competing EQ is ARC and that's equivalent to Dirac Lite (judging by the version on the Emotiva processor).

It should still be the best EQ available integrated into a processor this side of £10,000.

Having said that I'm very much hoping it's not crippled either.
 
The flyer seems to imply that a dealer must set the dirac up. So does that mean they'll be no internet sales and hence prices will be firm at the rrp?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
The flyer seems to imply that a dealer must set the dirac up. So does that mean they'll be no internet sales and hence prices will be firm at the rrp?

Thanks
Anthem ARC was also meant to be a dealer install only but most dealers where happy to sell on the basis that any subsequent support would be chargeable

If you're computer competent then installing DIRAC is straightforward (I used the PC version on trial a year ago or so)
 
I hope they don't shaft the 550 with some kind of Dirac lite. No way I'm getting the 850 just for that.

That looks like what it will be I’m told, more advanced version of DIRAC the 850. I’m still trying to get it all confirmed but they are playing their cards close for the next two weeks apparently.
 
Anthem ARC was also meant to be a dealer install only but most dealers where happy to sell on the basis that any subsequent support would be chargeable

If you're computer competent then installing DIRAC is straightforward (I used the PC version on trial a year ago or so)

It's just badly worded, there will be a mic in the box for the Arcam.
 
That looks like what it will be I’m told, more advanced version of DIRAC the 850. I’m still trying to get it all confirmed but they are playing their cards close for the next two weeks apparently.

And before people think it is the same lite as Emotiva's version, it may not necessarily be so, as the software is customised for Arcam's needs. It may actually be that the lite is enough for some, but like Dan said we don't have all the info yet.

Problem is Arcam need enough differential for the 850 to be enough of an upgrade over 550 for people to consider the 850, and amps alone may not be enough.

Would you have preferred the AVR550 maxed out at 7 channels processing etc?
 
Indeed, a proposed "lite" version may well be better than everything else on the market. We will know when it's all confirmed and ive wrapped my ears around one.
 
And before people think it is the same lite as Emotiva's version, it may not necessarily be so, as the software is customised for Arcam's needs. It may actually be that the lite is enough for some, but like Dan said we don't have all the info yet.

Problem is Arcam need enough differential for the 850 to be enough of an upgrade over 550 for people to consider the 850, and amps alone may not be enough.

Would you have preferred the AVR550 maxed out at 7 channels processing etc?

Emotiva's version of lite is actually quite robust. Also worth noting the full version of Dirac is only £60 more: Hardly enough to justify the price delta between the Arcams.
 
It seems that the power of Dirac is spreading.....as the new AVR's from Audio Control are also to include Dirac Live. :thumbsup:
I'm not sure if you were already hinting at this ... but AudioControl share much of their AV platform with Arcam.

Probably not of much interest to the good folks here, but Arcam are also producing a 2 channel version of the AVR850 - same HDMI inputs, etc. but reduced to 2 channels.
 
With this amp been 7.1 will it 5.1.2 for atmos ?
 
And before people think it is the same lite as Emotiva's version, it may not necessarily be so, as the software is customised for Arcam's needs. It may actually be that the lite is enough for some, but like Dan said we don't have all the info yet.

Problem is Arcam need enough differential for the 850 to be enough of an upgrade over 550 for people to consider the 850, and amps alone may not be enough.

Would you have preferred the AVR550 maxed out at 7 channels processing etc?

Well, now that you said that... I don't think it would be ideal, but a 7 channel max (not including subs) on the 550 would be tolerable - for me at least, provided the version of Dirac is the same, etc. I honestly am not overly keen on more than 7 main channels plus sub, not because it doesn't do anything but because I don't really want more speakers. Maybe it would be viable to charge a bit extra (£50? £100?) for going from something like "Dirac Lite" to the full version on the 550 instead?

The trouble is that whatever they choose to do to differentiate between the two (besides the power amp section), there are going to be unhappy people, it's just how it goes with these things. As far as I'm concerned as long as they don't excessively cripple the number of channels and the Dirac capabilities, I think I'd be happy; I'm one of those who will most likely use a power amp for the main channels anyway.
 
With this amp been 7.1 will it 5.1.2 for atmos ?
From the details released already ... the Arcam AVR550 and 850 will have 7 internal amplifiers which can be configured for 7.1 or 5.1.2. You will also be able to add 4 channels of external amplification for 7.1.4.

Whats not yet clear is if you can use external amplification for the front 3 channels and then use internal amplification for the surrounds, etc.
 
Emotiva's version of lite is actually quite robust. Also worth noting the full version of Dirac is only £60 more: Hardly enough to justify the price delta between the Arcams.
I am not saying the lite version on the Emotiva is bad. It is far from that as it has the core components which actually make Dirac the power it is. Just that Arcam's version of lite could be different.

£60 for the Emotiva upgrade (getting nearer £70 though with current exchange rates:() Arcams license agreements could be totally different though, we just don't know.
 
Frustrating as it is, we'll just have to wait and see. What does and doesn't justify the upsell for the 850 might make a very big difference to some of us. It would be ideal if it was just the difference in power amp stages (since I already own a very good Arcam power amp anyway), but I suspect that they might have to make other distinctions. It hadn't really occurred to me until now as I'd assumed it was just the power amp difference. :blush:

I know that for me the '550 would need to have the ability to use an external amp for the LCR (my P7, which ought to be better than the 550's own amps), so if this flexibility isn't possible then it would be out for me on those grounds alone. For the Dirac 'lite' bit I would really need to see what the limitations are because the autotarget in my '88A is OK, but I found that further tweaking (especially in the ULF region) was required to get the best out my subs.

There would be little point keeping my '88A as well to use with the Arcam, otherwise I may as well revert to the original plan of one of the Marantz AVRs (which will allow the LCR to be powered externally, saving the internal ones for Atmos duties), plus the '88A used for ear level speakers only. If I really wanted to focus more on stereo, then perhaps a suitable stereo amp with AV bypass might be the better option, with a more budget AVR instead.

It all depends on what the outcome is from Arcam...
 
Isn't it a dead cert that you can use a power amp for LCR? The flyer shows a pic of the rear panel and there are preouts for all channels.

Or am I missing something?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom