Any thoughts on this machine as a one-box sollution. I'm thinking of (downgrading?) to it from Roksan Caspian MK1 original version 16 years old and Marantz Pearl-Lite SACD player. Any thoughts much appreciated.
Arcam Solo Music
- Thread starter cse
- Start date
manicm
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tino
Well-known member
expat_mike
Well-known member
I have an Solo neo, which is a few years old now, so I read the review with interest.
In many respects I wish my Solo neo, could magically transform into the Solo music. I haven't used my neo much in recent years, because I moved to live in France, and features such as the FM & DAB tuners were no longer relevant. I then bought an AV receiver and have used that almost exclusively, so the neo has sat unused.
However I have bought a pair of Focal Aria 936s, and am exploring how well the neo can drive them. So far much to my surprise I am liking the sound - I had assumed that the neo would be slightly underpowered for the Focals.
If I replaced my neo with the new music, I would then have SACD capability, which would be useful. With regard to the standard CD functionality, I find that the neo CD sounds slightly 'flat' compared to the same tracks played as FLACs from a USB memory stick plugged into the USB socket. That is not a big issue for me, because I am gradually converting my CDs to FLAC files, played from a memory stick or NAS. However this does mean that you should check if the Solo music CD, produces sound that meets your taste.
So overall, the Solo music would provide me with some new functionality which was missing on the old neo. I don't think the missing internet radio is a big issue really - the days of hard coding internet streaming and internet radio into hifi equipment really should really be over. I think that most people find streaming music and radio from their phone/tablet/chromecast etc is much easier, and the app can be easily be upgraded - there is no need to return the hifi equipment to the manufacturer for a firmware upgrade.
I think that you should audition the Solo, however it does sound like it too suffers from a laggy control system - I certainly find it irritating pressing a button on the remote control, and nothing happens for a few seconds. This certainly should have been sorted out a decade ago - users today are used to pressing a button on a phone app, and something happens immediately.
In many respects I wish my Solo neo, could magically transform into the Solo music. I haven't used my neo much in recent years, because I moved to live in France, and features such as the FM & DAB tuners were no longer relevant. I then bought an AV receiver and have used that almost exclusively, so the neo has sat unused.
However I have bought a pair of Focal Aria 936s, and am exploring how well the neo can drive them. So far much to my surprise I am liking the sound - I had assumed that the neo would be slightly underpowered for the Focals.
If I replaced my neo with the new music, I would then have SACD capability, which would be useful. With regard to the standard CD functionality, I find that the neo CD sounds slightly 'flat' compared to the same tracks played as FLACs from a USB memory stick plugged into the USB socket. That is not a big issue for me, because I am gradually converting my CDs to FLAC files, played from a memory stick or NAS. However this does mean that you should check if the Solo music CD, produces sound that meets your taste.
So overall, the Solo music would provide me with some new functionality which was missing on the old neo. I don't think the missing internet radio is a big issue really - the days of hard coding internet streaming and internet radio into hifi equipment really should really be over. I think that most people find streaming music and radio from their phone/tablet/chromecast etc is much easier, and the app can be easily be upgraded - there is no need to return the hifi equipment to the manufacturer for a firmware upgrade.
I think that you should audition the Solo, however it does sound like it too suffers from a laggy control system - I certainly find it irritating pressing a button on the remote control, and nothing happens for a few seconds. This certainly should have been sorted out a decade ago - users today are used to pressing a button on a phone app, and something happens immediately.
manicm
Well-known member
tino said:
True, but then look at the price of an equivalent Naim or Cyrus and then ponder....
A significant omission however is the lack of DSD playback.
tino
Well-known member
expat_mike said:
Very few people hard-code URL streams these days, the internet radio services are usually built in and can be upgraded via an over-the-air software update. I dabbled with an early Cyrus Streamline and it was the poor / unusable radio streaming that put me off it.
PS Hard-coding URL streams is however a mighty useful fall-back when you don't want to go through a service provider like TuneIn or vTuner, and you can use it to select alternative higher stability or higher bit-rate streams.
tino
Well-known member
manicm said:
Being able to stream internet radio is basic functionality, which is why I think it's a sad omission in something that purports to be an "all-in-one". Still £15-£30 buys a Chromecast audio that you can plug in.
I do like the provision of HDMI inputs - very useful.
Al ears
Well-known member
plastic penguin
Well-known member
cse said:
Firstly, can I say I haven't heard the new Solo Music. The Caspian is 16 years old so I would guess the new Arcam should be at least on par if not a little better.
Secondly, It'll boil down to your speakers: Generally Arcams are great with PMC, MA, Focal...
Naim equivalent is very good but are, again generalising, speaker dependant. You'll need to dem the Arcam and see if it floats your boat.
Al ears
Well-known member
plastic penguin said:
'Age will not weary them'....
These amps do not suffer with time. They are either good or they're not.
The lack of modern facilities is what's going to let this Arcam down, which is rather stupid as they know what they're up against. If you're going to produce an 'all in one' then you better make sure it is just that.
But then again,whoever is into hifi is going to listen to internet radio ffs?
manicm
Well-known member
plastic penguin said:
The Solos have always been neutral sounding from what I've read and my ownership of the Solo Mini. I've had 4 speakers in my system, and in each case any weaknesses exposed were the speakers themselves. This new one has the new class G amplification however but the review is promising.
Arcam told me earlier they have no plans but I'm holding out for a new Mini, they sold very well after all.
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Al ears said:
That's not what I'm saying Al. I would like to think that after a decade and a half the technology or the means to provide a cleaner sounding amp has been adopted by these manufacturers. So for instance I hope the last MKI Caspian, the one I heard, is better than a 16-year oild version.
If Arcam are adopting the Class G amplification, as used in the newest FMJ range, then it should be in the same ballpark as a 16-year old Roksan.
The OP hasn't mentioned anything about facilities, so perhaps his priority is the ease of a one-box solution.
Al ears
Well-known member
plastic penguin said:
I understand that and so, it would appear, do the manufacturers as just about everyone has an all in one solution available now with this and Musical Fidelity being some of the latest. Perhaps it is a reflection on modern housing, who knows.
Thanks for all the replys, ailthough I don't understand many of them. What other one-box unit provides all of this for £1500? What I want essentially is excellent CD playback (SACD is vastly overrated), FM and DAB (although I can't receive most stations) and good amplification. I listen almost exclusively to classical music and have Neat Petit SX speakers. Also, I want to trade-in my Roksan and Marantz at the same time. I don't think I want internet radio, but I might want to try streaming a classical music service in the future, but I will probably tire of this idea quite quickly.
BigH
Well-known member
cse said:
I think internet radio is well worth having why be limited to a few FM and DAB radio stations when you can many more across the world? I think UK radio is pretty poor to be honest, especially if you don't live in the London area. The think to do is try the Arcam with your speakers.
I think internet radio is well worth having why be limited to a few FM and DAB radio stations when you can many more across the world? I think UK radio is pretty poor to be honest, especially if you don't live in the London area. The think to do is try the Arcam with your speakers.
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I appreciate that you find internet radio important, but I only listen to Radio 3, Radio 5 and Talk Sport. Infact I only want the radiio aspect of the Arcam for Radio 3. The company that I want to buy the Arcam from (they good convenient part-exchange) suggest purchasing the unit outright for a home listen and then returning if not satisfied. Postage covered by me. The other thing I wasn't sure about, was whether I would be able to stream Quboz easily wirelessly. I have no experience of streaming, but might be keen to try it in order to stop purchasing so many CD's. An ethernet connection would not be possible.
i have one and love it,its perfect for my bedroom listening.i bought the arcam alto speakers as well(i think they came with it originally)the whole package second hand was 500euro.
i never bothered with the dab radio,just fm and cd and chromecast audio.the amplifier is excellent and seems a lot more powerful than 50watts....they only thing i missed which is a vey small negative was a proper volume pot and the buttons are hard to read.
all in all a terrific player and would never get rid of it.
i never bothered with the dab radio,just fm and cd and chromecast audio.the amplifier is excellent and seems a lot more powerful than 50watts....they only thing i missed which is a vey small negative was a proper volume pot and the buttons are hard to read.
all in all a terrific player and would never get rid of it.
Al ears
Well-known member
Arcam solo music has arrived and am listening to Beethoven symphony no 5 (anima eterna period instruments) on it now. So far extremely pleased. It sounds very crisp, detailed and full-bodied and powerful. Only heard cd, fm and dab so far. Haven't ventured into setting up quboz yet, as I've no idea how to do it. Only problem is that it doesn't recognise any hybrid sacd's and rejects them as a bad disc. Strange as its an sacd player and arc am assured my dealer that it had sorted out earlier software problems!
Al ears
Well-known member
cse said:
Personally, for that sort of money, if it doesn't do everything it is meant to I would take it back.
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Sounds encouraging cse. I toyed with the notion of buying the older Solo Neo but decided against an all-in-one. Always loved the understated Arcam presentation. Great for long sessions.
plastic penguin said:
sacd problem now sorted with a system update. I've set up quboz now on a trial. I went for the MP3 version for streaming and I wasn't overly impressed. Also, I listened via Bluetooth, but the signal wasn't wholly consistent. Wondered if I could plug my apple mini into the arc am for more seamless playing. I can't easily setup a wired connection to my unit as my router is upstairs and my high downstairs.
plastic penguin said:
I would have agreed with you about Arcam having a lovely, understated and non-fatiguing listen until I bought this new Arcam solo music with class G applification. This definitely has more bite and forward a presentation (at least at home in my listening room) than I expected, or experienced in the shop. The levels of detail are amazing and this is what is coming through. This makes for a brighter soundstage, but not one that is at all tiring. I think my speakers ( Neat petit sx) are more immediate sounding than the Focal Arias that I heard at the demonstration, but this is not a bad thing. I will live with my current speakers a while yet, I have a hankering for some small Harbeths! Another consideration is a change of speaker cable. I have Nordost (which can be over-revealing, if there is such a thing). However, not sure that I have the energy or desire to spend money in that direction.
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