Arcam vs. Naim vs...

[admin_exported]

Okay. So I just got offered more than I paid for my Wakonda. (Obviously I didn't tell the person what I paid.) Anyway, Linn goes, something new comes in. I know, I know I'm fickle. My wife is fit to bludgeon me about this.

Here's what I'm thinking about:

Arcam A18
Naim Nait5i

They're different machines to be sure, but I very much enjoyed the A18 and it will leave me a lot of kaplinki left over. Little less of a net gain with the Nait but that's another amp that I really enjoyed. Either of these will eventually be paired to either MA GS10's or Totem Model 1 Sigs. Mission in the meantime. Thoughts?

 

[the record spot]

Must admit, I'd look at the alternatives beyond those two Ray - Unison Unico Line version is about £795, there's a Melody valve amp at £800 (SP80 maybe?), to name two. Depends what you're after though. That's new rather than used I'm talking here.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah, I like Unison. Unfortunately they're about twice the price here. That is to say, 2500ish as opposed to 1400 or so... Valve-wise over here anything but Jolida would be a foolish buy. But my tiny little living room heats up like a sauna with tubes!

also, I've had both the Arcam and Nait in-home and liked both.

 

[d_a_n1979]

What music do you listen to Ray?

The Arcam A18 is a lovely little amp and it sounds great with the M/A GS10's.

I demo'd both at Sight & Sound in Preston at the weekend along with Roksan Kandy LIII and the new K2 as well as the Arcam A38 (im sure it was that) all with an Arcam CD192 and a Primare CDP and the A18, to me, stood out the most.

It's not the most powerful amp BUT the soundstage is sublime with deep bass, smooth and detailed midrange (sounded superb with female voacls and Hed Kandi house music) and the GS10s really rocked (more than i expected).

 

[plastic penguin]

From personal experience Naim and Arcam just do not mix. I would personally go for Arcam because I believe it's upgradable, the Nait isn't. And of course, I'm biased towards Arcam. . .sorry

 

[matthewpiano]

d_a_n1979:What music do you listen to Ray?

The Arcam A18 is a lovely little amp and it sounds great with the M/A GS10's.

I demo'd both at Sight & Sound in Preston at the weekend along with Roksan Kandy LIII and the new K2 as well as the Arcam A38 (im sure it was that) all with an Arcam CD192 and a Primare CDP and the A18, to me, stood out the most.

It's not the most powerful amp BUT the soundstage is sublime with deep bass, smooth and detailed midrange (sounded superb with female voacls and Hed Kandi house music) and the GS10s really rocked (more than i expected).

So could the A18 and GS10s be the basis of your new system then Dan?

 

[d_a_n1979]

MP... Shhhh

I'm not sure yet; i'm still really loving the B&W's and the Rega Apollo but the A18 really surprised me (as did the GS10's) but the GS10's are a bit pricey

Sods law that someone offered me a direct swap of some 4month old GS10s in piano black for my RS6's the day before they ended on eBay!!!

 

[drummerman]

raypalmer:Okay. So I just got offered more than I paid for my Wakonda. (Obviously I didn't tell the person what I paid.) Anyway, Linn goes, something new comes in. I know, I know I'm fickle. My wife is fit to bludgeon me about this.

Here's what I'm thinking about:

Arcam A18
Naim Nait5i

They're different machines to be sure, but I very much enjoyed the A18 and it will leave me a lot of kaplinki left over. Little less of a net gain with the Nait but that's another amp that I really enjoyed. Either of these will eventually be paired to either MA GS10's or Totem Model 1 Sigs. Mission in the meantime. Thoughts?

It's been a while since I paid any attention to the hifi section, I was to wrapped up with tv's and projectors, the dark side.

How do you like your music, whats important?

regards

 

[Anonymous]

Female vocals, smooth relaxing stuff like clapton and cale. Lots of jazz. But I want Holst and Stravinsky to be epic and grand when I demand it.

 

[drummerman]

I just had an A38 with ProAc studio 140's here for a night. Thought I needed some speakers you can actually see next to the telly!

Joking aside, it made very nice music and the proacs are sold at knockdown prices, due to imminent replacements. Its a system I can thoroughly recommend. By the way I just used a cheap denon player because I lost the will to live with all the boxes, again.

It was both more transparent and open than the roksan's and MA's I tried recently and less 'stiffled' sounding than the CA 840's and Kef's/Mezzos but ...

... it still lacked the sparkle and attack/transient speed I personally sometimes like. You know like when a drum sounds like a drum and not a kid hitting a carton box though it was nowhere as bad as I like to make it sound

Raypalmer, I only mention this because I have used the A18 and whilst not a bad amplifier it doesn't imho do epic or grand very well, certainly no better than the A38.

That's just my opinion and you might not agree, we all like different things.

My suggestion (and before anyone has a go at me for mentioning them again, I have'nt even got my pair yet!) is to try AVI's ADM9.1.

They encompass the best bits of the above without the price tag though you should ideally factor in a sub at some stage.

Ashley James of AVI is classical/jazz nut. They should suit you nicely.

regards

 

[drummerman]

... another system that might suit you nicely, whilst I remember, is DENON's PMA1500 series amplifer and, in the future, the matching player with Kef iQ7's or 9's (they just won a award of the year by another respected publication).

Although I've used the Kef's with an older PMA355UK it sounded lovely rounded, tight and open. The transient speed and coherence of the Denon made a good match.

Anyway, the Denon's are much underrated and not often mentioned. Fantastic value. Same with the Kef's, especially now they're discounted heavily.

regards

 

[tonky]

Hi Dan 1979,

I would be very interested to know your ratings and order of preference (with reasons if poss) of all the amps you demo'd. Naim nait 5i, Arcam a18, Roksan Kandy L111 and K2 and the Arcam A38. Is the Nait appreciably better than the K2 and if so in what areas?

thanks in advance chap Tonky

 

[matthewpiano]

drummerman:
... another system that might suit you nicely, whilst I remember, is DENON's PMA1500 series amplifer and, in the future, the matching player with Kef iQ7's or 9's (they just won a award of the year by another respected publication).

Although I've used the Kef's with an older PMA355UK it sounded lovely rounded, tight and open. The transient speed and coherence of the Denon made a good match.

Anyway, the Denon's are much underrated and not often mentioned. Fantastic value. Same with the Kef's, especially now they're discounted heavily.

regards

I will definitely vouch for the Denon PMA1500. I've had mine about a week and a half now and I'm absolutely enthralled with it everytime I listen. Very involving and musical and a delight to use as well. Money VERY well spent. I auditioned all sorts - Arcam A18, Rega Brio, Marantz PM6002, Marantz PM7001, Rotel RA-06 - but I'm absolutely convinced I made the right decision with the Denon.

 

[tonky]

Matthew,

Does the Denon compete well (soundwise) with the likes of the Nait ,CA 840v2, the Kandy K111 or K2 ?

cheers Tonky

 

[Anonymous]

The Denon's a neat box. But tbh I'd rather get the Yamaha AS1000 for the same money. There's an idea...

I think nait may take it though, because I know I like it, AND according to my brousings here it holds about 80% of its value pretty persistently in Canada... Leaves me open to upgrade however I see fit down the line. (Maybe Moon!!)

 

[Anonymous]

Bump

Ok so political reasons have ousted the Denon and Yamaha. It looks like it's still a race between the A18 and the Nait5i. I'm looking at 1200 for the a18 and 1500 for the Nait before haggles, I need input!! I'm torn right down the middle on this, went out with an eye to buying today but I just waffled when it came down to it.

 

[Anonymous]

hi ray, i recently posted a thread here reporting my findings of an instore demo i did between the arcam a28, nait 5i, and cyrus 8vs2. you may want to check it out if you have time.
to sum it up though, in the demo i found the nait to be far and away the better amp but when i got it home i found it hard to live with (practically) and didnt match my system very well...
goodluck

 

[Anonymous]

I can't really offer much of an opinion between the two amps, but I have to agree with the g/f on the nait 5i that its a little thin sounding (in my system atleast). Much more detailed, but not as warm, maybe your speakers will balance that out.

 

[drummerman]

raypalmer:Bump

Ok so political reasons have ousted the Denon and Yamaha. It looks like it's still a race between the A18 and the Nait5i. I'm looking at 1200 for the a18 and 1500 for the Nait before haggles, I need input!! I'm torn right down the middle on this, went out with an eye to buying today but I just waffled when it came down to it.

I am a bit confused raypalmer.

The two are as different as night and day. Shouldn't be to difficult to make a decision ...

regards

 

[Anonymous]

I know, that`s part of why it`s so hard to decide though. I like both alot. A man can like fish and steak right... I`m`drowning in indecision.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok ive got the opportunity to buy the A18 at a trade price of £310. Is there a better amp at this price??

 

[drummerman]

The hell with world wide recession. You could be the one kickstarting everything ... buy both.

regards

 

[Gerrardasnails]

d_a_n1979:MP... Shhhh

I'm not sure yet; i'm still really loving the B&W's and the Rega Apollo but the A18 really surprised me (as did the GS10's) but the GS10's are a bit pricey

Sods law that someone offered me a direct swap of some 4month old GS10s in piano black for my RS6's the day before they ended on eBay!!!

GS range with 840A v2. Best bet in my opinion.

 

[Anonymous]

What about the Kandy....? Does it mesh well with little monitors like the Model 1?