Customer Ratings & Reviews

Best amp at this price. You cant find a better deal.

The amplifier shipped without remote control. Contacted the product support department and got bounced around in different oversea call centers. But the issue was not resolved.

This amp is very thin sounding, lacking body. A Van Alstine SET 120 sounds way better

When the new Arcam Radia Series came out I was very interested in them and still am. Not being all that familiar with Arcam, I went down the rabbit-hole and found this older series at a significant discount. The Arcam SA20 receives great reviews and now that I own it, I concur it is great. This is my first integrated amplifier without tone controls; thought I would miss them but do not. Currently using this amp with my old Advents from the 70's and love the sound, even at low volume (CD player, Bluetooth device, Tuner). Very nice, love it. The pros are abundant (the sound, the lighted remote control, the DAC, several RCA jacks plus phono). If I had to come up with a con or two and it might not be your con, it is hard to read the letters on the silver buttons depending on your room lighting. I am otherwise happy with the look of the amplifier. It does not have Bluetooth which would be nice but for those of us who love this stuff, it gives us another reason to keep shopping for audio components of all kinds!

I bought this at best buy la cantera in march of 2024 I can’t say enough about the combination of the Arcam SA20 and the KEF R3 speakers. The synergy between these two components is nothing short of breathtaking. Arcam SA20: The SA20 is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to delivering pure, uncolored sound. Its Class G amplification ensures that every detail in the music is captured with stunning clarity, and the dynamic range is simply superb. Whether it’s delicate acoustic pieces or more complex, layered tracks, the SA20 handles everything with grace and precision. The musicality of this amplifier is remarkable, offering a warm yet detailed presentation that makes every listening session a true pleasure. KEF R3: The KEF R3s are equally impressive, providing a level of detail and clarity that brings music to life. The Uni-Q driver array ensures that the soundstage is expansive and immersive, with instruments and vocals placed with pinpoint accuracy. These speakers are capable of delivering both power and nuance, making them incredibly versatile for all genres of music. Paired with the SA20, they produce a sound that is both rich and engaging, with deep bass, crisp highs, and a midrange that’s just right. Conclusion: Together, the Arcam SA20 and KEF R3s create a musical experience that is truly amazing. The combination offers a perfect balance of warmth, detail, and power, making it ideal for anyone who is passionate about high-quality audio. Whether you’re listening to your favorite vinyl records or streaming high-res audio, this pairing will not disappoint.

First off, I’m no audiophile, but I enjoy music and have a decent collection. My current receiver is a Onkyo TX-NR676 with 5.1 surround. I know that’s not the best way to listen to music, but it works great for watching home theater. I run a pair of Sonance Magnolia 8” 2-way in-ceiling speakers with the system, so being the best pair of speakers, I have, I connected the Arcam SA20 to them. Out of the box, this thing is heavy. I removed the remote, batteries and cord and then had to tilt the box over to remove the amp from the box. Make sure you have a place sturdy enough to hold this beast. The gold-plated speaker lugs are nice and big. I don’t have spade lugs and it was great that you can unscrew the connectors and insert a speaker wire into them and tighten it back down. I have a ton of Monster speaker cable that I purchased on clearance years ago for a few cents per foot, so that came in very handy for this install. Being I know that a 2-channel receiver was going to sound better for music, I was ready for a better listening experience, but man, The SA20 ruined me for low-end equipment. Running the receiver through the Sonance speakers, the sound was amazing. I read a few reviews that said this receiver was great at low volumes, but not at high volumes. I didn’t find that to be the case. I think if you have speakers that are rated around the 80-90 watts, you’ll get clear sound at any volume. The Sonance pair are rated at 150 watts, so a pretty good match. I also tested them with an old cheap pair of KLH bookshelf speakers and I was still blown away. I played a number of 20-year-old CDs that are stored in my old Sony 200 disc carousel, everything from the Metallica Black album to John Anderson’s Straight Tequila Night. Toss in Hal Ketchum’s Past the Point of Rescue, Garth Brooks Live CD set and a bunch of Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band and I think I gave the receiver a good break-in for CD’s. I tried it both analogue via an RCA cable as well as with an optical cable. There may have been a few notes I could hear via digital, but that’s probably my imagination. The CDs played very well, and I heard words and notes I never did in the last 20 years of playing them. In fact, via the optical cable, I could swear I heard a clicking noise that wasn’t present with the RCA’s. I’ve chosen to play CDs with the RCA’s unless I find out a reason not to. Then I fired up my old Technic’s turntable. It’s got a new stylus, but no matter what adapter I used or with the Onkyo that they put a phono setting in, I get a hiss like it needs a better ground. I can hear it as soon as I fire up the turntable…but not on the Arcam SA20. With both speakers, I heard nothing until the needle hit the vinyl. I played a number of albums that are 40+ years old. There was Three Dog Night – Joy to the World, Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive, Seal’s & Crofts – Greatest Hits, Chicago IX, Robin Trower – Bridge of Sighs, Neil Diamond – Hot August Nights, and Cat Stevens – Mathew and Son. The music never sounded better, the only issues were with the vinyl themselves. The vocals were clear as could be and the pops and hisses sounded warm like they did decades ago. If there’s anything missing, it’s the low-end bass. I think I’ve gotten so used to having a subwoofer in my car and home that without the drywall and stucco vibrating, it’s not turned up high enough, lol. That said, the music was clear, no distortion at any volume, it still has bass (just not earth-shattering) and actually reminds me of how I listened to music back when. Back when my huge living room speakers (1 in every corner) had a large passive woofer in the bottom and the music just sounded good. All that said, I do find some issues with the unit. First off, the manual is a bit light and finding information on the website or 3rd party is tough. I’m not sure why this unit needs to be connected to the net. I find no Android apps or usable ways to stream audio from my PC or Mac to the receiver. Most listeners today keep a lot of their collections on hard drives in FLAC. Alac or MP3 and being able to stream it would be great. No, purchasing the additional server isn’t something I wish to do, I just like a simple way to connect Plex or a server to the unit. I was able to connect my PS3 to the optical port, but together Plex struggled to update the menu while a song was playing, making for a difficult listening session. I will say however that I played a DTS song via the PS3 through the SA20 and it sounded as wonderful as if I had been playing it on a physical medium. I imagine I’ll find a way to stream audio to it eventually. I also find it odd that no apps offer a way to use streaming services. I read I could easily add a Chromecast Audio dongle, but then I see that they have been discontinued and are getting very pricey on auction sites. If there is another way to use streaming services that isn’t too expensive, I’d love to know. That brings me to no HDMI. If there was an HDMI input, I could just connect a Roku or Firestick to the unit and most if not, all audio streaming services would be available. Like I did on the PS3, I set the audio to optical instead of HDMI and I can see the Plex menu on my tv, but the audio outputs to the SA20 via the optical cable. All in all, my issues with the unit are the lack of information available about how to use some of the features. I’d like to see different options on wiring the Digital in ports and what connecting the net port has to offer. To conclude, this receiver is going to be a wonderful 2 speaker audio player. It sounds amazing and allows me to play old sources of music that I own. So far everything I’ve thrown at it sounds better and has additional vocals or sounds I’ve never heard before. I’ll continue to use my Onkyo for surround sound home theater, but not for music. Now Arcam just needs to shrink this thing down and make it fit and run on 12 volt for my car!

Don’t like this product. It’s super analogue. Does not connect seamlessly with my Tv. Definitely returning it.

I purchased this amp looking to upgrade my current set-up. My previous amp was an Emotiva TA-100. The Emo was a great reliable amp but after 3 yrs and upgrading my speakers to Elac Debut Reference DBR62, I felt like they needed better amplification. This Arcam does the job. More power and better overall sound. This amp really brought those speakers so life! Better soundstage and imaging and presents a 3D like presentation. Awesome! On a side note, I borrow some Kef Meta LS50's from a local Hifi store and those did not impress me on this amp. Your mileage my vary.

I have been using home theater systems for more than 10 years now with A/V receiver and high-quality floor standing speakers with surround speakers. I have never used amplifiers on my home theater setup until now. I got Arcam - HDA 500W 2.0-Ch. Integrated Amplifier (model SA20) to see if there is any difference in sound quality. It came with Arcam HDA 500W 2.0-Ch. Integrated Amplifier, Remote with batteries, Mains lead and Owner's manual. Build quality is very solid and it is not heavy compared to my receiver. I have installed the batteries on the remote and connected my definitive front floor standing speakers to the Arcam HDA20. I have connected my apple phone using RCA cable to test the sound quality from Spotify. I was amazed by the sound quality delivered from Arcam. The songs were crystal clear and able to hear all the details on the song which I never heard before from A/V receiver mode. I was able to listen to the songs very clearly in low volume as high volume. The remote quality is good and the most portion of the remote buttons for Arcam CD player and the bottom portion is for the Arcam amplifier. The device can be powered on / off by remote. There are limited options in the remote to mute the sound from remote, the volume can be increased/decreased and changing the ports. Since I am using a 7.1.2 speaker system with my pioneer receiver connected with various devices like Apple TV, Xbox One and ARC enabled Samsung TV, I have configured my front speakers connected to Arcam and connected Arcam pre-out to my receiver front pre-out using RCA cable. I am disappointed that there is no sound coming from speakers after connecting with the receiver using pre-out mode. The manual did not provide any detail information about connecting with receivers. I have been trying to get sound from the front speakers with receiver and Arcam combo and there is no luck. If I play from the phone directly connected to Arcam, it is playing without any issues. If I am playing from Apple TV via the receiver, there is no sound coming from front speakers with pre-out front speakers connection. If I change the port in Arcam remote, the sound is coming for a few seconds from the speakers and stopped immediately. It should be straightforward setup with pre-out mode from the receiver and somehow it is not working. I could not use my front speakers with the receiver and the Arcam amplifier. I am sure that there might be some issues with firmware or got a faulty unit. With limited documentation in the manual, it is very difficult to figure out the issues with the pre-out setting. Since front speakers are not giving any sound with the receiver and amplifier setup, I was not able to enjoy my 7.1.2 sound setup and connected my front speakers back to the receiver for now. I have spent more than 10 hours to try all possible combination to get sound from front speakers. I tried to call Arcam support and they are available only from Monday to Friday 9 to 5 EST. I will call again on Monday to explain the issue to their support to get a resolution. Even though the sound quality is outstanding while connected directly from Arcam with 2.0 channels, there are 7 channel amplifiers available in the market for this price range.