Arcam SA20 + CDS50

Arcam SA20 + CDS50

The design of the HDA range draws upon all of Arcam’s experience as one of the UK’s most respected audio companies, to produce Arcam’s best performing range of audio products yet – using the best quality components and engineering practices, the HDA range is designed and built to give you years of listening enjoyment.

SA20
There are two frequent problems with hi-fi amplifiers. Class A, the traditional audiophile’s choice, uses a single power supply constantly running at full capacity, even when there’s no signal coming through. Great for reproducing those subtle details at low levels however struggles to provide extreme power when needed.

Class A/B, the most common amp class, switches between the two internal amplifiers, one for each half of the waveform. Far more efficient but often a recipe for crossover distortion, since those low-level details Arcam crave can get lost within any mis-match between the two switching over.

Class G is essentially a hybrid amplifier, utilising Class A specifically for low-level signals, but when required switching in an additional power supply to power those larger sections of the waveform.

• Class G amplification for impeccable sound and efficiency
• 80W of power per channel
• 5 analogue inputs including phono
• 3 digital inputs
• 32-bit DAC,Sabre ESS9038K2M
• Full I/P control
• Total harmonic distortion + noise = 0.003%

CDS50
In a sense, digital audio doesn’t exist. You’d have to be a particularly dull superhero to possess ears that can decode the millions of 1’s and 0’s that make up your CD collection or iTunes library. Whatever the source – be it a laptop, CD player, smartphone, USB stick – the result is just a vibration in your speakers. In other words, it all winds up analogue in the end.

Arguably, when playing from a digital format, the most vital component is the DAC, or Digital to Analogue Converter. We’ll spare you the bulk of the science, but this is what translates that otherwise lifeless binary code into audible sound energy. Bit-depth, meanwhile, is a key measure of audio quality.

So, if you’re listening to a 24-bit WAV copy of your favourite album through a DAC that only converts to 16-bit, there’s a good chunk of detail going to waste right there. That’s why Arcam included 32-bit DACs on the entire HDA range – the most commonly used bit-depth in digital recording – so you’re guaranteed the full aural picture of whatever the artist intended.

• Plays all disc formats, including SACD, CD-A, CD-R and CD-RW
• Supports audio file formats including FLAC, WAV, AIFF, OGG, MP3, AAC and WMA
• USB input
• Superb 32-bit DAC built in
• Streaming through the music life app
• Total harmonic distortion + noise = 0.002%