Integrated amplifiers — Arcam A15

The A15 is the middle of three integrated amplifiers in the Radia series from Arcam, the Cambridge brand that belongs to Harman. Radia was presented at a press event at the Vinyl Factory in London in October 2023, together with the A5 and A25 amplifiers, the CD5 disc player and the ST5 streamer, and shipping began at the end of that month. Launch pricing stood at USD 1,099 in the United States and CAD 1,499 in Canada. Arcam says the design draws on more than 45 years of its amplifier work, and the series uses a matte black case with yellow accent details.

Key specs that matter

The Class AB output stage is rated at 80 W per channel into 8 ohm with both channels driven across 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and 120 W into 4 ohm at 1 kHz. Harmonic distortion is 0.002% at 80% of rated power into 8 ohm at 1 kHz. Signal to noise ratio, A-weighted and referenced to 50 W, is 106 dB for the line inputs and 109 dB for both the phono and digital inputs. Frequency response on analogue and digital paths is 20 Hz to 20 kHz within 0.2 dB. Its case is 431 mm wide, 344 mm deep and 98 mm tall, with a net weight of 10 kg, or 13 kg packed.

Engineering and use context

Three pairs of RCA line inputs sit beside a moving magnet phono stage loaded at 47 kohm and 100 pF, so a turntable connects without a separate preamp. Coaxial and optical inputs accept 16 and 24 bit data at 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192 kHz. Bluetooth with aptX Adaptive carries 24 bit audio from phones and tablets, and Arcam lists support for wireless as well as wired headphones. The front headphone jack delivers 2.5 V RMS into 32 ohm and 5 V RMS into 300 ohm, with a stated load range of 16 ohm to 2 kohm. Versions exist for 100 V, 110 to 120 V and 220 to 240 V mains, maximum draw is 500 W and standby use stays under 0.5 W. The unit ships in packaging made without plastic. A later A15+ version adds HDMI eARC and Bluetooth 5.4 with Snapdragon Sound, aptX Lossless, LE Audio and Auracast.

Pairing

Arcam positions this model for larger rooms, tower speakers and higher listening levels, and its higher output into 4 ohm suits floorstanders of that impedance. Within Radia, the CD5 player covers discs and the ST5 streamer adds network playback, which the A15 does not provide on its own since it has no Wi-Fi or Ethernet streaming module.

Alternatives

The Arcam Radia A25 is the next integrated amplifier up, rated at 100 W per channel with a USD 1,499 launch price in America.