Arcam Radia A5 Integrated Amplifier

Arcam Radia A5 integrated amplifier effectively replaces the SA10 but has been reworked and redesigned making it a game changer at this price level. Beautifully designed and build to last, the stylish cabinet is made of anodised aluminium with solid aluminium knobs. Featuring 50 watts per-channel, its well suited to driving stand mount and compact floorstanding speakers.

Bluetooth 5.2 AptX

This amplifier can be enjoyed straight out of the box with Bluetooth 5.2 AptX connectivity, supporting 24-bit HD streaming audio from your smartphone or tablet. It can also connect to Bluetooth headphones for listening after dark.

Phono Stage and DAC

If you don’t have a separate phono stage, Arcam have put careful focus into the on-board MM phono stage to ensure excellent sound from your turntable.

The onboard DAC uses the quality ESS ES9018 chipset and alongside three three analogue inputs, Arcam have included three digital connectors for enjoying your digital music sources as well.

High end design

Arcam has a long pedigree in amplifier design and the A5 is the culmination of many years experience. The Radia A5 is a Class AB design which ensures the best possible quality at low levels while allowing more power to be available at high volumes.

Class A is often used with a single output device, however, it is very inefficient and needs a large power supply. On the other hand, class B is more efficient but can suffer from cross-over distortion, especially at low output levels. Class AB was developed as a result and works in class A at low levels but gradually switches to class B as the volume rises.

Good connectivity

The Arcam Radia A5 integrated amplifier has good connectivity with two coaxial and one optical digital input, so you can connect a range of music sources. There are also three RCA line-level inputs as well as a good quality onboard MM phono stage. Additionally there is a preamp output to use it with a separate power amplifier. A wired Ethernet connection is provided and there is also a USB connector and trigger input. Speaker outputs are by standard gold-plated binding posts.

About Phono Stages

There are two types of magnetic phono cartridges in use today. Moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC). Both need different levels of amplification and work in a different way. The Arcam Radia A5 integrated amplifier has a MM input stage which can handle MM cartridges with an output of around 5mV and an impedance of 47K.

MM cartridges have a tiny magnet on the end of the cantilever while MC types have a tiny coil instead. Compared to MM cartridges, MC models have a much lower output. This is often less than 1mV. They also have a wider range of input impedance characteristics.

MC models are generally more expensive than MM designs and used to be the aspirational choice, however there are now some excellent MM cartridges on the market and many good hi-fi turntables now include an MM cartridge pre-fitted, so the choice to include an MM phono stage makes sense and allows you to enjoy your turntable straight away, with the option to upgrade to a separate phono stage if you wish in future and connect this via one of the three standard line level inputs.