Wondering what everyone’s thoughts are about the latest range?. Not exactly the same approach to the SA era, they’re going with streaming in a separate device only.
I feel like we’ve already now been ditched for focus on the newer models. Will be amazed if our SA30 gets further s/w improvement or fixes now they have the new platform to worry about,
Products will be available at retailers in the fourth quarter of 2023.
ARCAM Radia A5: £749 / $699 / €849
ARCAM Radia A15: £1,099 / $999 / €1,249
ARCAM Radia A25: £1,499 / $1,499 / €1,799
ARCAM Radia CD5: £699 / $699 / €799
ARCAM Radia ST5: £799 / $799 / €949
Looks like the tope of the range A25 plus the ST5 will together be about the same price as the SA30 (just a bit more allowing for inflation blah blah)
I personally love the sound and functionality of the SA30 and even though feel they they left some updates that they could have developed, but overall I am more than happy with my purchase after 18 months.
Having upgraded my speakers it sounds even better than when I bought it.
Price might be the same, but they will still be lacking SA30’s biggest selling point - Dirac Live.
That makes new Arcam products way less interesting. Actually for me not interesting at all now.
And considering how soon they ditched SA30 series (i’m 100% sure there will be no further development whatsoever) makes me regret a little bit i bought one.
Starting to think NAD M10 might’ve been a better choice.
Yes, SA30 sounds good, but for me that was just one of the points…
Edit: I must admit, i like the looks of A25 though. Much nicer for me, than SA series (for some reason i like things black and symmetric, with nice displays 
reminds me a bit of some amps i built in the past 
). Wonder if this is kind of new SA20, and there will be a new model, closer to SA30? Wouldn’t buy one after SA30 initial issues and getting abandoned as soon as it became somewhat stable, but still a tiny bit interested
I think more than likely I’ll stick with what I have for quite a long time.
With hindsight I wonder if an SA30 without the streaming capability followed up with the ST60 would not have been a better idea for Arcam, You could then have more choice with different streamer. And let’s face it that’s the tech bit that is most likely to quickly change.
If I was going for something else now I’d seriously consider a NAD C 3050 plus bluOS module, C 3050 - NAD Electronics
I get flash backs to the early 2020 when I bought a SA30 full of software issues.
For now all my use cases work, question is for how long? New Android and iOS phone updates will follow, how long will it function correctly? Who knows, I hope it will last forever (or more realistic 5+ years?) and at the same time I know this is probably not the case. At some point bugs due to dropped/ changed OS support will follow and then it doesn’t work anymore. With the current knowledge I think there will be minimal SA30 updates.
Well, you’re overly optimistic.
There will be no updates. Arcam forgot about us the minute they released 1542 firmware. Even if it still has some bugs…
Sorry, this manufacturer doesn’t exist for me anymore (if i would be buying anything). Hardware is good, but software sucks and customer care is next to non-existant.
I reckon they’ve deliberately gone downmarket but with prettier cases, to appeal to a significantly broader market. I think that in a while they’ll introduce an SA30 ‘equivalent’ - a Radia A30. This might be an integrated, or it could be an equivalent to the NAD C658 to be partnered with an Arcam power amp. Didn’t the SA30 come out some time after the '10 and '20? And this time, they’ll have a more robust software base to start from. It may be the case that their owner is using them to introduce new stuff that can be repackaged for other labels, and that this has resulted in a pressure for higher quality software development.
in any case, broadening their market is a good thing for them and current customers. I wish them well (my SA30, now 2 or 3 weeks old, turned on, updated the software on command, and seems to work well).
I would have to agree. Sadly. I enjoy both my AVR 390 and SA 30, Dirac is the bomb. Love class G. But there is more to stereo than just the original purchase. Follow up updates, customer care, not releasing gear in beta stage etc. I noticed the huge Colorado dealer that introduced me to Arcam 4 years ago no longer caries the brand at all. And they were big fans of Arcam. But my guess is they got sick and tired of expensive gear coming back with dissatisfied customers. Dirac or not, its better to sell gear that works right out of the box, not 6 months to a year later. Or more… I do love my SA 30. It’s a keeper as long as it works. But never again.
Ken
I’m sure they will. However i will not get one
I really, REALLY like the looks though
No, they will not. They are actually known for poor software. Ask owners of older AVR’s.
There were high hopes related to SA series under Harman. We know how that ended up.
Well, that was already a case with SA30 and current AVR lineup, which were repackaged as JBL (SA30=SA750), JBL Synthesis and one more brand.
No, it didn’t make the software better…
How exactly is that good for existing customers? I don’t get it…
Me… not so much. Ok, maybe it’s not that i wish them bad, but i’m not a fan currently and wouldn’t like to encurage this kind of market practises (using customers as beta testers and abandoning products as soon as they are almost completed).
Many traditional hifi manufacturers underestimate investment in software development I think, and the need to be agile and constantly moving with changes in technology, protocols, audio formats etc etc. I’m surprised more don’t take the modular approach like NAD or acquire an existing software business. I’m surprised someone like Fiio or WiiM haven’t been bought out.
Probably that’s one of the reasons, that currently there are not many traditional HiFi manufacturers 
Well, it’s poor management. Arcam doesn’t have to acquire any software business. They are part of Harman group, which actually have pretty good SW dept as far as i know.
Why can’t they just share resources? In corporate world it’s called “looking for synergies”, but seems for some this is still “new” concept…
The new models look great and I would much prefer them over the SA series based on their aesthetic.
That being said, the so far announced models lack streaming and Dirac, so they are not comparable to the SA30.
If Arcam announce a flagship Radia model with streaming functionality, it could very well be based on the same architecture as SA30 and ST60, so I don’t see why everyone takes for granted that the old series will be abandoned.
Finally, a few words of caution about NAD: I own a C390DD (now dead), the first model featuring MDC architecture, supposedly for “future-proofing”. Well, guess what: when the long awaited Dirac module finally came out, it was in a brand new MDC2 architecture, no longer compatible with the MDC slots of previous NAD amps.
So much for future proofing!
Agree.
Yes, that’s been mentioned already. I’m 100% sure they will release SA30 successor as part of Radia series sooner or later.
I don’t think it will be. Current platform proved to be problematic (at least for Arcam), so they will most probably try something new.
But even if it would be same platform, it woulf not be 100% identical, so keeping SA series up-to-date would require additional effort from Arcam, which is very unlikely.
Because it already now seems to be abandoned? Is SA30 FULLY stable? No, it still has some bugs. When was last firmware update? What does it tell you?
My experience tells me product is abandoned. I would love to be proved wrong, but i doubt it will happen…
I’ve never seen modular design as “future proofing”, as manufacturers are usually businesses, that want profit
Modular design is more about flexibility.
First itteration of MDC had only one way communication, that made DL impossible to implement. They fixed it in MDC2.
Future proofing or not, you must admit NAD is frequently providing firmware and software updates. Now compare that to Arcam…
Well, i might be overly criticizing Arcam. I might be pessimistic. But that’s only cause i HATE being treated as “profit-provider” instead of customer. And that’s what Arcam essentially does now - they don’t care about existing customers, so why customers should support that?
I will now be voting against buying Arcam if anyone asks, cause:
In the future, I hope a long time from now 
, I will probably buy Arcam again. But it will not be an all in one product from them. I will never buy any Arcam that includes software that needs to be updated. So that leaves me with the excellent Arcam Class G amps. I will buy a nice preamp, probably McIntosh , a nice streamer which has yet to be built , but it will be either cheap enough to throw away or from a company that will keep it up to date, keep my Teac phono amp, and buy an outboard Dirac module. In other words I will not put all my eggs into one basket again. But as I write this my SA 30 is playing gorgeous music. But… it was too much trouble to get to this point… the road was winding with lots of pot holes. And now the road has come to an end and technology moves on and my little SA 30 will eventually become unusable without firmware updates. And we know that is not going to happen… ugh!
Ken
As a small update. Someone was mentioning, that SA series is still on Arcam’s website.
Well, it’s probably there so they can sell stocks they have. It was the same with FMJ series - was still on the website, when they started SA series sales.
I got info from trusted source, that SA series is no longer manufactured. It’s the end of the.
Wow. Just wow, 
What’s that in terms of product life cycle 2? 3 years max? Sounds like deffo no more updates then. 
3 years in case of SA30.
I think it’s the shortest selled series in the history of Arcam.
Well, at least it works. When time will come to change it, i’ll look somewhere else. Maybe Lyngdorf? Really tempted to try one. Haven’t had too much experience with D-class, but judging by what i hear in my car from cheapo Axton 592DSP amp, i might like it. Never heard to well controlled bass, and now i know i was wrong my whole life. I mean, i always thought metal is very poorly recorded. Nope, seems there’s plenty of well sounding metal records, just not many devices that can play it correctly
Wow, just wow… If that is the case, then Arcam is headed in the wrong direction. I wonder if the JBL SA 750 is discontinued also?? If Arcam has decided to become a company that chases the latest then they will find out the Japanese have this area covered well. Arcam obviously has very talented people working with hard ware design. They need more software engineers and to focus on what got them to the dance… great sound at a great price. Chasing the latest cosmetics and ignoring their past gear is going to lead them to failure. I won’t buy Arcam again. Arcam gear will not hold value if they are constantly changing models. Ugh… I feel ass whipped on this one. I do enjoy the SA 30, but I wish I had not helped them with beta firmware. I sort of want to flip them the bird. I hope my SA 30 lasts because I have a feeling repairs outside of warranty will be next to impossible. Sad news…
That would be extremely bad News if that was to happen and I would likely never buy Arcam again.
I did manage to get some good support on a CD50 out of warranty, but it was on a very old firmware that could no longer be updated (bought it second hand)
I still love the sound of my SA30 playing Roon, Vinyl and CD/SACD or anything actually, it is a joy to listen to.
I am seriously tempted to go down the route of a separate mostly analog amplifier next time with a separate streaming DAC, I have that in other rooms now but I was trying to make it simple for the wife and she plays CDs and Roon so that is progress.
I am hoping that it will not need to be for a few years as my Arcam is only 18 months old.