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Do you stream hi-res music or download hi-res tracks? We want your opinions!
Arcam is rubbish...
- Thread starter plastic penguin
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- Apr 28, 2008
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Andrew Everard said:
Clearly you haven't fathomed the reason. Not a ridiculous thread, just... well work it out.
Hint: http://www.whathifi.com/forum/off-topic-and-miscellaneous/forum-folk-who-go-and-er-return
Not really sure I get the point of this thread, but that's never stopped me posting before.
I can understand the sound might not be to some people's liking, but I like it. It gets a little annoying when people seem to have a set anti-Arcam (or any brand) bias and just express it as Arcam is rubbish rather than explaining that they don't like the sound and why.
Some of the QA issues surrounding their home cinema products is a little worrying, and I'd be worried about the damage reliability issues are doing the brand. I get the feeling that development went on so long that it reached a point where due to building costs and delays in entering the market they felt they had to release it anyway. Either way, this is pure conjecture, and maybe it passed all their QA procedures...
I can understand the sound might not be to some people's liking, but I like it. It gets a little annoying when people seem to have a set anti-Arcam (or any brand) bias and just express it as Arcam is rubbish rather than explaining that they don't like the sound and why.
Some of the QA issues surrounding their home cinema products is a little worrying, and I'd be worried about the damage reliability issues are doing the brand. I get the feeling that development went on so long that it reached a point where due to building costs and delays in entering the market they felt they had to release it anyway. Either way, this is pure conjecture, and maybe it passed all their QA procedures...
plastic penguin said:
Only my dry humour PP!
Had a bit of a listen to one which was on display in whatever shop I was passing when I was in London early last year, and I was well impressed to be honest. No idea what speakers it was running mind, and never bothered with a proper audition afterwards as no way could I afford it at the time. However, I'm getting the itch for a one box solution to tuck away in my bedroom to replace what I have already.
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ID. said:
You've been on this forum long enough to know my feelings about Arcam. Just look at my sig - there's a clue.
Sorry PP, I know you are an Arcam fan. I'm a fan even though I haven't owned any since my beloved Alpha 9 amp. My comments were just about some attitudes that pop up on the forum and trying to give my objective opinions on the brand and products.
As for the point of the thread, I wasn't sure whether you were just trying to get some debate and an interesting thread going due to comments about lack of activity, etc. in the thread you referenced, or whether you had become frustrated by a number of anti-Arcam threads or comments
As for the point of the thread, I wasn't sure whether you were just trying to get some debate and an interesting thread going due to comments about lack of activity, etc. in the thread you referenced, or whether you had become frustrated by a number of anti-Arcam threads or comments
Sizzers said:
I have one and it's great, but only if you'll be mainly be playing CDs. I have the rDock but it's at the mercy of the iPod i.e. Touch yes, Classic no no. Its USB is next to useless though - sounds great but usability is rubbish. Tuner is great.
So in a nutshell, if you're spinning lots of CDs go for it. If not look at Marantz.
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ID. said:
Purely to get some dialogue goin', as I'm fairly qualified to talk about the brand, and it makes a change some of the dull stuff we read. It's partially worked already - one or two replies from members who haven't been on for a while.
matthewpiano
Well-known member
- Nov 23, 2007
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I've had mixed experiences with Arcam, but ultimately I think they are a great manufacturer with the ability to make some really good kit.
I've owned quite a bit of entry level Arcam product. Of that product the A65+ and CD73T were very enjoyable, the A70 was a bit of a wet lettuce and didn't last long, the CD17 was excellent, and the A18 had so much potential but wasn't that great at driving anything but fairly easy loads so lacked in flexibility. I've also had an Alpha 8 amp which I thought was superb.
However, this is all entry-level Arcam kit and I firmly believe the brand comes on song once you get further up the food chain. I have head an A38, and CD37 with Focus 806v speakers and it was incredible - open, involving, dynamic, musical.... You get the picture.
No brand is consistently great and to slag the whole of Arcam's output off based on a handful of their products is a little unfair.
I've owned quite a bit of entry level Arcam product. Of that product the A65+ and CD73T were very enjoyable, the A70 was a bit of a wet lettuce and didn't last long, the CD17 was excellent, and the A18 had so much potential but wasn't that great at driving anything but fairly easy loads so lacked in flexibility. I've also had an Alpha 8 amp which I thought was superb.
However, this is all entry-level Arcam kit and I firmly believe the brand comes on song once you get further up the food chain. I have head an A38, and CD37 with Focus 806v speakers and it was incredible - open, involving, dynamic, musical.... You get the picture.
No brand is consistently great and to slag the whole of Arcam's output off based on a handful of their products is a little unfair.
Gusboll said:
As Arcam fanboys PP and I have exchanged the Arcam fans' secret handshake
As a Cyrus owner you wouldn't be privy to that kind of knowledge
Nothing to debate. Sitting here listening to P.T's 'The Incident' Disc 2, it's a categorical 'No' from me.🙂
OK, I own Arcam kit, but I've upgraded to this Arcam kit from cheaper Arcam kit. If I didn't like the cheaper stuff I may well have ruled out Arcam altogether.
I'm not saying I'm an experienced auditioner, but I prefer my Arcams to the other popular brands I've heard (as an Openreach engineer, I'm in peoples homes a lot of the day and when I see some decent gear, talk usually turns to hifi and more often than not, an impromptu demo). Even the 5 figure set-up of Mark Levinson electronics and massive ATCs didn't blow me away to the level you would expect from the amount of outlay.
OK, I own Arcam kit, but I've upgraded to this Arcam kit from cheaper Arcam kit. If I didn't like the cheaper stuff I may well have ruled out Arcam altogether.
I'm not saying I'm an experienced auditioner, but I prefer my Arcams to the other popular brands I've heard (as an Openreach engineer, I'm in peoples homes a lot of the day and when I see some decent gear, talk usually turns to hifi and more often than not, an impromptu demo). Even the 5 figure set-up of Mark Levinson electronics and massive ATCs didn't blow me away to the level you would expect from the amount of outlay.
Hi,
This is partly out of another thread but thought I would add my contribution .
I have an Alpha 5 which I think is fabulous , rich warm sounding especially with vinyl, sounds like I have had a small scotch before I started listening to it if you know what I mean.
The first amp I heard that got me into hifi was the A&R A60 if that counts as Arcam and that was the amp I aspired to but could only stretch to Pioneer as a teenager back then.
I am currently tracking down an Alpha 9 and glad to see people here being positive about this amp, looking forward to hearing one.
I did recently listen to the current A28 and this was not the sound I was looking for and was a little dissappointed but there is no way I would say it was bad, maybe the A38 would have delivered but to me the character was missing compared to my A5.
I can not comment on any other Arcam products but from what I see those who have or had them seem to hold them in high regard and I even recommended the brand to a colleague who wanted a good secondhand hifi , you know buy Arcam you won't go too far wrong.
This is partly out of another thread but thought I would add my contribution .
I have an Alpha 5 which I think is fabulous , rich warm sounding especially with vinyl, sounds like I have had a small scotch before I started listening to it if you know what I mean.
The first amp I heard that got me into hifi was the A&R A60 if that counts as Arcam and that was the amp I aspired to but could only stretch to Pioneer as a teenager back then.
I am currently tracking down an Alpha 9 and glad to see people here being positive about this amp, looking forward to hearing one.
I did recently listen to the current A28 and this was not the sound I was looking for and was a little dissappointed but there is no way I would say it was bad, maybe the A38 would have delivered but to me the character was missing compared to my A5.
I can not comment on any other Arcam products but from what I see those who have or had them seem to hold them in high regard and I even recommended the brand to a colleague who wanted a good secondhand hifi , you know buy Arcam you won't go too far wrong.
AEJim
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- Nov 17, 2008
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Shanka said:
We used to design most of our speakers on Arcam (plenty of WHF product-of-the-year award winners amongst those speakers too!), always very neutral and some very nice amplifiers. Unless a product has some disastrous flaws then much of what people like or don't is down to character and taste. For me amplifiers have a very specific job and Arcam usually fill that role well - plenty of current delivery for dynamics, low distortion and neutral character. They may not be the most "exciting" to some but that's why we have personal choice. Nowadays we use Naim but that's mainly because we like the product and have a good relationship with them (my old contacts at Arcam have moved on to other things!).
The Alpha 9 you're looking at is a perfectly respectable amp - I delivered some of our old flagship AE5's to the singer Des'ree a few years back and she was using the Alpha 9 with matching power amp, I remember being concerned that it wouldn't be enough to drive them but was pleasantly surprised when listening at what can only be described as "live" volume levels there was no trace of distortion or hardness creeping in. There are a lot of "haters and "fanboys" in the Hi-Fi world but we're at a point in time that there's very little bad product about from the respectable manufacturers.
They certainly did not receive a warm review in the latest Bluray super test. The points were warrranted, but I think the tone of the article was biased by the companies poor showing from the earlier test. Identical features on other units were not mentioned but highlighted as a negative on the Arcam.
E.g.
The 95 and Arcam unit both require a button push to illuminate the display. Yet this was highlighted with the Arcam as minus point.
Still a very enjoyable read.
E.g.
The 95 and Arcam unit both require a button push to illuminate the display. Yet this was highlighted with the Arcam as minus point.
Still a very enjoyable read.
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def lugs said:
Ah, so true - but SQ-wise it received a glowing review, so I'm still grasping to the hope that the later models have rectified ergonomic and usability the problem.
Watch this space...
Interesting that most of the replies have come from older Arcam machines and not the new stuff.
Is know one using the rDAC, surely there are a few out their and that falls into the HiFi catagory if nor how abour the FMJ range of integrated's, any one have one of these?
Personally i've have The Alpha 7 or maybe 8 cant remember which to be honest it was so ling ago, bought from Audio T High Wycombe which is now shut down. And the CD73T, which was a nice spinner paired with Marantz amp and Epos speakers sounded pretty good to me, not too rubbish!
Is know one using the rDAC, surely there are a few out their and that falls into the HiFi catagory if nor how abour the FMJ range of integrated's, any one have one of these?
Personally i've have The Alpha 7 or maybe 8 cant remember which to be honest it was so ling ago, bought from Audio T High Wycombe which is now shut down. And the CD73T, which was a nice spinner paired with Marantz amp and Epos speakers sounded pretty good to me, not too rubbish!
As with Shanka, my Arcam experience goes back to the A&R A60, which is still going strong.
I owned an AVR 350, that sounded great and had to go back for repair. I own a DV79, that sounds great and had to go back for repair; and an AVR600 which sounds stunning, and is waiting to go back for repair due to a power supply problem.....Clearly a pattern, I think you would agree.
In all cases, Arcam's redeeming feature has been their repair service and willingness to help. Try ringing Sony or Samsung and asking to speak to one of the design engineers!
But herein lies the problem. With the madness that has come with AV and HDMI protocols, as well as the need to keep up with ever changing technology, the likes of Arcam don't have the resources of the big players. The pressure to release your new product before it becomes obsolete is overwhelming, so to some degree, the public become the Beta testers.
IMO. Arcam never compromise on sound quality and have always introduced cutting edge tech, so as a small homegrown company with great customer service, it deserves respect and support....same as the other stalwarts of the British HiFi industry.
Just a personal perspective
Cno
I owned an AVR 350, that sounded great and had to go back for repair. I own a DV79, that sounds great and had to go back for repair; and an AVR600 which sounds stunning, and is waiting to go back for repair due to a power supply problem.....Clearly a pattern, I think you would agree.
In all cases, Arcam's redeeming feature has been their repair service and willingness to help. Try ringing Sony or Samsung and asking to speak to one of the design engineers!
But herein lies the problem. With the madness that has come with AV and HDMI protocols, as well as the need to keep up with ever changing technology, the likes of Arcam don't have the resources of the big players. The pressure to release your new product before it becomes obsolete is overwhelming, so to some degree, the public become the Beta testers.
IMO. Arcam never compromise on sound quality and have always introduced cutting edge tech, so as a small homegrown company with great customer service, it deserves respect and support....same as the other stalwarts of the British HiFi industry.
Just a personal perspective
Cno
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Big Chris said:
I said so many times on here about the A65+, you know very well, probably went through more auditions of popular brands than one could shake a stick at. It took me a lot of thought before I plumped for the Leema.
The only real achilles heel of the A65+ is speaker matching is paramount, otherwise the fairly mediocre output can struggle.
I have owned Arcam for about 4 years starting with the Diva and now the FMJ - i have heard many others Cyrus, Naim, NAD, Cambridge Audio etc and dont think anyone of them are better, just different. Arcam suits my taste in music and is very musical. I have been around the forum a while and am bored with all the Arcam bashing but i try to ignore and just enjoy what i have. For value i think Arcam are great, particularly the FMJ range - you can pick up great bargains too.
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