Arcam’s C49/P49 pre-power amplifier combination is an unsung hero of the affordable high end, says David Price
In hi-fi’s glory days back in the late seventies, it felt like there were more preamp/power amplifier combinations around than there were people to buy them. But some time around the late eighties, when everything began to downsize we saw the appearance of the ‘super integrated’ amplifier breed. Fewer people bought separate pre-power combos as a result, and now they’re scarce compared with back then.
Arcam has always been a purveyor of fine integrated amps. Yet it does have a tradition of doing pre-power designs too, stretching right back to the C200 modular preamp and SA200 power amplifier at the beginning of the eighties. Since then, they have been relatively few and far between – Arcam’s last pre-power combo was the FMJ C31 preamp and P1 monoblocks, a decade ago. Now, it has a capable and relatively affordable offering in the shape of the FMJ C49/FMJ P49. It’s a functional and purposeful dynamic duo that packs in plenty of power and features.
The C49 preamp is a cleanly styled box with a long row of buttons and a large central volume control, allied to a green alphanumeric display. Unlike many of its rivals it doesn’t come with a DAC inside – for this, there’s Arcam’s FMJ D33 (£2,000). It does have a good-quality moving-magnet phono stage, and seven line-level analogue inputs, including one via balanced XLR. It’s nice enough to use, but certainly not an exotic experience – and the slightly resonant steel casework doesn’t help because it’s a little livelier than is ideal. It also offers the choice of balanced XLR and RCA phono line outputs, and sounds better with the former when feeding the partnering P49 power amp.
Speaking of which, this £3,245 box is arguably the more interesting of the two. It’s the finest expression of the company’s foray into Class G operation, the idea being that this machine works in full Class A operation up to a certain power level after which it moves into Class AB. Running at lower power – and at normal listening levels – the amplifier is devoid of switching distortion, but when more power is called for the P49 is able to deliver it. This is done at high listening levels and only very briefly on transients, so it doesn’t degrade the sound – the idea goes. The P49 is the culmination of six years of research into this system. It puts out a claimed 200W RMS per channel into 8ohm, which is more than enough for most.
Being the company’s flagship power amp, you would expect it to be full of features, but not quite so. It’s a fairly minimalist design with nothing more than an on/off switch and the ability to switch between two pairs of loudspeakers on its fascia. Also, there’s a sculpted air vent inset into this, rather like the air intake of a custom car or motorcycle. I repeatedly try to get the amplifier hot, but can confirm that you’re more likely to suffer from early onset deafness, than the P49 saying good night Vienna due; to overheating. Indeed, both pre and power amplifiers perform unerringly reliably throughout the test period.
Sound quality
The essence of a fine amplifier is one that doesn’t get in the way of the music. While some might enjoy amps that embellish the original recording, or strip it of its edge and bite in the name of an easier listen, the only truly satisfactory answer is a transparent design that works in a consistent and predictable way across a range of music. The C49/P49 is just such a combination. I use it to drive a range of speakers, from Quad electrostatics to Yamaha’s NS-1000M and my usual reference ATC SCM40.
With all of these and others too, it remains a highly capable package. The standout aspect of its sound is its open and even nature. And unlike some Class A designs, it’s not piercingly transparent – some amps sound like there’s a massive spotlight glaring onto the recording, revealing every detail. There’s a subtle sense of this, but no more – it’s obviously less forensic than some rivals. Instead, it just gets on with the job of playing music in an honest and matter-of-fact way, with little embellishment. Whatever you choose, it remains accurate, detailed and engaging. When you push the volume down it stays this way, and when it goes in the opposite direction it doesn’t sound too forceful – just strong and steady with no strain.
Tonally it’s very neutral – perhaps a fraction on the lighter, brighter side, but still close and its tuneful and powerful bass helps. Gregory Isaacs Night Nurse features a lot of lowfrequency energy and this combo sets out to prove it. Even the sealed-box ATC has my listening room doors rattling, shifting enough air to make me think a helicopter has landed next door. Even at high volume levels, the P49 shows complete indifference to the amount of power it is being asked to pump, giving the loudspeakers (and my ears) a serious workout in the process. Dynamically it proves to be excellent, able to serve up lots of watts at a millisecond’s notice.
Fine, so this Arcam pre-power is a little powerhouse – but what really impresses is the ease with which it generates the power, and the smoothness too. Further up into the midband, it remains clean, delivering some beautifully tactile and snappy snare drum work. Gregory Isaacs’ voice is also satisfyingly rich in tone, yet possesses a superlative smoothness, and his delivery is beautifully nuanced rhythmically. The pair duly delivers an addictive combination of subtlety, poise and power – one that’s hard to beat at this price point.
All well and good, but how does it sound on less well recorded material? I find it still has the ability to pick through mediocre recordings and bring out the best in the music. The Smiths’ Wonderful Woman isn’t exactly your archetypal hi-fi demo track, yet this pre-power proves well able to slice right through the murky mix, straight to the heart of the proceedings. Again proving highly neutral, it sets up an expansive soundstage inside which all the elements are tightly defined. There is no sense of this being two dimensional either. Instead it seems to make the speakers disappear somewhere inside the vocal booth, as Morrissey’s dulcet tones project all around the room – both in front of and behind the plane of the speakers. At the same time, the Arcam duo expertly captures all the music’s special little inflections – it doesn’t sound especially spectacular in a hi-fi sense, yet proves wonderfully beguiling.
Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way is something of a ‘sink or swim’ experience for a hi-fi – it needs to have a light and deft touch to convey it convincingly. Happily the Arcam does not get in the way, instead providing an open window on the proceedings that lets every last aspect of the emotion captured on this recording to shine through. Indeed, it pulls the listener right into its soundscape. My only reservation is its subtle lack of tonal colour – it doesn’t provide much sense of there being a deep, rich hue to recordings that are on the warm side. You wouldn’t mistake it for an EL34-powered valve amplifier then, but this can work in both a bad and a good way.
Taken in isolation, I’d say the P49 power amplifier is the stronger of the pair. While the C49 gives a clean, detailed and balanced sound, it doesn’t have the ‘wow factor’ of the power amplifier. This latter product is excellent and easily able to hold its own with dramatically more expensive products. Don’t let its sensible styling fool you – here is a power amplifier of rare ability at the price. It’s hard to think of anything near that’s so neutral yet so powerful, and it can comfortably be used in systems costing substantially more. I find that the P49 works very well with high-quality passive preamplifiers and valve designs, too.
Conclusion
Snobs might disapprove. After all, what’s a hi-fi brand doing selling a pre-power amplifier combination for around £6,000, when it’s normal position in life is making products costing well under half that? While the Arcam badge might not have the audiophile cachet of more high-end designs, it is very hard to argue with the performance that’s on offer. Here’s a preamplifier that sounds quiet, smooth and detailed and has a wide range of facilities too, plus a power amplifier of great quality and serious grunt, for the price of an entry-level high-end integrated from one of the North American boutique brands. It may lack the cool badge of high-end Americana or the glitzy finish of the best Japanese kit, but it’s highly functional and capable. Wonderfully unassuming yet surprisingly effective, here’s something to put the cat among the audiophile pigeons.
FEATURES
● Inputs: 6x RCAs; 1x balanced XLR
● MM phono stage
WEIGHT 8.7kg
DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 433 x 171 x 410mm