Arcam A5

Arcam is back in the affordable stereo amplifier market with abang

Amplification is at the very core of what Arcam has always done. The company’s first product, the hugely successful A60 integrated amplifier introduced in 1976, laid the foundations for the brand to grow into the diverse company it is today.

It is also fair to say that in recent decades the company’s focus seemed to be concentrated on the home cinema side of things where it has become known for producing some of the most musical premium AV amplifiers on the market.

Make no mistake, there have been some fine stereo products in that time – the Award-winning A19 integrated amplifier, the compact rPhono and numerous generations of rDAC come to mind – but Arcam’s once dominant presence in the affordable stereo component market had definitely waned, leaving the likes of Cambridge Audio, Marantz and Rega to take bigger pieces of the pie. Things may be about to change with the introduction of the brand-new Radia range of products. This consists of three stereo amplifiers – the A5 on test here, A15 (£1099) and range-topping Class G A25 (£1499) – the CD5 player (£699) and the ST5 music streamer (£799).

Fresh and modern looking