All I want for christmas, is an amp

[kingnothing83]

Yeah i see what your saying and your right, but the problem with doing this from work is that i may not busy come 4 and not be able to react quite as quickly, so paying a slightly higher price is better than no amp in this case

 

[kingnothing83]

Can i plug my speaker cable (which is terminated at one end with banana plugs) into the arcam 8? The connectors look larger than the ones on the rotel ra-04 for instance. Im guessing if they wont fit i can just connect the wire to the arcam without the plugs and use the plugs on the tannoy f1's?

 

[Anonymous]

Yep I agree, wait until the last few seconds and then bid your maximum, then with a bit of luck you will win it at a lower price. Bidding your maximum does not mean that is the price you pay if you win.

 

[Anonymous]

Arcam usually use standard 4mm banana sockets.

 

[kingnothing83]

Hopefully, im sure they will be the same as Dan's arcam 9, could you confirm? be a shame to cut off those plugs that come with the wire if neither the amp or the speakers take the banana plugs!

 

[kingnothing83]

Got it! Luckily i didnt have time to watch the auction as it happened, i bidded upto £105 beforehand and thats what it went for, if someone had bidded 1p more it would have been theres. So perhaps ive paid £20 over the odds but for a reward of getting it before christmas i think thats value for money. Cheers for all the help much appreciated

 

[Anonymous]

Well done ...

 

[d_a_n1979]

Very good that... Congrats

The speaker plugs for my Arcam amp arent 4mm banana plugs - You need plugs that actually have a slot in them to fit the connection posts. If you've got a pic of the Arcam 8 rear you'll see. The fittings may have changed tho in between the Arcam 8 and the launch of the Alpha 9.

 

[kingnothing83]

OK thanks for that mate i thought they were different. I could still connect them with bare wire through couldnt i? Shouldnt be a problem as i cant see my amp or speakers moving around in the near future. The banana plugs already attached should fit the tannoy f1's shouldnt they? Cheers

 

[d_a_n1979]

Yeah naked wire isnt going to cause too many problems. Just make sure you reftresh the connections every 3-6 months as the wire oxidises and then makes the sound quality poorer.

I think the Tannoy F1's have 4mm banana connections, most speakers do these days.

You can get the correct plugs off Ebay also, i did. Just search on Arcam again and you'll see them. Think theyre approx £10. When do you think you'll receive the amp?

 

[kingnothing83]

I see them, might as well get them in aswell then, but they may take a while to deliver so i can just use the wire for now. The guy i bought them off seems really on the ball, already sent me a couple emails and he'll be sending it "parcelforce 24" tomorrow, so i'll get them on thu or fri, speakers due on thu so thats ideal. What quality is your pc music in as you have a similar setup to what i'll have? Im pretty sure my 256k m4a's will sound fine, the 256mp3's may sound a little poor but my flac uncompressed stuff should sound awesome, i cant wait to listen. I even have a red hot chilli's vinyl rip, that should sound good. As the speakers and cables are brand new tho im not expecting miracles, should take a while to burn in from what people say.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="kingnothing83"]
Can i plug my speaker cable (which is terminated at one end with banana plugs) into the arcam 8? The connectors look larger than the ones on the rotel ra-04 for instance. Im guessing if they wont fit i can just connect the wire to the arcam without the plugs and use the plugs on the tannoy f1's?
[/quote]

yes you can, as long as the bananas are the ones that are hollow up the middle.Some dealers actually refer to them as arcam banana plugs. Personally i would seriously avoid any arcam amp other than the A85.The alpha amps were not as good as the cd players and have a warmish bass with not much impact and a slightly grainy treble.the 7 and 8 did anyway.They sound like amps that have seen better days, to my ears anyway.

 

[JoelSim]

Banana plugs will fit into an Arcam. Standard sizes.

 

[d_a_n1979]

[quote user="Fraziel"][quote user="kingnothing83"]

Can i plug my speaker cable (which is terminated at one end with banana plugs) into the arcam 8? The connectors look larger than the ones on the rotel ra-04 for instance. Im guessing if they wont fit i can just connect the wire to the arcam without the plugs and use the plugs on the tannoy f1's?
[/quote] yes you can, as long as the bananas are the ones that are hollow up the middle.Some dealers actually refer to them as arcam banana plugs. Personally i would seriously avoid any arcam amp other than the A85.The alpha amps were not as good as the cd players and have a warmish bass with not much impact and a slightly grainy treble.the 7 and 8 did anyway.They sound like amps that have seen better days, to my ears anyway.[/quote]

I think you're wrong. I'm not a fan of the Diva amps apart from the A90, even then its a little tinny.

The Arcam 9 set up ive got is much better than the A85 i had and runs very close, if not better than the A90 and P90 i've auditioned.

The Arcam 8 amp is a good amp for the Tannoy speakers. It will play the music this guy wants with plenty of controlled bass, smooth midrange and nice crisp treble.

 

[JoelSim]

I beg to differ. I have the A85/P85 and it sounds beautiful, crisp, detailed, involving. Much better than the Arcam 7SE I had before. Much much much better.

 

[kingnothing83]

Well my speakers arrived today and my amp is in transit so hopefully tomorrow night i'll be able to give some feedback on what i think. But as im upgrading from a standard pc speaker system (albeit a decent one which cost £300 a few years ago - logitech z560) i am certain i'll hear an improvement and for that im very excited! For one thing my speaker cable was about 50p per metre from the local market! Im interested to see how the system will sound as the logitechs had a very powerful sub, living in a flat tho means i have the sub volume down to minumum so im sure i'll not miss it. Im hoping that the real difference will be the clarity, hopefully i'll hear new things in my music and find the sound entertaining.

 

[d_a_n1979]

[quote user="JoelSim"]I beg to differ. I have the A85/P85 and it sounds beautiful, crisp, detailed, involving. Much better than the Arcam 7SE I had before. Much much much better.[/quote]

Sorry Joel, i meant the A80.

The A85 was a improvement and the A90 more than that too. I sometimes think about upgraded from the Alpha 9 and 9P to the A90 and P90, but think it'd just be splitting hairs.

 

[kingnothing83]

Everything arrived today and first impressions are im impressed! Only listened for 20 mins in my lunch break from work, so ive left everything on, to bed in a bit and i'll check it out this afternoon. Placement is hopeless as with my current set up the speakers are far to close to each other and im far to close to the speakers, but after a trip to ikea tonight that should be rectified and the placement should be a hell of a lot better! Cheers for the help im excited to listen to this system over the christmas holidays!

 

[d_a_n1979]

Glad you received it all ok.

I'd leave the amp on permanently and let the CD player run (with amp on mute) over night just to get it warmed thru etc... Once you get placements sorted out with speakers youll hear a vast difference.

What stands have you got your speakers on?

 

[kingnothing83]

Yeah i will leave it on, the speakers are destined to live on opposite sides of a large fairly sturdy table for now, as they're moving into the living room in a couple of months, i'll sort out some proper stands for then but hopefully they'll be happy enough until then! Lots of household things going on at the moment so speaker stands will have to wait, there isnt really any point for the room they are in at the moment

 

[d_a_n1979]

Well if theyre going to be on a flat surface make sure you use blue-tack to keep them steady and this will also stio vibrations.

OR... You could get 4 squash balls and cut them in half and use a half for each corner of the speakers. This works really well also.

 

[kingnothing83]

Interesting, never heard that suggestion before! What do you have your
pc volume set as? if my pc system volume is set to 100% i cant get the
amp over 10% before it being loud!! Thats fine tho, just means i have
to be more sensitive with how i turn the dial! I guess it probably
doesnt matter though

 

[d_a_n1979]

If i'm listening to internet radio via Windows Media Player (or music on my PC) i have the volume set at 90 as i find that over 90, my left speakers becomes crackly (but not via my CD player) so i think its an issue with the PC or interconnect.

 

[kingnothing83]

Mine seemed distortion free at 100% but i might knock it down a little just so i can use the volume knob a bit more easily. Does your arcam 9 have the bass, balance etc controls on the front? Do you use them or disable them? At first listen i felt like i wanted a bit more bass, but thats probably down to placement more than anything, i'll have another listen tonight

 

[d_a_n1979]

Sounds mad but for some CD's i use the bass and treble but for other CD's i use the direct button which cuts them out.

As for balance, i leave that, i've got my system set up and the speakers toe'd in so the 'sweet spot' is about a foot infront of me. Sounds great with Finlay Quaye's album, its like he's sat in front of you singing!