Arcam AVR850

Designed in the UK, Arcam's new line of A/V receivers is a breath of fresh air. With a big emphasis on sound quality, the AVR850 isn't a receiver with a lot of wireless features — though it does have an Ethernet connection for streaming music, and it can be controlled with an iOS® app. This receiver delivers powerful sound with realism and clarity, from high-impact surround sound to two-channel music. I recently got to spend about an hour enjoying the AVR850 when Arcam visited us for a training. It was hooked up to a high-end Revel speaker system, and let me tell you, it was pretty extraordinary (and that's coming from someone who's seen a lot of systems demoed over the years). We watched part of a concert video, got a proper Atmos demo, and saw some movie clips with action sequences and singing. Even people who weren't in the room commented about how they could hear the system through the walls. But it wasn't the loudness of it that got me; it was its ability to momentarily transport me. I walked out of t...