Arcam has added network streaming and internet radio to its music centre. Andrew Everard takes a listen

There are enough distractions when reviewing audio equipment: phone calls, visitors at the door, and – at the time I had the Arcam Solo Neo on test, a full-scale air show happening a few miles away, meaning the house was shaken from time to time, and I had to limit my listening to mornings and evenings.

But there was another niggle in my mind: that famous Neapolitan song, much abused in its time by Elvis Presley, generations of gondoliers with dodgy voices and even a well-known ice-cream manufacturer, had got in there while unpacking the Solo Neo, and was now proving itself to be an unshakeable example of what the Germans call an ‘earworm’.

For all that, I had plenty of opportunity to get to grips with the latest in the Arcam Solo line, which has gained wireless audio capability. Music without cables has become a theme at Arcam in recent times: the new rDAC digital-to-analogue converter will gain a means of connecting to a computer wirelessly, using an optional sender unit, and the same will be true of the forthcoming rCube portable iPod speaker system.

However, while those two use a point-to-point wireless system, using Kleer technology and a USB sender ‘dongle’ on the computer storing the music, the Solo Neo has standard Wi-Fi wireless networking, and can thus stream music stored on a home network device, as well as accessing internet streaming radio stations, of which there are many thousands.

The idea, clearly, is to keep the original Solo up to pace with what other companies are doing: when it was first launched the Solo was an original, marking a return to the old ‘music centre’ idea but with a modern twist. combining as it did CD playback, a radio tuner and high-quality amplification in a unit designed to combine convenience with the kind of performance usually associated with hi-fi separates.

Since the Solo first appeared, around six years ago, the range has expanded to include the DVD-playing Solo Movie, available in 2.1- and 5.1-channel configurations, and the compact Solo Mini, with a slot-loading CD player and casework just 23cm wide. There are also matching Muso and Logo speakers, usable in stereo and home cinema configurations, and iPod connectivity options.

The only trouble is, since the Solo’s arrivals, others have either launched similar products with a wider range of capabilities, or have such products on the way. Several of them have been featured on these pages in recent times, from brands such as Aura, Linn and Naim, and the likes of Denon, Marantz, Meridian, Myryad, NAD and Primare have variations on the theme, with abilities ranging from network streaming to Blu-ray playback.

Fortunately, Arcam had a solid platform on which to build its latest system, in that the original Solo was both a fine-looking piece of equipment and one designed with quality audio engineering at its heart. The sleek casework has the air of a design classic about it, while under the lid the quality of design and build are readily apparent.

The Solo Neo has an independent transformer for its microprocessor control system and standby function, keeping any potential electrical noise away from the audio sections, and standby power consumption down to just 1W, while the main power supply section has nine independently regulated stages, including an oversize supply section for the 2x50W power amplification.

Cooling for the entire unit is via a fanless system making use of a substantial finned heatsink on the rear panel, and the system is built on what Arcam calls its ‘stealth’ platform, designed to keep out electrical and mechanical interference, and clad in aluminium casework.

The CD section will player standard discs, plus CD-R/RWs, and there’s a USB input for the connection of local hard drives or memory sticks, from which the system will play WAV, MP3, AAC, WMA and FLAC file formats. An FM RDS/DAB radio tuner is also fitted, with 30 presets for favourite stations, and digital-to-analogue conversion is handled by a 24-bit resolution system from Wolfson, partnered with a low-jitter crystal master clock.

Other inputs extend to five line-ins, an interface for the company’s irDock iPod/iPhone dock, and a front-panel 3.5mm stereo socket for quick hook-up of portable players, and as well as set of substantial speaker terminals, the Solo Neo has tape and preamp-level outputs, an optical digital output from the CD and DAB radio sections, ‘Zone 2’ output with its own volume control, and a headphone socket.

In addition there’s a range of control options beyond the handset supplied, the system having an RS232 interface, infrared control inputs and outputs, and a 12V trigger output to switch a remote amplifier on and off if required.

PERFORMANCE
The Solo Neo has the potential to be fiendishly complex, so much does it do, but fortunately there’s an exemplary, but comprehensive, manual supplied, which will walk the user through set-up and operation.

On the downside, the grey on silver labeling of the buttons on the unit itself could be clearer – much clearer –, the remote control could do with some colour-coding or different button sizes to simplify navigation, and the display is a bit small for these eyes to read across the room.

That said, I got the system connected up, set up and linked to my home network in fairly short order – little more to it than slipping out the Naim UnitiQute and sliding the Arcam in to replace it – and the Wi-Fi connection proved pretty solid over the relatively small distances in my home.

However, experience with other systems of this kind led me to hook up the Solo Neo using wired Ethernet to the sub-router on which my network storage sits, as I find this gives the most ‘bomb-proof’ connection, and is less prone to nasties caused by neighbouring networks being turned on and off.

That done, time to sit back and enjoy the Arcam in action, and this very much is a ‘sit back’ rather than ‘lean forward’ kind of system. The sound is never less than big, rich and assured, whether with CD, radio, streamed content or analogue sources connected to the line-ins, but there’s more than a hint of smoothness or lushness, trading a little of the bite and attack of the music in favour of a sound that will never set the teeth jangling.

Yes, you can adjust the balance of the system using subtle tone controls down in the set-up menus – there’s also a bass correction adjustment designed to tailor the sound to suit small loudspeakers – but the overall sound here is warm and generous, and lacks just a bit of air and sparkle in the high treble.

Tracks with plenty of recorded ambience will sound just a shade more anonymous on the Solo Neo, and the sense of openness you get in a work captured ‘as live’ in a large concert hall or church acoustic is mildly curtailed. However, there’s no arguing with the system’s ability to convey the scale and power of massed orchestral or vocal forces; there’s nothing thin, lightweight or overstretched here.

That’s probably appropriate in a system likely to spend much of its time playing music at reduced bitrates, be it from an iPod, streamed from home storage or an internet radio service, or on DAB.

The Arcam makes pleasant tracks which can show their limitations on systems with a more ‘gung ho’ presentation, and even heavily compressed music is perfectly listenable, although the benefits of changing to more data-hungry formats is readily apparent.

At the price, the Solo Neo is a viable contender in the new arena of network-connected digital music players, but it sets no new standards. It undercuts the NaimUniti, being priced closer to the simpler UnitiQute, but lacks those units’ digital inputs, direct iPod connectivity and neat iPod control interface, not to mention their ability to play higher-resolution music files and rather more exuberant style of musical presentation.

It’s also rather annoying that the USB input is on the rear panel, not the front, making the connection of cables from hard drives or USB memory keys rather more of a fumble than it should be.

Yet I think Arcam has got the Solo Neo just right: its sound will appeal to many, the slimline looks have aged well, and the price is attractive, at least until some of the Japanese rivals get firmly stuck into this sector of the market. Now if I can only get that song out of my head…

Arcam Solo Neo
Type Digital music system with tuner and CD player
Price £1350
Built-in sources CD player, DAB/FM RDS tuner with 30 presets, internet radio/network music streamer
Formats played CD, CD-R/RW, WAV, MP3, AAC, WMA and FLAC
Inputs 5 line-ins on RCA phonos, front-panel 3.5mm stereo input, USB for hard drives and memory devices, iPod/iPhone connectivity via optional irDock, Ethernet and Wi-Fi network connections
Outputs Speakers, tape out, preamp-level output, headphones, Zone 2 output, optical digital
Other connections RS232 control, infrared in/out, 12v trigger, radio antenna
Accessories supplied Remote handset, Wi-Fi and radio antennae
Dimensions (WxHxD) 43 x 7.9 x 35cm
www.arcam.co.uk