ARCAM HDA SA10 Integrated stereo amplifier 50W

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.

• Extremely efficient class A/B amplification
• 50W of power per channel
• 5 analogue inputs including phono
• 3 digital inputs
• 32-bit DAC,Sabre ESS9016K2M
• Full I/P control
• Total harmonic distortion + noise = 0.003%

In any amplifier, the signal path is at the mercy of anything that creates noise within the unit. Thus, we spare no expense in using only the most high-quality components, even if it means the cost of our power supplies overtaking that of everything else.

A singer’s sharp intake of breath before hitting the chorus, a guitarist’s fingers sliding against the strings – it’s those seemingly minor details that can bring music to life. Fish out one of your all-time favourite albums and play it through a Bluetooth speaker, and guess what? Its sounds like a Bluetooth speaker. Play it through the SA10, and it’s as close to hearing the artist’s performance as you’re likely to get. There’s always joy in digging out an old recording you haven’t heard in years. With the HDA range, it’ll feel like hearing it forthe first time.

High rigidity metal frame
Shielded high current power supply
• 500VA toroidal transformer
• 80.000uF capacitor bank
• Rubber insulated aluminium feet
• WBT connector on unbalanced input
• Neutrik connector on balanced input
• Fully discrete analogue design
• Onsemi MJL1302/3281 power transistor
• Low overall feedback
• High stability on capacitive loads
• White Gold cable on output connection
• 100W/8Ohm power unit and double the
power on 4 Ohm until 390W on 2Ohm; a
big power reserve that allows to drive any loudspeakers even in a big room.

Τi 60 tube
Integrated tube amp.Four line inputs.
2X12AU7, 4x EL34, 1x12AX7
35 Wrms per chan.4-8 ohm.
Class AB push-pull
Remote control included.

First Impressions

If youʼre impressed by elegantly restrained industrial design, the MM7025 is guaranteed to make a lasting – and very positive – impression. The subtly curved aluminum/glass resin front panel adds a sophisticated touch that complements any décor.  The central porthole display reflects iconic Marantz designs of the past while it brings you an "at a glace” view of the amplifierʼs operating status.

The PM6006 is an upgraded successor of the multi-award-winning PM6005. We've retained the pre-amp and power-amp sections that exclusively feature discrete components - not a single IC in sight of the signal path. The PM6006 is upgraded for peak current at the amplifier stage, which makes it possible to refine the sound for you in much more detail.

Toroidal Transformer

We mount the premium toroidal transformer centrally, to reduce flux or magnetic disturbance from the volume pot.

The output power transistors used by the CXA60 are not your usual common or garden offerings. They come with an integrated Dynamic Thermal Tracking System. So what does this mean? Normally a Power Output transistor utilises a thermo-coupler attached directly to the heat sink of the amp; this informs the system so that it can re-bias when key temperatures are reached. However, using Integrated Dynamic Thermal tracking provides a far more accurate reading of the real temperature of a transistor, and relays it faster too because itʼs not a delayed heating effect. This enables us to bias the amplifier more accurately and in almost real time. Which means your CXA60 is always running at optimum performance.

If you want to use a subwoofer as part of your speaker complement, the CXA60 doesnʼt penalise you for it. Because we want to ensure thereʼs no unnecessary high frequency noise affecting the subwoofer, weʼve put the output filter at 3kHz. This is high enough to prevent any phase shift associated with the low pass filter affecting what happens below 200Hz. The result is a phase linear subwoofer output signal which is clean and musical.

Thereʼs some revolutionary signal management happening beneath the lid of the CXA60. For the first time, our engineers decided to go fully balanced rather than single-ended all the way through. As a consequence, any noise that that might be picked up in the audio signal while routing through the amplifier is cancelled before itʼs output.

The CX range represents a step change in the way our engineers have approached signal path design, and the result is one of our most musical and entertaining amplifiers yet. Previously, we went to almost surgical lengths to minimise distortion in order to get the best results. This invariably meant 46 components sat in the signal path. For the CX Series, we wanted to dramatically reduce that component count. The CXA60 now has only 24 components in the signal path. The big difference is that there are now 500 support components as well.

Their job is to guarantee those 24 key components are absolutely optimal all the time, regardless of mains fluctuations and other influences. This has made a big difference when it comes to tuning. Previously, tweaking one of the 46 components only made a small difference and it was sometimes difficult to quantify exactly what difference any change made. With the CX series, those 24 components have now actually become quite critical. Changing just one affects the character of the amplifier. We can hear very clearly what each of those components is doing.

This revision has fundamentally changed the character of the amplifier. Listening to a CX series amplifier is fun, engaging and exciting.

If you want to use your CXA60 with a Bluetooth source, we offer an optional BT100 audio receiver. To ensure that this does not interfere with other components in the amplifier, itʼs isolated internally on the digital input board. From the ground up, this is an audiophile Bluetooth device. All the coding for the BT100 is done in-house. We even include an extension cable which enables you get the best Bluetooth range.

Sometimes thereʼs a good reason to keep things uncomplicated. The CXA60 features a high-quality damped metal chassis, designed to ensure that nothing rattles or interferes with the electronics. Weʼve also kept volume control simple. The CXA60 uses a logarithmic ALPS pot. And when it comes to switching inputs, the CXA60 uses relay switching with silver plated contacts. This classic approach is still the best way to move signals around, rather than with transistors or electronic switches.

• Power output:60W RMS into 8 Ohms, 90W RMS into 4 Ohms
• DAC:Wolfson WM8740
• Frequency Response: