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Arcam Solo Uno – Tiny amp with streaming included

The new Arcam Solo Uno is to be presented as an extremely compact solution, no, actually a really tiny solution that essentially combines everything that makes up a modern hi-fi system and makes it accessible in a particularly simple way.


For years and days people have been talking about how HiFi is “professing” again to be nothing more than “lifestyle”. However, this is often seen as disgraceful, as pejorative, but it is nothing but a fact and by no means disgraceful. But exactly this change in self-assessment could contribute to the fact that hi-fi as a whole could again take on a much higher significance in the perception of the customers, because this is exactly what the industry really suffers from, namely the low significance for the potential customer.

But this also means that we have to take a very close look at what customers want, what modern “lifestyle” means to them. One thing is very clear, powerful castles of equipment and protruding loudspeaker systems are certainly not, the target group that feels addressed by this has always been manageable and is dwindling from year to year…

Modern lifestyle means first and foremost chic, elegant and above all compact solutions, but which also guarantee the corresponding quality, and hi-fi can offer this, as the English hi-fi manufacturer A&R Cambridge Ltd. now wants to demonstrate with the latest solution from the Arcam brand, the new Arcam Solo Uno.

  • Arcam Solo Uno 03
  • Arcam Solo Uno 02
  • Arcam Solo Uno 01
  • Arcam Solo Uno 04

The new Arcam Solo Uno joins a well-established product range of the English, but still clearly stands out from it. Up to now, highly integrated solutions have been offered which nevertheless largely corresponded to classic hi-fi standards in terms of form factor, such as the Arcam Solo Movie 2.1 or Arcam Solo Music, with the Arcam Solo Bar Plus being an exception.

The same applies to the new Arcam Solo Uno, which, it must be said, is designed as an almost tiny solution that does not even fall into the category of mid-sized hi-fi, but clearly belongs to the category of micro-sized hi-fi.

The new Arcam Solo Uno measures only a few centimetres in width, depth and height, but nevertheless represents an almost complete hi-fi system of modern design, as it combines a modern, flexible streamer with a stereo integrated amplifier, which, according to the manufacturer, completely corresponds to the virtues of the English in the development of high-quality amplifiers.

Admittedly, when it comes to interface diversity, the new Arcam Solo Uno doesn’t really come into its own, but that’s probably not even necessary. An analogue input in the form of a 3.5 mm stereo mini jack socket is available here, for example, to connect a record player via an external phono preamplifier. Hardly anyone in the target group will want to integrate other analog sources. What is missing, however, is a digital input, because a connection to a TV set would be quite essential…

The most important interface in this case is clearly the network interface, an RJ45 Ethernet port, but WiFi is also available for integration into the network.

The Arcam Solo Uno functions as a flexible streaming client in the network, which supports Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Chromecast in addition to UPnP. This ensures that you can not only access your own content, but also use an immense selection of the most diverse streaming offers. The only thing you need is the corresponding app of the provider, be it Apple iOS or Google Android.

Particularly interesting about the new Arcam Solo Uno is that, as already described, it is supposed to feature the same high-quality amplifier technologies as hi-fi solutions in the classic English format, thus promising a particularly appealing sound experience in the smallest form. According to the manufacturer, all that is required is a pair of high-quality loudspeaker systems, whereby an active subwoofer can also be integrated as an additional playing partner via a corresponding output.

Of course, the new Arcam Solo Uno doesn’t require a lot of controls; a universal button located centrally on the front, two buttons for volume control and a mute button on the front are completely sufficient.

“Delivering an exceptional music experience is the driving force behind everything we offer. We wanted to distil our audiophile expertise into a high-performing, easy-to-use, yet very affordable streaming product that could bring exceptional sound to a wide range of new audiences and use applications, and this new unit does this perfectly.

Scott Campbell, director of sales and marketing for Arcam.

The new Arcam Solo Uno was first unveiled last October, with the English at the time expecting the solution to be available early in 2020. In fact, it was obviously impossible to keep to this plan, but now the solution is actually supposed to be available in the shops. It is pleasing that the price of this solution has been kept extremely attractive, as the new Arcam Solo Uno does not cost more than € 699,-.

Getting to the point

Modern lifestyle means first and foremost chic, elegant and above all compact solutions, but which also guarantee corresponding quality, and hi-fi can also offer this, as the English hi-fi manufacturer A&R Cambridge Ltd. now wants to demonstrate with the latest solution from the Arcam brand, the new Arcam Solo Uno.

Manufacturer:A & R Cambridge Ltd.
Distribution:R.M.S. State of the Art Audiovisual Products
Price:€ 699,-

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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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