ARCAM marks fifty years with two components: the A50 Signature integrated amplifier and the CD25 compact disc player. They made their debut at HIGH END Vienna 2026, and both reach shops in the third quarter through authorised ARCAM dealers. The amplifier costs $2,999.95, and the player costs $1,799.95 exactly.
What is new in the player. According to ARCAM, the CD25 is their first design since the FMJ D33 DAC to use separate mono conversion channels, and the first to carry an ESS Hyperstream 4 DAC.
- The CD25 power supply is linear and built on a toroidal transformer.
- The internal structure of the player is damped against vibration for accurate disc reading.
- The CD25 carries balanced XLR and ordinary RCA outputs and connects directly to the flagship A50 Signature, and also to the junior Radia amplifiers SA45, SA35 and A25+, which have no separate mono architecture.
- The front panel is glass, the display is OLED and the chassis is metal, as in the rest of the Radia range.
- It plays CD, CD-R and CD-RW.
What is new in the amplifier. According to the maker, the A50 Signature is the first ARCAM integrated amplifier with a fully separate mono Class G architecture: each channel has its own board, its own output stage, its own power regulation and its own transformer winding, while the power supply itself sits centrally in the chassis. The amplifier delivers 2 × 150 W into speakers at a load of 8 ohms. Digital conversion inside the amplifier is handled by an ESS ES9039Q2M DAC in a fully differential configuration. Control connections include RS232, a trigger input and output, and a service USB port.
The history of the company and John Dawson’s part in it. The company started in 1976 as A&R Cambridge, the name was shortened to ARCAM in the eighties, and the letter “A” has always stood for amplification. The A50 Signature was made together with co-founder John Dawson, and his signature sits on the rear cowl and on the boards. ARCAM stresses that this is not a nostalgia release: the task was not to repeat old designs but to check whether the present approach still answers the way people listen today.
Missing specifications. ARCAM stated neither the frequency range, nor the distortion figure, nor dimensions and weight — for the A50 Signature or the CD25. The amplifier power is given, but what power it delivers into speakers of 4 ohms cannot be told from the statement. Until those figures exist I cannot say which speakers it makes sense with.
A50 Signature, the amplifier.
- Class G with a fully separate mono architecture.
- Power into speakers: 2 × 150 W at a load of 8 ohms.
- An ESS ES9039Q2M DAC.
- Its own board, regulation and winding for each channel.
- John Dawson’s signature on the chassis.
- $2,999.95.
CD25, the player.
- An ESS Hyperstream 4 DAC with separate mono channels.
- A linear power supply and a damped chassis.
- Balanced XLR and RCA outputs.
- $1,799.95.
We have no rating of hi-fi amplifiers and desktop sources yet. The closest thing we have written about is the new Marantz MODEL 70 and CD 70: there stands an entry-level pair at $750 with a headphone amplifier inside the player, and here stands a set four times more expensive with separate mono channels in both components. What place they will take once such a rating exists — our test will show. And would you build a system from an amplifier and a CD player in 2026? Write in the comments what you listen to yourself.
Source: news.harman.com
