Интегральные усилители — Arcam A5+

The A5+ is the entry model of the Radia+ integrated amplifier series from Arcam, a British brand within the HARMAN group. It replaces the original Radia A5 and was introduced at CEDIA Expo 2025 in Denver together with the A15+ and A25+, with a US price of USD 1,199.95 and shipping from early in the fourth quarter of 2025. The update brings a power supply with lower impedance, revised filtering and transformer design, parts that power down when idle to cut noise, and a new generation of Bluetooth that can stream without lossy compression.

Key specs that matter

A Class AB output stage delivers 50 W per channel into 8 ohm with both channels driven from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and 75 W into 4 ohm. Harmonic distortion is 0.003% at 80% of rated power into 8 ohm at 1 kHz. Line inputs measure 106 dB signal to noise (A-weighted, referenced to 50 W), the digital path 109 dB, and response is 20 Hz to 20 kHz within 0.2 dB. There are three RCA line inputs, a moving magnet phono input loaded at 47 kohm and 100 pF with RIAA accuracy of 1 dB, plus coaxial and optical inputs accepting 16 and 24 bit data at 44.1 to 192 kHz. The chassis measures 431 x 344 x 83 mm and weighs 8 kg net.

Engineering and use context

Digital conversion is handled by an ESS ES9018K2M chip, which serves the coaxial, optical and Bluetooth sources. The Bluetooth 5.4 module supports SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Lossless and LE Audio, and it works in both directions - a phone can send music to the amplifier, or the amplifier can transmit to wireless headphones or a wireless speaker. Auracast allows several compatible headphones or speakers to receive the same stream at once without pairing each one. A 3.5 mm headphone socket gives up to 2.5 V RMS into 32 ohm and 5 V into 300 ohm, accepting loads from 16 ohm to 2 kohm. Unlike the A15+ and A25+, this model has no HDMI eARC input. Maximum mains draw is 350 W and standby consumption stays below 0.5 W. The box includes a remote handset powered by two AAA cells, and the packaging is plastic free.

Pairing

The moderate power rating points to compact standmount or modest floorstanding speakers of average efficiency rather than hard loads. The built-in phono stage accepts only moving magnet cartridges, so a moving coil design needs a step-up device or external stage. A network streamer or CD transport with an S/PDIF output feeds the internal converter over the coaxial or optical socket, while handheld devices stream to it over Bluetooth.

Alternatives

The Arcam A15+ raises output to 80 W per channel into 8 ohm and 120 W into 4 ohm and adds an HDMI eARC input.