The Arcam SA30 and AVR30 have recently received numerous awards from the audio press
The Arcam SA30 and AVR30 have recently received numerous awards from the audio press. Here’s a look at a few of them.
As well as being Arcam’s most intelligent ever two-channel amplifier with potent Class G amplification, Dirac Live room correction technology and digital music streaming in one sleek box, the SA30 is a magnet for major awards. Hi-Fi News & Record Review, in its July 2020 issue, awarded the SA30 Outstanding Product status, saying, “at high volumes the SA30 remains utterly in control and free of distortion.” At the AVTech Awards, sister publications Home Cinema Choice, Hi-Fi Choice, and Hi-Fi News & Record Review come together to name their best of the year, and the SA30 received the Best Amplifier of the Year 2020/21 award. Hi-Fi+ agreed, selecting the SA30 as its 2020 Integrated Amplifier of the Year up to £10,000 and describing it as “a thrillingly direct and communicative device.”
The Arcam SA30 delivers “smooth, open and detailed presentation” as well as “exhaustive connectivity” said What Hi-Fi? in its impassioned five-star review, while Gramophone magazine, in its 2020 review of the year, noted the SA30 as “a worthy successor to Arcam’s huge Class G designs of recent years.”
AVForums singled out the SA30 as Best All-in-One Hi-Fi £1,000 and Over in its Best Hi-Fi Products 2020-2021 Editor’s Choice Awards, adding “this is an outstanding piece of kit, combining a great amplifier stage with superb decoding, extensive connectivity and the added benefit of Dirac Live to help it dial into any space you put it in.” The SA30’s incredible run continued when it was awarded the EISA Award for Best Buy Amplifier 2020-2021, with EISA (European Image and Sound Association) recognising the G Class-powered and streaming-equipped SA30 as one of Arcam’s “most significant ever integrated stereo amplifiers.”
And when it comes to awards, the Arcam AVR30 is equally magnetic as its two-channel sibling. AVForums recognised this flagship receiver in its Best Home AV Products 2020 – Editor’s Choice Awards, giving the AVR30 the Best AV Receiver £4,000 – £10,000 title (see graphic above) and noting that “this cracking AV receiver delivers insane levels of immersion that would give systems three times the price a run for their money.”
Pursuit Perfect System joined in, selecting the AVR30 as a Stand Out Product in its Best of 2020 awards. StereoNET was equally enamoured with the AVR30 as its peers, christening it Best AV Receiver in its Product of the Year Awards 2020, while stating that the “G Class bruiser” is “super flexible, neatly styled and great sounding.” Home Cinema Choice awarded the AVR30 Best Buy status – “the AVR30 takes the AV receiver concept to the next level” was the verdict of that review, with the Arcam going on to secure an overall maximum 5/5 review score, which is very much the story of its life to date!