Arcam clobber - 2 questions

[Anonymous]

Well I think it's a very nice amp.

ps - just had a go in my mate's dad's new Mclaren SLR - amazing, but awful sound-system! lol!

Oh and that A32 is a bargain - go for that and a pair of Rega R5s and you're in heaven, my friend!

 

[the record spot]

JohnDuncan:Yah. Even I don't think Primare is the best equipment in the hifi world.

(just has the best knobs.........)

What, even better than those manufactured by Unison Research? Their Unico amp was a slice of knob-tastic design I thought.

 

[Anonymous]

the record spot:JohnDuncan:Yah. Even I don't think Primare is the best equipment in the hifi world.

(just has the best knobs.........)

What, even better than those manufactured by Unison Research? Their Unico amp was a slice of knob-tastic design I thought.

I'm not a knob expert, thank God.....

Love the Arcam CD192 which is deffo not dull/sedate - but prefer my MF amp tbh, IMHO, YMMV and other caveats.

Are you near me LowFeller (Durham?) - pass you every day to work if you are......

 

[batonwielder]

That's it! Screw my Rega! I'm going knobby next time!

 

[JoelSim]

lol, always provokes, but if JD and crew had come round that night they would have understood. Listening to some Erick Morillo now and it's just sublime...far away from the Jack Johnson I was listening to earlier, but beautiful nontheless.

Those Arcam Evilwolves should listen to a decent set-up and they would agree. (By the way I have no doubt that the Motives and Primare kit sound pretty damn good too).

ÿMr Hughes, we are on the same planet, a CD192 or better would change your view even more. Wasn't sure at first as the 192 is quite forward compared to the 92, but these days, after a bit of running in, I love it!

ÿ

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Daveh75 - Damn that's tempting!!!!!!!! A talk with my better half beckons... ;o)

Graham - used to live in Low Fell, mate. So do you pass the Angel of the North every morning too?

 

[plastic penguin]

JoelSim:

lol, always provokes, but if JD and crew had come round that night they would have understood. Listening to some Erick Morillo now and it's just sublime...far away from the Jack Johnson I was listening to earlier, but beautiful nontheless.

Those Arcam Evilwolves should listen to a decent set-up and they would agree. (By the way I have no doubt that the Motives and Primare kit sound pretty damn good too).

Mr Hughes, we are on the same planet, a CD192 or better would change your view even more. Wasn't sure at first as the 192 is quite forward compared to the 92, but these days, after a bit of running in, I love it!

Yep. . .what's so laughable about those who take a pop at Arcam is that some have never listened one. I think it's called "jumpin on the bandwagon."

Still, their the one's that are missing out.

 

[Dave_]

at that price its an absolute bargain, reckon it a be snapped up pretty quick

 

[JoelSim]

plastic penguin:JoelSim:
lol, always provokes, but if JD and crew had come round that night they would have understood. Listening to some Erick Morillo now and it's just sublime...far away from the Jack Johnson I was listening to earlier, but beautiful nontheless.

Those Arcam Evilwolves should listen to a decent set-up and they would agree. (By the way I have no doubt that the Motives and Primare kit sound pretty damn good too).

ÿMr Hughes, we are on the same planet, a CD192 or better would change your view even more. Wasn't sure at first as the 192 is quite forward compared to the 92, but these days, after a bit of running in, I love it!

ÿ

ÿ

Yep. . .what's so laughable about those who take a pop at Arcam is that some have never listened one. I think it's called "jumpin on the bandwagon."

Still, their the one's that areÿmissing out.

QED, and I'm not talking about the cables.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

LowFeller:
Daveh75 - Damn that's tempting!!!!!!!! A talk with my better half beckons... ;o)

Graham - used to live in Low Fell, mate. So do you pass the Angel of the North every morning too?

Yup, I get stuck to crawl movement on the A1 no matter what time I set off! Pass the big mutha twice daily..........

 

[Anonymous]

the record spot:JohnDuncan:Yah. Even I don't think Primare is the best equipment in the hifi world.

(just has the best knobs.........)

What, even better than those manufactured by Unison Research? Their Unico amp was a slice of knob-tastic design I thought.

These knobs aren't half bad either. Feel nice and chunky in hand:

 

[John Duncan]

JoelSim:
lol, always provokes, but if JD and crew had come round that night they would have understood. Listening to some Erick Morillo now and it's just sublime...far away from the Jack Johnson I was listening to earlier, but beautiful nontheless.

Those Arcam Evilwolves should listen to a decent set-up and they would agree. (By the way I have no doubt that the Motives and Primare kit sound pretty damn good too).

Mr Hughes, we are on the same planet, a CD192 or better would change your view even more. Wasn't sure at first as the 192 is quite forward compared to the 92, but these days, after a bit of running in, I love it!

At no point in this thread (or indeed anywhere) have I said Arcam is rubbish (besides the 65s and 73s and Alpha 7s of this world, which are deathly dull) - I only said that to say Arcam is the best hifi in the world is just silly. Given the choice between an A32 at 700 quid and an i21 at 800 quid, I'd probably take the Arcam, all knobs being equal. There, I've said it.

 

[chebby]

I have only heard two Arcam based systems. One based on an A65 and the one that I use now.

Not quite sure why the brand attracts such loathing. If someone bought an Arcam and did not like it then that is their fault for not listening to it first and/or not ensuring they could return it to the dealer within an agreed trial period.

If someone listened to it first and did not like it than that is just a matter of individual taste and that individual's needs, listening environment, partnering equipment etc.

I have never heard any item of Naim equipment that I liked* in almost 27 years since I first heard one. That in no way diminishes Naim or their equipment or the tastes of those who enjoy the brand.

*The experience has always seemed akin to someone smashing small fragments of CD/LP into my ears with a large mallet but that is exactly how their fans like music so all power to them for knowing their market and serving it so well and so consistently.

 

[Anonymous]

RAY - WHEN DID THEY LAUNCH THAT IN BLACK???!!!! MY GOD, I'VE GOT TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE!!!

Anyone know where I can part-ex my Arcam???

Me? Fickle? Never!

 

[Anonymous]

Just recently. It's scrummy yeah?

I prefer the silver but it doesn't go with my room and speaker finish.

Getting one just so soon as I have my Jolida sold on flebay.

I've gotta say, I hope this heralds a resurgence of -proper- Japanese hifi. I'd love to see Denon, Pioneer and Onkyo's seperates rise to the occasion. Maybe even see the resurection of Technics HiFi!

For a while there the only reasonably priced performers were the Rotel gear.

 

[Anonymous]

raypalmer:Just recently. It's scrummy yeah?

I prefer the silver but it doesn't go with my room and speaker finish.

Getting one just so soon as I have my Jolida sold on flebay.

I've gotta say, I hope this heralds a resurgence of -proper- Japanese hifi. I'd love to see Denon, Pioneer and Onkyo's seperates rise to the occasion. Maybe even see the resurection of Technics HiFi!

For a while there the only reasonably priced performers were the Rotel gear.

100% Scrummy!

I would love to see all the old Jap brands make some proper hi-fi again...and don't you forget JVC on that list!

 

[Dan Turner]

I have to say I'm firmly in the Arcam camp although you do have to be careful with system matching to prevent things becoming overly warm. I reckon you should definitely stretch to the A32. I can also recommend PMC speakers with Arcam amps. Then in the future you always have the option of adding a P35 power amp to bi-amp later. I'm using A32+ P35 into PMC TB2+s and it's a great match.

The other thing you should look in to, to avoid the cost of fully replacing your CD player now or in the future is whether Arcam can offer an upgrade - I know they used to offer an upgrade to the circuit boards to bring the lower models up to full spec of higher models and I know the Diva range did offer this. Without knowing for sure I think you could probably go as high as the spec of a CD93; I think the CD192 introduced other changes that precludes upgrading. As I say I don't know for sure so you'd need to talk to Arcam, and to be honest they might not have the upgrade kits still as even the CD93 is a few years out of production.

Having said that I do use a CD93 myself and although the sound overall is great, I think it just strays into excess warmth sometimes and am planning to upgrade to something slightly snappier. But if you went with the amp and speaker upgrade first as it sounds like you're intending to, and liked things, then stepping up to a higher Arcam player could only improve things further.

One thing you should experiment with if you haven't already is speaker placement, try moving them away from walls (especially side walls) and you may find that it makes some surprising improvements without having to upgrade anything.

 

[Dan Turner]

Sorry - just read the initial post and realised yo've already sorted the CD player! The chain was so long I could hardly remember how it started by the time I got the the end! Do'h!

 

[JoelSim]

Dan Turner:
I have to say I'm firmly in the Arcam camp although you do have to be careful with system matching to prevent things becoming overly warm.ÿÿI reckon you should definitely stretch to the A32.ÿ I can also recommend PMC speakers with Arcam amps. Then in the future you always have the option of adding a P35 power amp to bi-amp later.ÿ I'm using A32+ P35 into PMC TB2+s and it's a great match.

The other thing you should look in to, to avoid the cost of fully replacing your CD player now or in the future is whether Arcam can offer an upgrade - I know they used to offer an upgrade to the circuit boards to bring the lower models up to full spec of higher models and I know the Diva range did offer this.ÿ Without knowing for sure I think you could probably go as high as the spec of a CD93; I think the CD192ÿintroduced other changes that precludes upgrading.ÿ As I say I don't know for sureÿso you'd need to talk to Arcam, and to be honest they might not have the upgrade kits still as even the CD93 is a few years out of production.

Having said that I do use a CD93 myself and although the sound overall is great, I think it just strays into excess warmth sometimes and am planning to upgrade to something slightly snappier.ÿ But if you went with the amp and speaker upgrade first as it sounds like you'reÿintending to, and liked things, then stepping up to a higher Arcam player could only improve things further.

Oneÿthing you shouldÿexperiment with if you haven't already is speaker placement, try moving them away from walls (especially side walls) and you may find that itÿmakes some surprising improvements without having to upgrade anything.

LOL you need a 192!

ÿ

 

[crusaderlord]

Dan

I have just bi-wired my A32 to great effect using Chord Epic Twin - it sounds fantastic now but i am interested to know how your A32 compares bi-wired with and without the P35 given you can actually experience it. Is there a vast difference ?

I dont take the volume levels up particularly high so now that ive bi-wired i am unsure if bi-amping will be any improvement.

 

[Dan Turner]

Ah Crusaderlord, you've opened pandora's box now, I'm going to have to tell you the whole story!

When I just had the A32 on it's own I originally bi-wired it to my PMCs with QED Silver Anniversary. I did this right from the start as it seemed like a no-brainer. Fairly recently I decided to go for a speaker cable upgrade so I phoned PMC to see what they recommended. The bloke I spoke to said not to bother with fancy cables and said that bi-wiring wasn't really worth it, bi-amping was where it was at. So I got some single wire lengths of the stuff they recommended (Van Damme). As it was only about £4/m I was prepared just to give it a go, but I found that single wired VD was an improvement over the bi-wired QED.

More recently I got the P35 and additonal lengths of the VD.....Amazing, huge improvement. The best thing was the bass, just so much more punch, speed and articulation. What surprised me though was just a general increase in 3 dimensionality and resolution. Honestly if you have an A32 and bi-wire/amp-able speakers it's a no brainer. I got my P35 for about £500 as it's been replaced by the P38, and at that money it's even sweeter.

I do realise that the PMC guy's opinion about bi-wiring and my own experience probably isn't reflective of bi-wiring in general, I know lots of people find it makes a difference yourself included and the science is solid enough. I expect the VD cables I got were just more suited to my amp & speakers than the QED. I've never tried the Chord but it sounds like it's a good match in your system. Anyway I'm certain that the P35 would be a hugely beneficial upgrade in your system.

 

[crusaderlord]

Thanks Dan

I got my Arcams in the same deal i think - but was so surprised my wife agreed to the purchases i didnt push for the power amp at the time

I have spent some time recently testing various options and to my mind upgrading the speaker cable (in my case significantly) from Chord Silverscreen (£6 p/m) to Epic (£35 p/m) and adding in bi-wiring made a huge difference much as you described with bi-amping.

I guess i am wondering if its actually the bi-wiring process that works most or the additional power amp. I am going to have to try a P35 it at some point but bi-wiring the A32 was a winner.

 

[Anonymous]

John Duncan wote: At no point in this thread (or indeed anywhere) have I said Arcam is rubbish (besides the 65s and 73s and Alpha 7s of this world, which are deathly dull) - I only said that to say Arcam is the best hifi in the world is just silly. Given the choice between an A32 at 700 quid and an i21 at 800 quid, I'd probably take the Arcam, all knobs being equal. There, I've said it.

There you go JD. Feel better for that JD!? ;o)

Joel's descriptions on this forum about the sparking sound of the cd192 were enough to make me audition one, and its everything I hoped it would be. This is a brilliant cd player full stop. At £400 its also outrageously good VFM. I replaced my old cd62 with one a few weeks ago I am now hearing things I never knew were present on lots of well known tracks. Its just a brilliant cd player. I had not realised it may not be upgradeable although this does not particularly concern me as I am very happy with it.

What is very apparent here - and on other forums - is bi-amping top end arcam amps gives a brilliant sound, particularly when carefully matched with source and speakers. I would love an A32 - its obviously a belter of an amp new at £700. I just dont have the money.

Have to say this is a brilliant forum - I have learned loads of useful stuff from you all in the past few weeks.

As you were...

LowFeller

 

[Anonymous]

I have just replaced my cd73 with a cd192 (arrived yesterday) and, suffice to say after a half hour listen, this was a very good upgrade. It seems that the 192 fills in the 'holes' of the cd73. The sound is fuller and more harmonious with greater articulate bass, something that was missing from the cd73 (though it is still a cracking player for the money). I need to spend time listening to more music though before I can truely comment, but I have a feeling I'm gonna be happy!!!ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Think i'll upgrade my CD73 too. Have been thinkin about it for a while now but at £399 for a brand new 192, think i'll regret it if i don't pick one up.