Richard Trotter from Arcam popped by today clutching a demonstration sample of Arcam’s latest class G amplifier, the A29. It was launched at this years Munich show in March with July given as production date.

Using the Arcam CDS27 and running it into Russell K Red 100 speakers, results were very creditable. It has a little less ‘grip’ and focus than the larger A39 but a lot more power, refinement and resolution than the smaller A19. Rather than being a sort of mini me A39, the 29 turns out to have a rather nice but different character of its own.

We heard it as sweeter, softer and slightly more ethereal but these character differences will vary with the speakers used. Either way it’s a very serious contender, even if the budget extends some way north of the £995 asking price.

Now that July has arrived but the production A29s haven’t … these are now anticipated to hit our shelves in August with proper sellable stock to follow on.