ARCAM CD 17 + A18 + ? speakers

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Craig M.

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plastic penguin:
Craig M.:nah, you'd get one each.
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....and very long speaker cables
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that cracked me up.
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Anonymous

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Spent two hours this morning auditioning Monitor Audio RX2, Acoustic energy AE1 classic, Spendor SA1, ProAC Tablette 8, ProAc studio 110. the listening room was about the size of my room at home, 4mX3m.

The first one I audiitoned was MA RX2s. the sound was balanced and detailed, but I found it a bit too noisy and not too natural. Then AE1s, a bit too bright for me and could be harsh at times. When it changed to Spendors, I suddenly felt that I was surrounded by music. The sound of piano and strings was natural, detailed, and just what I wanted them to be. Changed to ProAC Tablettes, not as impressive as the spendors but still better for me than the MA RX2s and the AE2s. The last one was ProAc studio 110s, which were more expensive ones than the tablettes but I did not feel a lot improvements.

So far I like the sound of Spendor SA1s the best. They are also the best goodlooking ones. but they are also the most expensive ones. £1295 is beyond my budget. I am off to audition ATC SCM11 and PMC DB1i this afternoon and will report back here.
 

chebby

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bluelittle:So far I like the sound of Spendor SA1s the best. They are also the best goodlooking ones. but they are also the most expensive ones. £1295 is beyond my budget. I am off to audition ATC SCM11 and PMC DB1i this afternoon and will report back here.

Unless you want to bore holes in the opposite wall then I think you will end up with DB1i's or the Spendors.

The SCM11s are going to need the sort of power that the Arcam A18 simply cannot muster. They are good when loud but will probably rip the A18 to shreds.

I should qualify that by saying I have only ever heard DB1i's with Naim and STM11's with a Primare i30 (a lot and usually very loud
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).

The only time I heard the Arcam A18/CD17 combi was with Rega RS3s and Focal floorstanders and it had trouble with both despite their efficiency. (Soft, vague, overly warm.)

If you are into that 'soft, warm' character then I can heartily recommend the £750 Spendor S3/5R stand mounts.
 
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Anonymous

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I auditioned ATC scm11s / scm19s, PMC db1is, and also a pair of second hand spendor S3/5R.

The relatively cheap spendor S3/5Rs are not too bad, nothing particularly good but nothing quite wrong.

I had high expectation for the PMC db1is and I was impressed when I heard them first but it did not take me long to find that the bass was too much. actually my ears suffered a lot from the bass that PMC db1is produced.

The ATC scm11s are good. My first impression was the sound lacked a bit of life but just as some of the reviews said, you would not feel tired of listening to them. The scm 19 ones are even better.

Now it is down to Spendor SA1s and ATC scm11s for me. they sound different but I like both of them.

The problem is the amplifier the dealer used to drive ATCs this afternoon was Roksan caspian, which was much more powerful than my A18. I suppose my A18 would not be right for the ATCs. the SA1s would be fine with my A18 but the speakers themselves are more expensive.

So, with my budget, either the Spendor SA1s with the current A18 or upgrading the amplifier and getting scm11s. Any suggestions from you guys would be highly appreciated.
 

chebby

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SA1s from what you have said.

They make you happy with the amp and CD you already have, and will work out cheaper than setting out on an amp/cd upgrade route. (You will lose out big time selling the Arcam gear.)
 

matthewpiano

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Alternatively, could you afford to look at adding a power amp to the A18?

Personally I think its a bit of a wet blanket as an integrated but adding a power amp should transform it and make your system much more flexible for partnering with a wide range of different speakers.
 
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Anonymous

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Thanks for the suggestions. Adding a power amp would be a good idea although it is not wihtin my budget at the moment.

Or would it make any sense if I upgrade my amplifier to Arcam A28 or A38? I can get good prices with the local dealer for ex-demos.

Thank you.
 

matthewpiano

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If it works out financially I think a move up to an A28 or A38 would be well worthwhile and provide a better basis for the future than the A18. It all depends on whether you still have time to return the A18.

Of course, there are cheaper amps than the A18 that are quite a bit better...
 

crusaderlord

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the A38 is highly regarded in many quarters and one magazine gave it amp of year award in its price bracket

having got the forerunner A32 i would hearterly recommend the more powerful performer as well worthwhile
 
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Anonymous

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Thank you!

I have enough time to return the A18 as I only bought it a few days ago.

So I will speak to the sales guy tomorrow. He said he could sell me an ex-demo A38 at the price of less than £1000, should be a good deal?
 

JoelSim

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bluelittle:
Thank you!

I have enough time to return the A18 as I only bought it a few days ago.

So I will speak to the sales guy tomorrow. He said he could sell me an ex-demo A38 at the price of less than £1000, should be a good deal?

Go for it, a great amp, and as someone has said above extremely highly rated by another mag, even winning a group test handsomely, 5 stars out of 5 in every area.

It will work very well with both of those speakers.
 

d_a_n1979

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After the horrendous demo I had last thursday with the A18 and CD17 as well as the Naim Nait 5i and CD5i I'd definitly looking to go up a few levels over the Arcam gear.

Shame really as Arcam have let themselves down with this combo; I've not heard the A38 yet though and cant find anywhere local to me that has it. Shame What Hifi poorly rated it but everywhere elses seems to rave over it! It's worth that just to demo it and see/hear the difference.

If still no good I'd highly nrecommend the NAD C355BEWE integrated amp if you can demo one locally or possibly the NAD C165 and C275 pre/power combo as Jaxwired raves about
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