Arcam A5+

Arcam puts a positive spin on its Award-winning A5 stereo amplifier

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It was tricky to know what to expect from Arcam's new spin on its Radia range. We have heartily recommended much of the outstanding Radia series of stereo products since it launched in 2023, but when we discovered that the lineup would be refreshed with subtle tweaks and no new numbers - just the addition of a plus sign to mark out the new models - we had concerns that the differences wouldn't extend far beyond the cosmetic.

Our review of the step-up Arcam A15+ amplifier quelled some of those doubts; while the company didn't go for a wholesale reinvention of an Award-winning recipe, the new model earned plaudits for taking a great integrated amp and elevating it to greater heights.

Once again, with this revised, entry-level A5+ integrated, this is evolution rather than full-scale reinvention. The original A5 is already a class leader in its price range, but if it can eke out the same gains as its bigger brother, we're interested. Interested particularly to see how much more performance Arcam can squeeze out of an already excellent performer.

The Arcam A5+ remains a smart looking and well made piece of kit in a striking black finish accented by subtle yellow highlights around the dials, vents and side panels. We find the A5+ to be a nice amplifier to use and simple to navigate. The aluminium case is sturdy, while the overall quality of construction makes it feel durable and solid.

We'd like the two main control knobs - one for selecting the input and the other for tweaking volume - to offer a little more resistance and feel a touch more solid, but that says more about how high we set the standards for Arcam than anything else.

We criticised the outgoing A5's frosted front display for lacking a little crispness, and despite Arcam claiming to have rectified this issue on the latest model with a smoother faceplate, we'd still like a touch more sharpness when viewing the input sources and volume levels.