Arcam a19 or others?

[LEEMCCANN]

I've just got an a19 amp and have some kef ls50's on order, the amp however has gone faulty only the left channel works. I've been offered a replacement or an alternative in the way of a marantz KI pearl light or denon 1510 or Yamaha as1000.

I don't really have time to arrange an audition so what are everyone's thoughts on which is best? I've been using the arcam with my current monitor audio rx6 speakers which are in my av set up so have not heard it with the kefs as yet but this is going to be a just a 2ch system in another room. The śource will be spotify premium via an an arcam airDAC

thanks

 

[paulselwood]

I have the Arcam A19 pair up with Dali zensor 5, plus cambridge 650T & cambrdige 550T. I love the amp, so much detail and smooth. Before that I had epos epic 1 & cambridge 350A. I have now move that setup into my bedroom. That was smooth, but did not have as much detail as the Arcam A19.

Get your money back, and go buy Arcam from another shop.

 

[matthewpiano]

If you haven't yet heard the Arcam with the KEFs it is time to get your dealer to do their job properly. Throwing together £1,400 worth of amp and speakers without listening to it first is a recipe for disaster, no matter how many times a magazine recommends the combination.

Did you audition the LS50s at all? If so, what amp did you hear them with?

Ask the dealer to set up an audition pairing the LS50s with amps within your budget that they think work well with them. Don't commit until you feel you have found something you will be able to enjoy music on.

 

[drummerman]

I agree with Matthew but to be honest, I can't see much of a problem with that combination.

The Arcam is a modern, low distortion amplifier.

regards

 

[p_m_brown]

The A19 is a brilliant bit of kit although I preferred it with Kef R100s rather than the LS50s.

Auditioning kit can be a pain but amp and speaker combos are vital to get right IMHO so do have a listen!

 

[BigH]

Yes I would do some demos, WHF say the Arcam A19 works but I would prefer some more power fro the LS50s. If your dealer has Creek try the 50A amp or the Roksan Kandy K2 may work. The Pearl Lite is a decent amp. so may work but you need to hear it with the LS50s.

 

[LEEMCCANN]

Thanks for replies, maybe i should point out I'm getting the speakers and amp as part of a deal with my home cinema installation, the guy doing it gets discount on equipment so it's probably costing about £1000 for both the amp and speakers, I can't audition via him and don't have time to go into a dealer to listen ther (also I'd feel a bit cheeky knowing I wasn't buying from them)

im happy with the arcam with my current rx6s but the amp and ls50 will be in my dining room just for music,I could exchange the faulty arcam and lay more for the more top end denon/marantz/Yamaha but just thought I'd get ideas on here.

in terms of speakers I'm set on the kefs

 

[Daveperc]

I auditioned the Arcam and the Creek recently, though not with your speakers. The creek had more control and greater detail - in fact was really musical, whereas the Arcam was fine on good rock stuff, but lacked the level of detail the Creek gave me.

Dave

 

[LEEMCCANN]

What about a solo mini or neo? Tbh I'm prob just going to get a replacement a19 with the ls50s but just wondered if anyone had any experience of similar priced amps from denon/marantz/Yamaha

thanks

 

[plastic penguin]

im happy with the arcam with my current rx6s but the amp and ls50 will be in my dining room just for music,I could exchange the faulty arcam and lay more for the more top end denon/marantz/Yamaha but just thought I'd get ideas on here.

in terms of speakers I'm set on the kefs

Therein lies another potential problem: Trying to get used to the shortfall in bass grunt. I've had this problem with my old RS6s. Sure the LS50 will give you a bit more insight, but the loss of the extended bass might be problematic.

 

[LEEMCCANN]

The bass should not be an issue I don't think, the room I'm using in is smaller and I'll bring listening at lower volumes. I'm not looking to upgrade from the rx6s as such they are just in my current av set up, I bought the a19 a couple of weeks ago and will be buying the speakers next pay day so I've just been using the amp for music in the meantime.

 

[plastic penguin]

The bass should not be an issue I don't think, the room I'm using in is smaller and I'll bring listening at lower volumes. I'm not looking to upgrade from the rx6s as such they are just in my current av set up, I bought the a19 a couple of weeks ago and will be buying the speakers next pay day so I've just been using the amp for music in the meantime.

That's fair enough, we'll soon find out if the LS50 really hit the button.

I get a little perplexed that WHFI give all these products top marks, along with ideal combos, and dealers jump on the bandwagon. If only system matching was that simple.

 

[matthewpiano]

Agreed PP. So many dealers seem to simply present the WHF suggested systems and Award Winning components.

 

[LEEMCCANN]

I agree also I do like to know that I've bought 5 star products though.

im not sure I can hear the difference with similar priced systems though so I'm comfortable that the experts have made that decision for me.

 

[BigH]

I agree also I do like to know that I've bought 5 star products though.

im not sure I can hear the difference with similar priced systems though so I'm comfortable that the experts have made that decision for me.

I think you would hear the difference between speakers, about 40% get 5 stars so there are hundreds of combinations, also WHF reviews are done in a specially treated room, which no doubt is nothing like your room. Also they don't test a lot of gear, so Arcam A19 maybe amp. of the year but other mags prefer the Creek 50A. I would like to see more system tests in WHF rather than one off reviews.

IMHO LS50s need some space and are not so good at lower volumes.

 

[LEEMCCANN]

Why do t they test so much stuff? I like the mag, the other pure hifi mags are very Duluth there have been a lot of products that are not tested.

personally I'd like to see some old v new tests, like an old 5 star amp against a new one like the situation people are faced with all the time.

anyway back to issue, I prob have gone a little overboard on system that's in a dining kitchen but I've got a good deal so pretty happy.

 

[BigH]

Why do t they test so much stuff? I like the mag, the other pure hifi mags are very Duluth there have been a lot of products that are not tested.

personally I'd like to see some old v new tests, like an old 5 star amp against a new one like the situation people are faced with all the time.

anyway back to issue, I prob have gone a little overboard on system that's in a dining kitchen but I've got a good deal so pretty happy.

WHF is about promoting new hifi, have not read how much better every new version is?

 

[plastic penguin]

I agree also I do like to know that I've bought 5 star products though.

Why does it need to be a 5 star product? Some of the best components I've heard have received a less than welcoming reviews. The best recent example was when I heard Usher S520s (WHFI gave 3 stars) connected to Arcam A18 and CD17 (both 4 stars).