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 ARCAM
FMJ DV27
 £1,600 (approx)
01223 203203
www.arcam.co.uk
Arcam de triomphe
ARCAM'S SECOND DVD PLAYER, THE DV27,
PROMISES AUDIOPHILE CD REPLAY AND STATE-OF-THE-ART PICTURE PERFORMANCE. JIM
HILL IS IMPRESSED
We were bowled over by Arcam's debut DVD
player, so it was with some excitement that we unboxed the company's new
high-end creation. The DV27 is an even more impressively specified model,
designed to compliment its luxurious FMJ range, and incorporating a progressive
scan output option that can potentially process the PAL video signals used in
Europe, as well as NTSC for the first time.
With a design-brief that demanded CD
playback to rival that of a dedicated CD player and video performance that
meets the very highest standards, Arcam's engineers have been working flat out.
They were able to borrow technology from the company's own high-end CD players
(although most of the inner circuitry is new) and build on the successful video
circuitry of the acclaimed DV88.
In keeping with the other FMJ components,
the DV27 sports a smart anodised silver fascia (also available in black), with
rubberised feet and a heavy chassis. The rest of the casing is made of an
expensive laminated metal developed originally for the Lexus motorcar and
adopted by Arcam for its vibration-damping properties. Tap the lid of this
player and you will notice that there is almost no resonance at all. Arcam's
designers know all about the negative affects of microphony on sound quality
brought about by bad vibrations.
A glance around the back reveals the DV271s
secret weapon; its progressive scan output - in the shape of three component
video outputs. Read the Practical Tip box to find out exactly what progressive
scan means, but suffice it to say that this is the highest-quality video output
that will supply non-interlaced video directly to an appropriate display. By
appropriate, we mean one that has component video inputs. A second set of
component outputs offers a non-progressive alternative for R2 playback, which,
because of DVD forum rules, cannot be fed progressively. Alongside, is an RGB
Scart, composite and S-video outs and two pairs of analogue stereo outs. There
is no onboard decoder, but optical and coaxial digital outs instead, for
streaming Dolby Digital and DTS data. You'll also notice a number of phono
outputs that, for now, remain blocked off. More about these later.
Inside, the DV27 is packed with neat
circuitry, laid out in modular boards, ready for future upgrades. Two separate
toroidal transformers supply regulated DC current to the multibit audio DACs
and the video processing circuitry in order to keep the two functions discrete.
The audio and video clocks work independently too, as in the DV88. It is the
progressive scan decoder board that Arcam is most proud of though; it claims it
to be the most sophisticated on the market. Incorporating Silicon Image's
Sil503 motion-adaptive de-interlacer chipset, with DVDO Pure Progressive
technology, it is capable of outputting artefact-free motion interpolation that
gets closer than ever to actual film, if you have a high-end projector or
plasma display able to accept its images.
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TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Video jitter: 3ns
Signal-to-noise ratio:
-71.3dB
Chroma AM/PM:
-70.5dB/-61.3dB
Chroma crosstalk: -67.4dB
Frequency response at 5.8MHz:
-0.82dB (composite)/0.05dB (S-video)
AUDIO
Digital deviation: 350.9ps
Impressive results across the board,
but exceptionally good frequency response figures. As expected, the audio
measurement was another high point |
At this price, it's disappointing not to see
DVD-Audio compatibility, but Arcam has at least prepared for it. The
blocked-off holes in the rear panel mentioned earlier are ready to accommodate
four additional phono outputs that will connect internally to four more DACs
and a DVD-A plug-in board that Arcam is currently working on. The existing
DACs, from Wolfsen electronics, are already 24bit/192kHz capable. This upgrade,
likely to cost around £350, should be available towards the end of the
year.
We are still not sure about Arcam's choice
of remote control - it is an appealing design, but you need a magnifying glass
to read the legends printed on its tiny buttons. At least the onscreen menu is
quite straightforward, with just three pages of setup options.
As you might expect from the UK's leading
hi-fi manufacturer, the DV27 makes a fine CD player. The high construction
values, expensive componentry and the discrete design of the audio circuits
ensure a remarkably low level of jitter and a very musical sound. Music is
portrayed with a refreshingly open and dynamic immediacy when fed via the
analogue stereo outputs. The bass seems a bit light in comparison with other
dedicated CD players, but it is satisfyingly agile and dynamic.
This player will also read HDCD discs and
MP3 files, either pre-recorded or stored on CD-R/RW. It also has no truck with
VCDs or our collection of 'difficult' DVDs, which includes the R2 Gladiator
extras disc. We did notice however, that our sample would only play clean discs
- any greasy fingerprints or scratches caused serious problems. Being a
European model, the region code is set to R2, although doubtless some bright
spark on the Net will publish a hack to fix this.
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HCC Practical Tip
This Arcam player
employs a progressive scan board able to output both European PAL prog scan and
NTSC (525 line). But due to copy protection issues, it has yet to be licensed
for use with PAL material. For now it works only with North America's NTSC
system (525 lines), until Arcam can persuade the powers that be to change the
rules. Go Arcam! |
It may only be the company's second DVD
player, but the picture quality is on a par with the best we have ever seen.
Using the RGB output, the solidity and accuracy of the image make compelling
viewing. Colours are bright and contained and there is very little background
picture noise. Tricky material, like the dark, moody scenes in Se7en are
crisply resolved, while the constant movement from the persistent rain is
unusually artefact free.
Switching to the progressive scan output and
connecting the components to a reference NEC plasma display is even more
rewarding. The effect on moving images is like focussing a lens, as all the
feathery edges and slightly staggered straight lines that we take for granted
in fast action scenes disappear. The sharper edge definition brings other
benefits too; finer detail resolution, more vivid colours and a greater sense
of depth.
Sure, £1,600 does seem like rather a
lot to ask for a non-DVD-Audio compatible player, but we think that in terms of
both audio and video quality, the price in this case, is justified. Its
heartening to see British engineering at its best here, making this a fine
alternative to the current king of the DVD jungle, the Toshiba SD900E.
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FEATURES
Playback: DVD; CD; VCD;
CD-R; CD-RW; MP3; HDCD
Connections: Composite
out; S-video out; RGB Scart out; component video out; progressive video out
(component); 2x analogue stereo out; optical and coaxial digital out
Sound formats supported:
Dolby Digital; DTS output; MPEG
Trickplay: 4-speed
picture scan; repeat/random/program play
Other features:
Progressive scan output; 3-stage zoom
Dimensions: 430(w) x
90(h) x 280(d)mm
Weight: 6.2kg |
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Jim Hill, Home Cinema Choice, July 2001
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