90s Arcam, Marantz, Mission setup, time to upgrade??

[Chrisjohnwright]

Hi

I've got a loved but ancient combination of Marantz CD52SE, Arcam Alpha amp and Mission 752 floor standers. Setup works fine but am thinking about getting into the new millennium with Marantz 6004 amp and 6004 CD player. 1, Do you think I'll see an improvement? And 2. Will this new combination still work with the same speakers?

Thanks

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Sure, but I'd look at the speakers, as your CD player and amp are at least as good as the replacements you suggest. Which alpha amp by the way?

 

[MajorFubar]

^^^WHS. IMO, you'd need to buy further-up the current range of Marantz products to make it worth your while, because your current amp and CD player are no embarrassments. Blow your complete budget on a fresh set of speakers that are several rungs up from your current models.

 

[ID.]

I had an Alpha 9 and I'd still take it over any of the Marantz 5004 through 8004. Don't assume that the technology has made huge advances just because, AV amps for example, get new models released every year. CD players, speakers and amps are pretty mature technologies, so I think most changes are pretty incremental. I think you probably get more bang for your buck at the budget end, but that doesn't necessarily mean that current budget kit is superior to kit that cost twice that amount when it was released in the 90's.

 

[the record spot]

Hang on to the 752 if you do nothing else. By far and away the best of the the three items. The amp would be my candidate as it has long since been surpassed and bettered. To better the Missions you'll be handing over a lot of cash and I mean well north of £500 new. Wonderful sound, clarity, depth... one of the few products that had it all.

The CD player is still a good one, has a coax output and stacks up well, but it too can be equalled but for a lot less money than you'd need to spend on the speakers. You might also consider if you want to keep the box count down so a new CD player with digital inputs for computer, TV, etc, would be worth considering.

The Missions, however, are clearly the keepers; one of this country's best HiFi products of the last 30 years - IMHO.

 

[eggontoast]

The record spot, how can you make such a judgement on his alpha amp when we don't even know which one it is ?

 

[the record spot]

From my perspective, pretty easily. The Arcam amps were good, decent, but nothing so special I'd get rid of the 752 for. Up until the 9 and 10 came out, they were IMO, nothing to get to worked up over. I had an Alpha 5 for years and I stand by what I say. Personally, is be inclined to keep it all as it's probably very good - Mission and Arcam worked well together. I had the same CDP and used the 751 speaker at the time, but the amp can be and is bettered by others.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Perhaps best to ask the OP which amp he has first, plus also what his budget is.

Some of the alpha ange were very good indeed. I wouldn't be throwing them out in a hurry. The speakers, though good, can be improved upon.

 

[the record spot]

If it's early 90s then it's the Alpha 5, 5+ and 6. The 7, 8, etc not appearing till later, then there are any number of 40-70w amps that's do the job. Heaps. If the budget is less than £500 the 752s play a strong card and can hold their own up further up the scale.

Where do you see the improvement in the speakers AL? Have you heard the 752? And have you heard that combination the OP has?

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Still makes sense to wait until the OP responds with an idea of budget and what model of the Alphas he has. Anything 7+ won't be easy to beat.

Yes, heard the 752s with an Arcam Alpha 7 or 8 if memory is correct. Fine, but I wasn't particularly taken with the speakers - never really liked the Mission sound, although I had the Mission 780se at home at that stage. This was in Oz, by the way, so it is a while ago.

 

[Chrisjohnwright]

Thanks. It's an Arcam II

 

[Chrisjohnwright]

Let me try that again.

The amp is an Alpha 2, was a hand me down, not even sure what year that was made but I know pretty old.

Was thinking about c.£500 all in which would have overed the Marantz duo.

Have always liked the 752s, never really had a problem with their sound. The start point here was, would £500 get me a dramatically better sounding setup? My AV system is pretty nonexistent so if the answer is no then may spend on that instead.

Thanks all for your views.

 

[BigH]

The Alpha 2 was about 91, I have the Alpha 3 which is very good, I would consider getting a Aplha 9 which are about £200.

 

[Chrisjohnwright]

Thanks BigH.

So is the view I should stick or replace?

 

[the record spot]

Depends really; do you want to add digital sources? You've already mentioned expanding your AV setup, so you could get one of Onkyo's excellent amps. Not sure if you can but you might be able to connect your Arcam to it. That said, Onkyo's AV amps work a treat with music as they do movies, so might be worth a compare. They also come with network connectivity and Spotify onboard too.

 

[BigH]

Thanks BigH.

So is the view I should stick or replace?

I would keep the cd player or maybe buy a Marantz 63SE 2 KI which are only about £80 on an auction site. Maybe buy the an Aplha 9 amp, keep the speakers for now. Having heard a load of new gear at prices around £1,000 each item I would buy used rather than new, really I did not find a huge improvement, in fact in some ways it was worse than my old system.

 

[drlindgren]

I've got a loved but ancient combination of Marantz CD52SE, Arcam Alpha amp and Mission 752 floor standers. Setup works fine but am thinking about getting into the new millennium with Marantz 6004 amp and 6004 CD player. 1, Do you think I'll see an improvement? And 2. Will this new combination still work with the same speakers?

I'm inclined to agree with those above who say keep the 752s. Mission were making outstandingly good speakers in the early 90s. I had some 781 stand mounts I bought in 1993 with a CD52mkII SE and a Denon PMA 250. I bought a NAD C370 amp and NAD C541 CD player second hand on eBay (for comparatively little money) a few years back and they brought a completely new lease of life to my speakers - they really, really sang for me.

Some good second hand kit from a few years back (you'll be able to do better than the 6004s), but keeping your speakers, might be a really interesting proposition.

Think you've got a lot of options open to you. Good luck!

 

[MajorFubar]

It's all subjective of course but I really don't think swapping-out a CD52SE for a CD63KI wil make a staggering difference.

 

[eggontoast]

I'm inclined to agree about the CD player. But he would benefit from changing the Alpha 2, it's OKish, an Alpha 9 would be a big step up IMO.

 

[MajorFubar]

Yeah possibly

 

[Chrisjohnwright]

Ok so my thinking based on the advice is, I'll keep the 752s, look out for a Marantz 63 SE / KI, but on the amp, would £200 for an Alpha9 be a better buy than the Marantz 6004 amp for around £240 new?

thanks again

 

[Shanka]

Hi,

I had an Alpha 5 and about 2 years ago bought an Alpha 9 and there is a big difference in its performance, it grips and drives speakers better and there is a good improvement in the general sound quality.
If you are patient £200 will buy you a very good example , look out for ones that have had a bit of a service as the input controls can get a bit crackly on them but that is the only issue.
Alpha 10's are also meant to be great but I have not heard one.

The other amp to consider is the NAD c370 also previously mentioned which is similar to the Arcam , slightly less warm, cleaner delivery with more power and slightly more bass, for the same money maybe a little more, I also bought one of these last year as I was intrigued how it sounded and it is also staying with me.

The last point to consider and am not sure if you mentioned it was if you listen to music via your computer at all, 2 years ago I certainly didn't but do a lot now, if so as again someone mentioned this could be a factor inyour choice.

I am sure you will enjoy your upgrade, you never know you might get the bug, I love my old Mission 720's but when I hooked up my Alpha 9 I realised they had their limits despite giving me years of enjoyment before.

Good Luck and have fun.

 

[Pete68]

Take the CD player in for a service with a reputable and experienced servicer. One such service guy can be found at CPT Acoustics. (No affiliations!)

The Alpha2 is the week link in the chain, an Alpha9 would be a solid upgrade. £200-£250 on fleabay should get you a nice one.

As for your speakers I would look at upgrading the crossovers and replacing the internal cabling. They are great speakers but could be better for very little investment. Wilmslow Audio could help you out there.

 

[cse]

I think you should buy the new Marantz combo. It's such incredible value and will be trouble free for years. Then think about changing the spekers. Vintage budget Arcam gear, doesn't represent value for money. These old Alphas should only be bought for around 50-100 at most.

 

[Pete68]

I bought a Marantz 6004 amp last year and it was a dissapointment. Average sound and poor build quality. Over priced but well marketed.