Jack White, the guitarist and singer-songwriter half of rock’s reigning power duo, the White Stripes, records his music the old-fashioned way—on analog tape, and then edits his tapes with a razor blade. No computers are used recording and mixing the White Stripes’ music, and when asked why he stubbornly avoids the benefits of digital technology, Mr. White sums up his approach this way: “It’s all about soul.” For him, the immediacy of the sound is what matters most. Methinks Arcam’s all-in-one CD player/radio/stereo amplifier, the Solo, was conceived with a similar mindset. I have no doubt that an A/V receiver and a DVD player would offer more techno doodads and convenience options for the same dollars, but they would be no match for the Solo’s musicality or soul. The Solo has oodles of soul.

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The Solo can be purchased on its own or in a package with a pair of Arcam’s Alto speakers. Each has a 4-inch woofer and a 1-inch fabric-dome tweeter. The Alto is built in Denmark, home to many well-regarded speaker companies. (Click image to enlarge)

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No one will ever confuse the svelte Arcam with a generic audio appliance. The Solo’s satin-finished, cast-aluminum faceplate and large, easy-to-read display give it the look and feel of a bona fide high-end component. That said, the gently rounded design is more feminine in its appeal than your average brutish megabuck amplifier or run-of-the-mill A/V receiver. The Solo’s sophistication is also reflected in its intuitive ergonomics. I have no need to consult the user’s manual to operate the Solo; the controls are intuitively laid out, and the remote is eminently logical. My only quibble is that it is not backlit. High-end components rarely offer amenities such as bass and treble controls or headphone jacks, but the Solo is a lot friendlier than your average high-end component. And since the Solo is just 3.3 inches tall and a sensible 14 inches deep, it will fit inside cabinets or on shelves that are out of bounds for most of today’s behemoth electronics.

The Solo is offered, logically enough, à la carte or paired with Arcam’s very first speaker system, the Alto. Standing just 10.3 inches tall, the speaker is small enough to qualify as a bookshelf model, albeit one designed to complement the Solo aesthetically and sonically. The stunning cherry or maple wood speakers are beautifully crafted in Denmark, and every detail of the design, including the heavyweight gold-plated speaker wire connectors, is built to a very high standard. Since the Altos are bass-challenged like most small speakers, the Solo provides an adjustable bass boost control to fatten up their sound (the boost will also work its magic with other brands of small speakers). No, it is not a crude “loudness” effect—it is more subtle than that, and it works like a charm with the Alto speakers. True, even post-plumping, the Altos still lack deep, room-shaking bass, but their sound is surprisingly well-endowed. I think of the Solo/Alto combo as an ultimate bedroom, dorm, office, or kitchen mini-system. Stereo home theater sound is also a possibility, and I will cover that configuration option later in this review.

The Solo’s custom installation accoutrements include a 12-volt trigger, Zone 2 outputs, infrared inputs/outputs, and an RS-232 port. These features make for painless interfacing with multiroom systems and touchscreen remotes. The four stereo inputs are strictly analog, and there are tape and preamplifier outputs. The latter output can drive a powered subwoofer or a larger power amplifier than the Solo’s built-in 50-watt-per-channel amp. Speaking of outputs, owners of MiniDisc or CD recorders can take advantage of the Solo’s optical digital audio output. The front panel sports a headphone jack plus something special: a minijack input that serves as a hassle-free hookup path for an iPod, MP3 player, or video game console. So you see, while the Solo is a stereo component, it can keep up with the times.The Solo struts its stuff on Janis Joplin’s newly expanded Pearl two-disc set. Janis was the first and greatest female rock star, and when you hear her beg, scream, and shout on “Piece of my Heart” and “Move Over” from her July 4,1970 show on the Festival Express Tour, you will know she was the real deal. Download the recording for your iPod and Janis is still Janis, but you lose essential bits of her soul. The Solo brings it all back home, where the emotional connection to the music takes place on a much higher level.

And the Solo’s FM tuner sounds lovely. It is cleaner and more alive-sounding than my Sirius satellite radio. I love satellite radio’s diverse musical offerings, but they can sound awfully digital, approximating the sound of a cruddy, low-bitrate MP3. Rack up another win for the analog side.

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The Solo closely resembles an ordinary (although unusually stylish) CD player, but it also packs a radio tuner and a pair of 50-watt amplifiers. All you need to add is speakers. The Solo also accepts analog audio signals from such sources as iPods and satellite radios. (Click image to enlarge)

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The Solo is first and foremost a music system, but it also proves to be a highly capable purveyor of two-channel home theater hijinks when I interface it with my Pioneer DV-45A DVD player. The Flight of the Phoenix’s fearsome plane crash early in the film convincingly demonstrates the Solo’s visceral abilities. When I sit anywhere near the center of my couch, the actors’ dialog appears firmly anchored between the left and right speakers, just as it would be if I were using a center speaker. Thanks to the stereo system’s uninhibited imaging, the sound is remarkably spacious. 

Convinced of the Solo/Alto synergy, I continue the Solo’s auditions with my reference Dynaudio Special Twenty-Five speakers. Their bass goes deeper and their sound is even more refined; these larger and more expensive speakers only increased my respect for the Solo’s sound. Point is, the Solo will not be the limiting factor in a well-chosen system.

Of course, if an honest-to-goodness multichannel A/V system is what you need, Arcam’s renowned AVR300 and AVR250 receivers are capable alternatives. Higher up in Arcam’s stable you will find its new AVP700 surround processor and the P1000 power amplifier. But those accomplished systems are nowhere near as portable and decor-friendly as the feisty little Solo and Alto. I imagine some of you will plop the darling Arcams in your SUVs and haul them to your summer homes or take them on vacations. Trust me, once you fall in love with the Solo and Alto, you will not want to be without them.

 

PRICE: Solo $1,599, Alto $799 per pair
CONTACT: 317.841.4100, aslgroup.com