Arcam

Market position

A long-established brand in British hi-fi with recognition in the UK, Europe and North America for high-performance audio components, but a small operation with approximately 35 employees at the time of the 2017 Harman acquisition. It competes with other specialist audio brands including Linn, NAD, Naim, Meridian, Audiolab, Rega Research, Marantz and Cambridge Audio, and now sits alongside Harman's other audio brands such as AKG, JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, Infinity and Revel.

Arcam positions its products around music-first performance in both stereo and home cinema applications, and points to a record of technical firsts in the British hi-fi market, including the first domestic add-on audio DAC, the first British-built Dolby S cassette deck and the first domestic DAB tuner, along with early adoption of HDMI. It uses Class G amplification in high-end products such as the FMJ A49 amplifier and Solo Music system, employing two power supplies so that a secondary supply engages when more power is required, which the company says avoids the crossover distortion typical of Class A/B designs.

Technology

Arcam's engineering covers integrated amplifiers, AV receivers and processors, digital-to-analogue conversion, disc playback and wireless streaming. Notable implementations include Class G amplification using dual power supplies in high-end products, 4K-capable AV receivers (AVR750, AVR450, AVR380), Dolby Atmos-capable home cinema amplification (AVR850 with P429 power amplifier), Bluetooth streaming via the rBlink using Bluecore technology from CSR plc, and early adoption of HDMI outputs on DVD players.

Go-to-market

Sales run through specialist dealers, supported by dealer training programmes; management has described setting up 30 'centres of cinematic excellence' across the UK. Demonstration facilities at the Cambridge headquarters, comprising a stereo listening room and a Dolby Atmos home cinema room, are used to showcase products to UK and international dealers, alongside a travelling Dolby Atmos demonstration rig.

Consumers seeking high-performance stereo and home cinema audio, reached through specialist hi-fi dealers and custom installation channels.

Geography

Headquartered at Cambridge Innovation Park, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, England, where sales, design and engineering are based. Products are sold in the UK, Europe and North America, and production is carried out in China and North America. The company exhibits at trade shows including ISE in Amsterdam and the Bristol Show.

History

A&R Cambridge was established in 1976 by University of Cambridge science and engineering students John Dawson and Chris Evans, and launched the A60 integrated amplifier the same year. Product families followed across the 1980s and 1990s (Alpha and Delta separates), then FMJ, DiVA (1999-2005), Solo and the rSeries. The company claims several firsts, including the first domestic add-on audio DAC (Black Box), the first British-built Dolby S cassette deck (Delta 100, 1992) and the first domestic DAB tuner (Alpha 10), and was an early adopter of HDMI outputs on DVD players and of home cinema surround products. Manufacturing at the former Waterbeach factory ceased and the company moved to a shared headquarters building in the Cambridge area. In November 2012 Arcam became a wholly owned subsidiary of JAM Industries of Montreal, and in July 2017 it was acquired by Harman International Industries, itself a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics following Samsung's $8 billion purchase of Harman.