ARCAM Radia A25

INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

- HERB REICHERT

I've been to a few bowling parties and passed a bottle around a few fire pits, but I've never watched an audiophile unboxing video. Lately though, I have been paying closer attention to my first impressions of each new audio product as it enters my realm.

I'm finding it interesting to notice how a device previously unseen and unheard declares itself one small step at a time as I open its box, feel its heft, observe its form, study its manual, and, finally, wire it into my system. Those start-up experiences, plus my gut feelings during my first moments of music listening, establish a tone of innocent discovery I wish would last the whole month. It never does.

I mention this because my first impressions for my firstever review of an ARCAM product, the Radia A25 integrated amplifier, were in that "innocent and receptive" mode from the instant I saw the box sitting outside my door. The 26.5lb box looked Jimmy Stewart-trim and reasonably sized (8" 23" x 17"), and it was easy to lift. My first impression was that ARCAM had their box and packing game together.

The first tell was the brown paper tape, which, with three quick box-cutter cuts, revealed an inner "tuck top" box with a giant letter "A" printed on its cover, formed from thin black lines suggesting piano keys. This tuck-topped box opened to reveal a brown, cast-paper eggcrate-type spacer with a small brown cardboard box nested in its center. That small box contained a sharp-looking (plastic) remote and an IEC power cord. The A25's nine-language quick-start guide was in a brown paper envelope affixed with brown tape to the inside of the top cover. The A25 itself was sheathed in a white paper-cloth bag.

This was my first-ever encounter with smartly engineered, artfully executed, 100% biodegradable packaging, and it felt like a sincere handshake.

ARCAM