The SA20 marks a fine return to the forefront of well-priced two-channel reproduction for Arcam. It is well constructed, neat and blessed with a good range of inputs and functions. As long as it is not pushed too hard, it has a sound that is typically Arcam in the very best sense and makes a convincing case for itself at the price.

There may be other speakers that let the Arcam SA20 get to the heart of the matter as well as the Russell K, and there will be those who prefer a less explicit presentation, but it’s good to know what it can do when well matched. There is a lot of strong competition at this price but the mix of digital and analogue inputs, multiple filtering options for the former and the high quality execution of the SA20 bode well for the brand’s return to the forefront of British audio electronics.

New Arcam integrateds are rare birds and there is always a sense of occasion to them. The good news is that it is more than nostalgia that means we should welcome the SA20 to the fold. Arcam has done a few things I don’t completely understand with it - the lack of USB digital and Bluetooth inputs are the main ones - but there is no doubting that the fundamentals of the amp are very strong indeed. More than anything else, the SA20 makes a very wide spread of material fun to listen to and given the flexibility of the inputs that you can perform this with and the sensible price that it is offered at means that the Arcam SA20 earns our enthusiastic recommendation.