Arcam a29/irdac and kef ls50, Match? Thoughts...

Chr78

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Anyone have experience with that combination, as im thinking about buying the arcam a 29/irdac for my kefs.

General thoughts about the combination are also very welcome!!
 

Blacksabbath25

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Hi I have the arcam ir dac and think it's a good bit of kit as its improved my sound as I am using it with my marantz cd6005 but to be honest I am not a fan of the arcam a19 but sure if you put a19 with the right speakers and CD player then there used be no need to buy the dac .
 

Andrewjvt

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MUSICRAFT said:
Hi Chr78

Also consider Hegel's H80 amp/DAC. Fwiw, the finest performance I've heard from LS50's is with Hegel amplication.?

Aall the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Hegels h80 has a better inbuilt dac than the irdac so the hegel is better value for money plus youll find the sq better also
 

drummerman

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Andrewjvt said:
MUSICRAFT said:
Hi Chr78

Also consider Hegel's H80 amp/DAC. Fwiw, the finest performance I've heard from LS50's is with Hegel amplication.

Aall the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Hegels h80 has a better inbuilt dac than the irdac so the hegel is better value for money plus youll find the sq better also

Oh I wished people would add 'imo' to such statements :)

I personally would probably also try and audition the Schmegel (I actually think it looks nice in this, smallest form) but Arcam's new gen 'Class G' amplifiers have some very good reviews and measure well too. Powerfull as well.

Oddly enough, I just googled Hegel H80 and iQ's Abrahamsen link popped up on top :)

Happy weekend children x
 

MickyBlue

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Kef use arcam as there reference so the ls50's will work very well with the a29, I would probably try other dac's but thats down to you.

12088474_915984631808426_2514708725256482899_n_zpsdow1uk0q.jpg
 

CnoEvil

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MickyBlue said:
Kef use arcam as there reference so the ls50's will work very well with the a29, I would probably try other dac's but thats down to you.?
Micky, I see from your photo that you were at the Lyric evening....I have started a thread on my perceptions of it and would love to hear your impressions as well (especially the Ethernet demo), along with any photographs you may have taken (including this one).
 

MickyBlue

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hi cno, no i wasnt there, i live round the corner to kef in Maidstone so i have been privilaged to hear some of there offerings over the years, some of my dealers staff are ex kef and some have left to work there over the years, i do like the arcam/kef sound and find it neutral and a little laid back, for me though i like the extra punch that Leema can bring to the table hence my Tucana II, i have read your post and found it very informative.
 

CnoEvil

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MickyBlue said:
hi cno, no i wasnt there, i live round the corner to kef in Maidstone so i have been privilaged to hear some of there offerings over the years, some of my dealers staff are ex kef and some have left to work there over the years, i do like the arcam/kef sound and find it neutral and a little laid back, for me though i like the extra punch that Leema can bring to the table hence my Tucana II, i have read your post and found it very informative. 
Surely that photograph was taken in Lyric at the time of the demo.....by Kef?
 

Jota180

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drummerman said:
Andrewjvt said:
MUSICRAFT said:
Hi Chr78

Also consider Hegel's H80 amp/DAC. Fwiw, the finest performance I've heard from LS50's is with Hegel amplication.

Aall the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Hegels h80 has a better inbuilt dac than the irdac so the hegel is better value for money plus youll find the sq better also

Oh I wished people would add 'imo' to such statements :)

I personally would probably also try and audition the Schmegel (I actually think it looks nice in this, smallest form) but Arcam's new gen 'Class G' amplifiers have some very good reviews and measure well too. Powerfull as well.

Oddly enough, I just googled Hegel H80 and iQ's Abrahamsen link popped up on top :)

Happy weekend children x

It's an ad link and there's no Hegel in the websites keywords so maybe Google has some hidden keywords for those paying to host their site. Make any search for Hegel amps, Hegel Audio the IP website pops up at the top of your screen like a bad rash. It's clearly no accident.

That's the kind of thing I dislike Google for. If I search for something specific I don't want Google delivering something else because they make something out of it.

Keywords: 224 AE, Abrahamsen Amplifiers, Castle Speakers, Cheap Speakers, Harbeth, HiFi Speakers, IPL ACOUSTICS speakers, IPL Acoustics Speakers Ilfracombe, IPL Speakers, PMC, Proac, Speaker kits, diy speaker kits, iQ Speakers, ilfracombe.
 

p_m_brown

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MickyBlue said:
hi cno, no i wasnt there, i live round the corner to kef in Maidstone so i have been privilaged to hear some of there offerings over the years, some of my dealers staff are ex kef and some have left to work there over the years, i do like the arcam/kef sound and find it neutral and a little laid back, for me though i like the extra punch that Leema can bring to the table hence my Tucana II, i have read your post and found it very informative.

Hi Micky

I have been following your hifi adventures with interest and only noticed that you have moved up to the Tucana from the Elements amp - good upgrade I am sure! Did you listen to many other amps before you made your decision as there are a lot of interesting amps in that price bracket? Also intriguing to hear your view on the differences between Arcam and Leema.

Thanks and apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread - IMO, Arcam and Kef are a superb match but I would be tempted to look other dacs.
 

MickyBlue

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p_m_brown said:
MickyBlue said:
hi cno, no i wasnt there, i live round the corner to kef in Maidstone so i have been privilaged to hear some of there offerings over the years, some of my dealers staff are ex kef and some have left to work there over the years, i do like the arcam/kef sound and find it neutral and a little laid back, for me though i like the extra punch that Leema can bring to the table hence my Tucana II, i have read your post and found it very informative.

Hi Micky

I have been following your hifi adventures with interest and only noticed that you have moved up to the Tucana from the Elements amp - good upgrade I am sure! Did you listen to many other amps before you made your decision as there are a lot of interesting amps in that price bracket? Also intriguing to hear your view on the differences between Arcam and Leema.

Thanks and apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread - IMO, Arcam and Kef are a superb match but I would be tempted to look other dacs.

HI, Yes i had demo'd many amps and owned quite a few as well, when opting to change the elements it was more upgraditus that spured it on, the elements in itself was a terrific amp and my one had the onboard dac which was one of the reasons for the change (really wanted a chord dac & the onboard dac on the leema isn't all that)

Amps i had demo'd were Arcam/Rega/Leema obviously/Heed and Naim.

Leema for me was just one of those amps that did it for me, and still does, arcam & leema display the same characteristics for sure but leema's build quality is better than arcams imo.

if you like arcam then there is a strong chance you will love the leema, obviously there are other amp's out there but when spending your hard earned cash its advisable to get it home for a trail before parting with it.
 

CnoEvil

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Micky B, could you possibly post your photograph on my other thread, as it was taken on the Demo day....I don't know how when using this iPad

Thx.
 

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