Arcam ST5

A solid and easy-going performer, but is it enough to compete?

Arcam’s new Radia range of hi-fi separates has already gained acclaim, with the A5 and A15 amplifiers and CD5 CD player all receiving five-star reviews and 2023 What Hi-Fi? Award wins. Now we have the brand’s new music streamer – the Arcam ST5.

Priced at £799, the ST5 is up against the Cambridge Audio CXN (V2), our favourite network audio player at this price for six years running, and the new DMP-A6 from Chinese-brand Eversolo.

The ST5 is a slimmer, more anonymous design than the amps and CD player in the same range, though it shares their all-black design, and it’s a sturdy build. There are no buttons on the front, with just a simple one-line text display behind frosted glass. This means the text, while large and easy to read from a distance, is a tad fuzzy compared with the crisp sharpness of the full-colour displays on the Cambridge CXN (V2) and Eversolo DMP-A6.

While the ST5 doesn’t directly replace the soon to be outgoing, five-star ST60 (£649), it is an evolved model. The ST5 has a more efficient single microprocessor (compared with the ST60’s two, which had to drive an OLED display) and has upgraded components in a bid to improve sound quality, alongside an improved power supply with higher voltage rails.