ARC AUDIO 4200SE - Amplifier Test Report

by CAE, Feb 24, 2009

Listening

This is always the most enjoyable phase of my testing, and here I was expecting a very transparent amplifier, with good headroom and dynamics. I was not disappointed.

To be fair, I don't often evaluate the sound quality of an amplifier in my vehicle. I find that the differences between many amplifiers are sometimes subtle, and to give every amp the fairest comparison possible and not lose some of each amp's sonic signature to road noise and the like, I use my very familiar and sometimes painfully accurate reference system in my lab. With that in mind, be aware that the things I mention here are absolutely audible in a prepared listening environment, but how evident they will be for you will depend on your listening environment.

I set up the 4200SE in a pretty common configuration for a 4-channel amp: I ran the front channels in stereo to my fullrange speakers, and the rear channels were bridged to a high-quality 4-ohm subwoofer in a sealed enclosure. I listened to a variety of my favorite SQ discs and a couple of recordings that I mastered myself in another life. In every case, the Arc Audio amplifier performed with all the excellence I expected from a product with this pedigree. I listened to many discs over the course of nearly five hours. Yeah, I love my job!

The following are a few comments I jotted down while listening:

*The vocals and plucked strings on Marc Cohn's "Perfect Love" were smooth and airy, with a good sense of space. Equal in this respect to my studio reference amplifier.

*Blues Traveler's "Run Around" has a lot of complex kick drum work and some easily missed detail in those rhythms, but the Arc Audio amp had no problems reproducing the detail and the very low-frequency stuff that is not apparent on amps with some roll off in the lower end.

*On bass-heavy recordings, like the Pussycat Dolls "Don't Cha," the amp showed no signs of stress, effortlessly playing the track as loud as I'd care to go. A common problem and one I'm always determined to check for in a configuration like this is the woofer "using up" energy needed to drive the mids and highs. No worries here!

*Antonio Vivaldi's "Flute Concerto in D" sounded great, all the articulation and dynamics that the recording has were reproduced faithfully. Again, the 4200SE matched my studio amp, note for note.

*The Gypsy Kings have a very unique sound with their expertly played acoustic guitars, the resonances of the individual guitar bodies were easy to hear... this isn't always the case with lesser amps. Another multi-channel amp I used for comparison purposes was very obviously not able to capture this detail.

*On popular music, from Linkin Park to Maroon 5, the Arc Audio amp handled everything I played, with very good transparency and a neutral sound. It did what any good amp does, take the original signal and make it louder without noticeably adding or subtracting anything from the original sonics.

Conclusion

The Arc Audio amplifier is sonically excellent. Plus, the included features are among the best thought out and most useful of any amplifier I have tested in recent memory. But, this performance and flexibility does not come cheap. At a retail price of $1,399.00, this is not an amp for everyone.

If you merely considered the amp in terms of watts per dollar there are quite a few amps that will provide almost double the power per dollar spent. However, very few of those have the attention to detail, flexibility of features and sonic excellence of this one. So, the choice is yours. If money were no object, this would be a pretty easy choice... but I have to wonder how many $1,399.00 4-channel amps are sold... even great ones like this.

PERFORMANCE DATA: ARC AUDIO 4200SE

Output Power @ 1%THD,1KHZ,14.4volts Stereo @ 4 ohms 4 x 117 Stereo @ 2 ohms 4 x 225 Stereo @ 1 ohm 4 x 367 Bridged @ 4 ohms 2 x 452 Bridged @ 2 ohms 2 x 738(fuse blows)

Output Power @ 1%THD,1KHZ,12.5volts Stereo @ 4 ohms 4 x 119 Stereo @ 2 ohms 4 x 219 Stereo @ 1 ohm 4 x 367 Bridged @ 4 ohms 2 x 444 Bridged @ 2 ohms 2 x 686(fuse blows)

Distortion at rated power, 1kHz, 14.4volts 0.06% @ 4 ohms Input sensitivity 455 mV to 5.5V Frequency response(+ 1dB) <10Hz - 40kHz S/N (A weighted, full 4 ohm power, min gain) > -110dB Slew rate More Than Adequate Damping Factor @ 100Hz, 4 ohms 160 Idle current 1.2A Maximum current consumption, unclipped 185 amps @ 367 watts x 4 @ 1 ohm Efficiency at 1/3rd power lowest impedance 37.7% Efficiency at full power, 1% THD, lowest impedance 55% Crossover slope -12dB/octave or -24dB/octave Crossover range, lowpass 30Hz - 5500Hz Crossover range, highpass 30Hz - 5500Hz Low frequency boost 0 to +18dB @ 20 - 80 Hz Remote level control -60dB to 0dB referenced to main gain setting Dimensions 20"L x 8"W x 2.5"H

The owner's manual is a rather large book, with a total of 14 pages, covering all the models in the Signature Edition line. I found it reasonably complete and it has excellent diagrams to help you understand the uses and settings of the various controls and connections. Features and common adjustments are clearly explained in a common sense, non-technical manner, so those of you who aren't propeller heads will have no trouble getting the amp dialed in properly.

The only notable exclusion in the manual (and I looked for it for a while) was an explanation of the top lighting turning from blue to red during the amp's thermal testing and protection phases. Extremely curious, I contacted Arc for an explanation. They stated that "the lighting on the amplifier starts blue for normal operation and as the amplifier increases in temperature the lighting will change colors. More frequent color changes indicate that the amplifier is operating closer to its thermal limits -- peaking a solid red as it goes into protection."