Arcam A15

No excuses are required. The A15 is a stonking product

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Ask us to name our favourite stereo integrated amplifiers of recent years and you won’t find us mentioning any Arcams. Over much of the past decade, we have failed to be convinced by the company’s designs, despite them being invariably well-made and generously specified. We have generally found their sound overly safe, which is fine if you want an undemanding and comfortable listen, but not ideal if, like us, you want to be taken on an emotional joyride (with the appropriate music, of course).

So it was with more than a bit of trepidation that we approached the company’s new Radia series of products. This consists of three stereo amplifiers: the A15 on test here, the entry-level A5 (£749) and range-topping Class G A25 (£1499), the CD5 player (£699) and the ST5 music streamer (£799).

We have tested the A5 with great results and wondered whether the step-up A15 could really offer any more. In the event, we needn’t have worried, as this middle-rung amplifier does more than offer a bit more power. Let’s put numbers on that. The entry-level A5 outputs a claimed 50 watts per channel into 8 ohms while the A15 takes that to 80 watts into the same load. Elsewhere, both amplifiers are identically specified, as far as features are concerned.

Arcam has been generous with the spec sheet and has tried to cover all bases. We doubt that this amplifier will ever get caught short in most set-ups given it has three line-level inputs, a pair of coaxial digital and a single optical. The popular ESS ES9018 DAC chip is at the heart of the internal DAC module. It would have been nice to have a USB option, but the lack of it isn’t a deal breaker for us. There is a preamp output for those who want to upgrade by adding an outboard power amplifier and a 3.5mm headphone output on the front panel.