Arcam AVR-400

I have had this unit for 6 months and I would recommend to others.

I think for the most part people buying this amp will want to listen to music as well as watch movies, and I think its far to say that if you dont like music then buy something else as you will get more for your money.

If you use 5.1 this leaves 2 channels free to Bi am the front speakers which makes a huge difference and is well worth doing. Costs a few quid for the cables and takes a few seconds to set up but doing this will transform the way you listen to music forever.

I have mine set up on a network so I can stream music from my NAS which works very well and is almost plug and play. The sound quality is great from streamed music. Files created from CD's are ok but you can now get hi res music from people like Linn Records and HD tracks where you can download files with 3 times the resolution of a CD, its with these hi res files that the magic happens. However in the interest of balance I must at this point say I have made this argument to my Girlfriend who cant seem to tell the difference and claims only the dogs hearing is good enough, but then again she did not want me to get the system in the first place.

I have not really used the radio but it works , was easy to set up, and the sound is ok considering the low quality of the source material.

The What Hifi review says it lacks oomph which is some ways is true. If you don't have any neighbors to annoy and you like really really loud music / movies the Arcam might not do it for you. I dont have any neighbors and find the Arcam is easily powerful enough to exceed what I would call a comfortable listening experience.

So in summary if you love music but want AV then you dont really have many other choices without spending a lot more cash.