What it is (in one line)
A 2×100W Class-G integrated that keeps the Radia A25’s musical poise but adds genuinely modern I/O (notably HDMI eARC) and a next-gen Bluetooth stack with Auracast/aptX Lossless, plus refinements to power and digital stages.
Design, build & usability
- Industrial design: Same slim Radia chassis with the clean fascia; the A25+ moves to a precision-cut glass front with OLED display—a useful usability upgrade and a nicer match for living-room systems.
- Amplification: Class-G topology rated at 2×100W into 8Ω (Arcam’s hallmark approach for low distortion and high efficiency). If you liked the original A25’s composure at higher SPLs, you should expect the + to maintain it.
- Power supply & noise floor: Arcam notes a new transformer and refined filtering/regulation on the +; that usually buys blacker backgrounds and better low-level detail retrieval—especially audible with phono and quiet passages. (Arcam and press briefings highlight the transformer and regulation updates.)
Day-to-day use: The OLED readout and the addition of eARC remove the fussy “which input am I on?” friction; CEC/eARC hand-off should make TV integration basically invisible once set.
Connectivity & features (and why they matter)
- HDMI eARC/ARC: The most significant upgrade vs. 2023’s A25. You can pull lossless PCM from your TV apps/consoles and let the A25+ do volume and conversion—no TOSLINK compromises, no lip-sync drama if your TV plays nice.
- USB-C DAC input: Up to 384 kHz/32-bit (USB), with standard 192 kHz on the S/PDIFs. If you laptop-dock at the rack, this is as plug-and-play as it gets.
- Bluetooth 5.4 with Snapdragon Sound: Adds Auracast (one-to-many broadcasting) and aptX Lossless for CD-quality over BT with compatible phones/headphones—genuinely useful if household listening is a mix of hi-fi and headphones.
- DAC architecture: Coverage indicates a dedicated ESS9018 DAC for the S/PDIF path on the A25+—separate from USB—aimed at lowering crosstalk and improving clarity from TV/CD/streamer inputs. (Arcam’s launch briefings mention this specifically.)
- Phono stage: A properly tuned MM input—quiet and linear; Arcam’s spec language suggests the same care applied in the A25. Vinyl-first folks will appreciate this.
- Headphones: Rated 2.5V/5V into 32/300Ω with wide load compatibility; good news for both easy portables and many high-impedance dynamics.
Sound quality: what to expect (and with which speakers)
Even without a bench session here, we can triangulate from the original A25’s broad consensus and the + model’s power/digital updates.
Tonal balance & timbre
- The 2023 A25 was consistently described as warm-to-neutral, composed, and “effortlessly sorted”—never edgy, with convincing low-level organization. Expect the A25+ to track that voice: relaxed upper mids/treble, full but controlled bass.
Dynamics & drive
- Class-G gives you “first-watt” delicacy but keeps headroom for macro swings. If you run moderately sensitive floorstanders (e.g., 87–90 dB), it should remain authoritative in medium-to-large rooms. The transformer/regulation changes on the + should improve transient cleanliness and bass texture versus the A25.
Digital inputs
- With HDMI eARC, TV audio can sound strikingly better than via an average TV’s optical output; voices lock to the screen, and bass definition improves when the amp, not the TV, clocks the signal. The ESS9018 on S/PDIF should further sharpen imaging from CD/streamers.
Bluetooth
- With aptX Lossless (phone-dependent), casual listening won’t feel like a compromise. And Auracast is a killer trick for late-night shared headphone listening—one source, multiple BT headphones.
Speaker pairing tips
- Leans slightly organic/relaxed up top → pair brilliantly with clean, revealing speakers (KEF R series, B&W 700 S3, Dynaudio Evoke/Contour i). If your speakers are already warm/dark, consider a lively tweeter or a more forward standmount to keep sparkle. (This is an inference from the A25’s well-documented voicing.)
What’s new vs. the 2023 A25 (quick table)
- HDMI eARC/ARC: New on A25+.
- Bluetooth platform: 5.4 + Snapdragon Sound + Auracast (A25+), vs 5.2 aptX Adaptive (A25).
- Digital architecture: Dedicated ESS path for S/PDIF inputs on A25+ (launch briefings), plus power/transformer refinements.
- Front panel/UI: Glass + OLED on A25+.
- Amplification: Same headline 2×100W Class-G spec, but with power-supply refinements.
Strengths
- Modern I/O done right: HDMI eARC and USB-C close the “real-life” gaps for TV and laptop users.
- Next-gen Bluetooth: aptX Lossless + Auracast meaningfully expands use cases.
- Low-noise analogue path: Refined PSU and a quiet MM phono input make vinyl a first-class citizen.
- Subjectively musical voice: Builds on the A25’s easy, composed presentation that works across genres.
Verdict
If you loved the A25 but wished it plugged cleanly into a TV and modern mobile ecosystem, the A25+ is the right evolution. It stays true to Arcam’s Class-G musicality, layers in HDMI eARC and a serious Bluetooth/Auracast implementation, and tidies up the power/digital plumbing for a quieter, clearer baseline. It isn’t an all-in-one (no network streaming/room correction), and the price rise stings—but as a future-proofed two-channel hub for vinyl, laptop-hi-res, TV, and casual headphone nights, it’s a thoughtful, real-world upgrade that should outlast several source changes.