arcam alpha 7 amp, any good?

[plastic penguin]

plastic penguin:maxflinn:

i am delighted with my current setup pp, but it's only temporary (although my dynaudios are defo staying put), i'll be getting the nad rick reccomended eventually as it has shedloads of power and is highly rated (by rick amongst others).

the as-500 may have to be sold as i said to cover a non hifi related emergency

, that's life in the recession i'm afraid. so i'll need something cheap in the interim, torres09 will lend me a pioneer a300 or a17 (i think it's called) if i like so i may take him up on that if i can't find a suitable short term cheapie

Life's a *** sometimes....

Given you've had experience of Nad stuff I'm surprised you're tempted back. I'm sure Rick is a smashing chap, I'd be looking in other directions for making the most of the Dyns... the brands I've already mentioned plus Cyrus, Rotel, Leema, very high end Arcam A32 minimum....

Just thought - the offer is still open. If you want to test your apathy, you're more than welcome to try my Alpha 7.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

maxflinn:MUSICRAFT:maxflinn:
i may buy one as i'm doing a bit of chopping and changing (please don't ask

) and there's one going cheap, are they any good?

ta...

Hi maxflinn

Simple really. The NAD C370

Patience is a virtue

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

hi rick, i'll get one eventually that's for sure

, but i may have to wait a little while, i'm just looking for something for the short term as my beloved as-500 may have to be sacrificed to pay for something else

, i'm like arfur daley of late

Hi maxflinn

Fair enough.

NAD C320BEE will be an exellent alternative

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[MUSICRAFT]

running123:GUYS, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO AN ALPHA 9/10 VS NAD C370? THANKS

Hi running123

After having dealt with all three amplifiers for many years overall i would say the pick of the bunch has to be the superb NAD C370.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[chebby]

A brand new A-S500 can be had for £270 so you aren't going to get much more than two thirds of that (including postage) in a sale.

Any higher and people will spend the extra for a new one with full dealer warranty.

Once you have spent the sale money on your 'emergency' then I assume there isn't going to be a whole lot left.

Taking up torres09 on the kind offer of a loan amp is the best course of action.

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:
A brand new A-S500 can be had for £270 so you aren't going to get much more than two thirds of that (including postage) in a sale.

Any higher and people will spend the extra for a new one with full dealer warranty.

Once you have spent the sale money on your 'emergency' then I assume there isn't going to be a whole lot left.

Taking up torres09 on the kind offer of a loan amp is the best course of action.

i think you might be right...

 

[Anonymous]

running123:GUYS, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO AN ALPHA 9/10 VS NAD C370? THANKS

I'd personally go for the Arcam Alpha 10 integrated but the NAD C370 would be a very close 2nd

The Alpha 9 is a superb amp but still fairly 'Arcam smooth' whereas the Alpha 10 stepped away from the overall smoothness

 

[Anonymous]

With what you're looking at changing Max I thing the NAD C320BEE or a NAD C352 integrated would be the best route to go down

The C320BEE can be bought for under £150 usually and it's still a superb amp

 

[Anonymous]

hifilover1979:
With what you're looking at changing Max I thing the NAD C320BEE or a NAD C352 integrated would be the best route to go down

The C320BEE can be bought for under £150 usually and it's still a superb amp

i'll be borrowing a pioneer a300 for a while. till i get my paws on a nad c370

 

[smuggs]

i have the arcam alpha 9 and it is class a bit of a false listen thats why vinyl sounds way better than digtial soures through it imo.

the arcam i find very good at late night sessions and it seems to have bangs of detail, but i dont find it neutral at all. but im used to it now and i cant find a sub £500 to better it enough to swap after demos of the all nads,ca 640, rotel 04 (not se) and arcam a18 and a few av amps i have not found one that beats it. And i dont dare demo some over £600 amps as i fall in love easy.

max i would sell your amp for as much as possible borrow torres one which is a god send sounds like a top bloke and get some cheap but good reviewed headphones a £50 good pair will keep you going a few weeks till they start to bug you having them on all the time.

max i really would ould think about latter in the year getting a turntable my genie2 £130 offer when the 3 came out then a £80 cart. and your away so good. plus now heres the best bit when your short of cash all you need is a £10 and a car and pop round your oxfam,cancer research,BHF all the greats. its great you always find one bargin clean it up and enjoy. just throwing ideas into the mix.

all the best hope work ect sorts it self out.

 

[plastic penguin]

smuggs:

i have the arcam alpha 9 and it is class a bit of a false listen thats why vinyl sounds way better than digtial soures through it imo.

the arcam i find very good at late night sessions and it seems to have bangs of detail, but i dont find it neutral at all. but im used to it now and i cant find a sub £500 to better it enough to swap after demos of the all nads,ca 640, rotel 04 (not se) and arcam a18 and a few av amps i have not found one that beats it. And i dont dare demo some over £600 amps as i fall in love easy.

max i would sell your amp for as much as possible borrow torres one which is a god send sounds like a top bloke and get some cheap but good reviewed headphones a £50 good pair will keep you going a few weeks till they start to bug you having them on all the time.

max i really would ould think about latter in the year getting a turntable my genie2 £130 offer when the 3 came out then a £80 cart. and your away so good. plus now heres the best bit when your short of cash all you need is a £10 and a car and pop round your oxfam,cancer research,BHF all the greats. its great you always find one bargin clean it up and enjoy. just throwing ideas into the mix.

all the best hope work ect sorts it self out.

The Alpha range is fairly rich in character, in a pleasant sort of way. The DIVA range is more neutral, giving the music more room to breath; like you mentioned the Arcam is great for late night listening - great for long sessions.

As I've mentioned many times it does require the right speakers, probably more than other brands, to make the most of it...

 

[007L2Thrill]

When I owed the arcam's alpha 7/8 and 9 they have a big rich sound, personally I liked them and calmed down my TDL RTL 3's which had a very upfront treble, but with a pair of Tannoy R3's or any speaker which is smooth IMPO just sounds to shut in.

 

[Anonymous]

plastic penguin:plastic penguin:maxflinn:

i am delighted with my current setup pp, but it's only temporary (although my dynaudios are defo staying put), i'll be getting the nad rick reccomended eventually as it has shedloads of power and is highly rated (by rick amongst others).

the as-500 may have to be sold as i said to cover a non hifi related emergency

, that's life in the recession i'm afraid. so i'll need something cheap in the interim, torres09 will lend me a pioneer a300 or a17 (i think it's called) if i like so i may take him up on that if i can't find a suitable short term cheapie

Life's a *** sometimes....

Given you've had experience of Nad stuff I'm surprised you're tempted back. I'm sure Rick is a smashing chap, I'd be looking in other directions for making the most of the Dyns... the brands I've already mentioned plus Cyrus, Rotel, Leema, very high end Arcam A32 minimum....

Just thought - the offer is still open. If you want to test your apathy, you're more than welcome to try my Alpha 7.

sorry pp i just spotted your kind offer, i'm ok for a while as torres09 (soon to be suarez07

) is giving me one of his pioneers for a

while

 

[Anonymous]

smuggs:
i have the arcam alpha 9 and it is class a bit of a false listen thats why vinyl sounds way better than digtial soures through it imo.

the arcam i find very good at late night sessions and it seems to have bangs of detail, but i dont find it neutral at all. but im used to it now and i cant find a sub £500 to better it enough to swap after demos of the all nads,ca 640, rotel 04 (not se) and arcam a18 and a few av amps i have not found one that beats it. And i dont dare demo some over £600 amps as i fall in love easy.

max i would sell your amp for as much as possible borrow torres one which is a god send sounds like a top bloke and get some cheap but good reviewed headphones a £50 good pair will keep you going a few weeks till they start to bug you having them on all the time.

max i really would ould think about latter in the year getting a turntable my genie2 £130 offer when the 3 came out then a £80 cart. and your away so good. plus now heres the best bit when your short of cash all you need is a £10 and a car and pop round your oxfam,cancer research,BHF all the greats. its great you always find one bargin clean it up and enjoy. just throwing ideas into the mix.

all the best hope work ect sorts it self out.

hi smuggs, yea i'll be borrowing torres09s amp, he is a top bloke, (albeit with a dodgy username

)..

i must admit i'd like to hear a good turntable, but the idea of having to get up and manually change tracks, along with the extra box kind of puts me off

 

[Anonymous]

hey guys, i can get a marantz 6010 OSO plus around e250 for my as-500 (i payed e350), the phono stage doesn't work but i don't need that anyway, any views on wether it would be a capable stop-gap amp for me? they're going for between £120-£150 on the bay...

 

[smuggs]

max its sounds like you are only gain around £120 on the deal and lose an amp you like.

i would really sell your unit and clear your debt and save the money left over for a new amp of the same sq you have, or buy a £40-£50 stop gap. spending that much on an amp that after 3 months will have you wanting to chop in.

i have found that a 1970's rotel ra-202mkii was a is a great amp i payed £20 plus £12 p&p and it is very warm sounding and goes loud but the arcam beat it. i still use it as my phono stage.

 

[Anonymous]

hi smuggs, i'd be getting 250 euros plus an amp that's fetching around £130 (sterling) on ebay, it's not a bad deal if the amps any good, only 50 watts but might be ok for a few months...

 

[the record spot]

Good advice from smuggs mate - I bought my Sansui AU-217 (30wpc or 40 for the Mk II) and it was about £33 delivered AND serviced! Haven't recommended it for a while, but it's a superb amp. Lovely sound to it and the best I've had after the 717. There's a few on the 'bay right now all on BINs I think.

 

[matthewpiano]

I'm with smuggs and the record spot. Good advice Max.

 

[Anonymous]

it's just a stop gap guys, i only want it for 4 or 5 weeks..

anyways, a deal has been done, i'm getting e280 plus the marantz

, good business, i paid e350 and the marantz is selling for £130 on the bay..

i'll pay my bill and the hunt will soon begin for something a little tasty

 

[Anonymous]

thanks to a heads up from torres09 i've just bagged myself a marantz pm7001, (clearance stock) from richer sounds belfast for the measly sum of £115 delivered (e140)

, i'll flog the marantz 6010 OSO for e50

 

[Anonymous]

can't believe i got my marantz pm7001 for £99.95.(it's being posted tommorow)..... £299 here ..

what a bargain i've got