Hi there. This is my first post here and it's a great forum indeed. I just bought a used Arcam A85 integrated amp and it sounds superb with my Monitor Audio RS6's. I think it's a great pairing. I'm considering bi-amping with a P85 or P90 to improve thing even further, but unfortunately I can't demo a power amp as there's no Arcam dealers close to me (I'm living in Ireland). So is it worth the upgrade at around £200?
Bi-amping my Arcam A85, is it worth it?
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Ollie.:Hi there. This is my first post here and it's a great forum indeed. I just bought a used Arcam A85 integrated amp and it sounds superb with my Monitor Audio RS6's. I think it's a great pairing. I'm considering bi-amping with a P85 or P90 to improve thing even further, but unfortunately I can't demo a power amp as there's no Arcam dealers close to me (I'm living in Ireland). So is it worth the upgrade at around £200?
Yes.
And if you don't think it's worth it then just sell the P85 on.
Yes.
And if you don't think it's worth it then just sell the P85 on.
JoelSim:
Yes.
And if you don't think it's worth it then just sell the P85 on.
Good point Joel. That's one of the advantages of buying used - you should get the same money back for (or close) it if you're selling it on again. I must just try and find one now..
Yes.
And if you don't think it's worth it then just sell the P85 on.
Good point Joel. That's one of the advantages of buying used - you should get the same money back for (or close) it if you're selling it on again. I must just try and find one now..
plastic penguin
Well-known member
JoelSim:
Ollie.:Hi there. This is my first post here and it's a great forum indeed. I just bought a used Arcam A85 integrated amp and it sounds superb with my Monitor Audio RS6's. I think it's a great pairing. I'm considering bi-amping with a P85 or P90 to improve thing even further, but unfortunately I can't demo a power amp as there's no Arcam dealers close to me (I'm living in Ireland). So is it worth the upgrade at around £200?
Yes.
And if you don't think it's worth it then just sell the P85 on.
Concur with Joel. Arcam can [and do] lack a little vitality, once bi-amped they are brilliant for the money.
Ollie.:Hi there. This is my first post here and it's a great forum indeed. I just bought a used Arcam A85 integrated amp and it sounds superb with my Monitor Audio RS6's. I think it's a great pairing. I'm considering bi-amping with a P85 or P90 to improve thing even further, but unfortunately I can't demo a power amp as there's no Arcam dealers close to me (I'm living in Ireland). So is it worth the upgrade at around £200?
Yes.
And if you don't think it's worth it then just sell the P85 on.
Concur with Joel. Arcam can [and do] lack a little vitality, once bi-amped they are brilliant for the money.
Cheers Penguin and Joel. I'm definitely going to get the P85 now. I'm also waiting on the arrival of a Nad C542 cd player next week. I bought this as I got it for a good price and it's only 3 years old with very little use. Is this good enough for my system or should I have went for one of the more expensive arcam players? And synergy wise, will it be good? Thanks again!
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Ollie.:Cheers Penguin and Joel. I'm definitely going to get the P85 now. I'm also waiting on the arrival of a Nad C542 cd player next week. I bought this as I got it for a good price and it's only 3 years old with very little use. Is this good enough for my system or should I have went for one of the more expensive arcam players? And synergy wise, will it be good? Thanks again!
Yes, synergy-wise it should be fine. However, the A85 originally retailed at about £800 while the Nad RRP was £350. Plus your adding a power amp, so the CDP won't get the best from your Arcs.
But, like the power amp, you could sell it on and buy a cdp that will make the most of the Arcams.
Yes, synergy-wise it should be fine. However, the A85 originally retailed at about £800 while the Nad RRP was £350. Plus your adding a power amp, so the CDP won't get the best from your Arcs.
But, like the power amp, you could sell it on and buy a cdp that will make the most of the Arcams.
I'm not sure if I should have bought the C542 really. I think I'll get the power amp now and run the Nad for a while until funds become available to buy a decent cd player. I should have bought a better cd player first and added the power amp at a later date. I got the C542 for £115 + del which I think is a good price and I hope to get this back when I sell it on. What cd player would you recommend Penguin?
plastic penguin:
Ollie.:Cheers Penguin and Joel. I'm definitely going to get the P85 now. I'm also waiting on the arrival of a Nad C542 cd player next week. I bought this as I got it for a good price and it's only 3 years old with very little use. Is this good enough for my system or should I have went for one of the more expensive arcam players? And synergy wise, will it be good? Thanks again!
Yes, synergy-wise it should be fine. However, the A85 originally retailed at about £800 while the Nad RRP was £350. Plus your adding a power amp, so the CDP won't get the best from your Arcs.
But, like the power amp, you could sell it on and buy a cdp that will make the most of the Arcams.
I'm not sure if I should have bought the C542 really. I think I'll get
the power amp now and run the Nad for a while until funds become
available to buy a decent cd player. I should have bought a better cd
player first and added the power amp at a later date. I got the C542
for £115 + del which I think is a good price and I hope to get this
back when I sell it on. What cd player would you recommend Penguin?
Ollie.:Cheers Penguin and Joel. I'm definitely going to get the P85 now. I'm also waiting on the arrival of a Nad C542 cd player next week. I bought this as I got it for a good price and it's only 3 years old with very little use. Is this good enough for my system or should I have went for one of the more expensive arcam players? And synergy wise, will it be good? Thanks again!
Yes, synergy-wise it should be fine. However, the A85 originally retailed at about £800 while the Nad RRP was £350. Plus your adding a power amp, so the CDP won't get the best from your Arcs.
But, like the power amp, you could sell it on and buy a cdp that will make the most of the Arcams.
I'm not sure if I should have bought the C542 really. I think I'll get
the power amp now and run the Nad for a while until funds become
available to buy a decent cd player. I should have bought a better cd
player first and added the power amp at a later date. I got the C542
for £115 + del which I think is a good price and I hope to get this
back when I sell it on. What cd player would you recommend Penguin?
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Ollie.:plastic penguin:
Ollie.:Cheers Penguin and Joel. I'm definitely going to get the P85 now. I'm also waiting on the arrival of a Nad C542 cd player next week. I bought this as I got it for a good price and it's only 3 years old with very little use. Is this good enough for my system or should I have went for one of the more expensive arcam players? And synergy wise, will it be good? Thanks again!
Yes, synergy-wise it should be fine. However, the A85 originally retailed at about £800 while the Nad RRP was £350. Plus your adding a power amp, so the CDP won't get the best from your Arcs.
But, like the power amp, you could sell it on and buy a cdp that will make the most of the Arcams.
I'm not sure if I should have bought the C542 really. I think I'll get the power amp now and run the Nad for a while until funds become available to buy a decent cd player. I should have bought a better cd player first and added the power amp at a later date. I got the C542 for £115 + del which I think is a good price and I hope to get this back when I sell it on. What cd player would you recommend Penguin?
Depends on your budget. The obvious choice would be Arcam CD 192 (Ebay, around £350 - £400), or Exposure 2010S (£450 - £500). Up your budget and look at Roksan Kandy CDS (£900).
Although I've not heard it, listen to the Rega Apollo, many on this forum rate this cdp highly.
Ollie.:Cheers Penguin and Joel. I'm definitely going to get the P85 now. I'm also waiting on the arrival of a Nad C542 cd player next week. I bought this as I got it for a good price and it's only 3 years old with very little use. Is this good enough for my system or should I have went for one of the more expensive arcam players? And synergy wise, will it be good? Thanks again!
Yes, synergy-wise it should be fine. However, the A85 originally retailed at about £800 while the Nad RRP was £350. Plus your adding a power amp, so the CDP won't get the best from your Arcs.
But, like the power amp, you could sell it on and buy a cdp that will make the most of the Arcams.
I'm not sure if I should have bought the C542 really. I think I'll get the power amp now and run the Nad for a while until funds become available to buy a decent cd player. I should have bought a better cd player first and added the power amp at a later date. I got the C542 for £115 + del which I think is a good price and I hope to get this back when I sell it on. What cd player would you recommend Penguin?
Depends on your budget. The obvious choice would be Arcam CD 192 (Ebay, around £350 - £400), or Exposure 2010S (£450 - £500). Up your budget and look at Roksan Kandy CDS (£900).
Although I've not heard it, listen to the Rega Apollo, many on this forum rate this cdp highly.
plastic penguin:Ollie.:plastic penguin:
Ollie.:Cheers Penguin and Joel. I'm definitely going to get the P85 now. I'm also waiting on the arrival of a Nad C542 cd player next week. I bought this as I got it for a good price and it's only 3 years old with very little use. Is this good enough for my system or should I have went for one of the more expensive arcam players? And synergy wise, will it be good? Thanks again!
Yes, synergy-wise it should be fine. However, the A85 originally retailed at about £800 while the Nad RRP was £350. Plus your adding a power amp, so the CDP won't get the best from your Arcs.
But, like the power amp, you could sell it on and buy a cdp that will make the most of the Arcams.
I'm not sure if I should have bought the C542 really. I think I'll get the power amp now and run the Nad for a while until funds become available to buy a decent cd player. I should have bought a better cd player first and added the power amp at a later date. I got the C542 for £115 + del which I think is a good price and I hope to get this back when I sell it on. What cd player would you recommend Penguin?
Depends on your budget. The obvious choice would be Arcam CD 192 (Ebay, around £350 - £400), or Exposure 2010S (£450 - £500). Up your budget and look at Roksan Kandy CDS (£900).
Although I've not heard it, listen to the Rega Apollo, many on this forum rate this cdp highly.
Excellent stuff Penguin! I'll do a bit of research into those and keep an eye on prices etc. before I pull the trigger. The Nad won't be too bad for a while anyway and I can take my time buying. Thanks again..
Ollie.:Cheers Penguin and Joel. I'm definitely going to get the P85 now. I'm also waiting on the arrival of a Nad C542 cd player next week. I bought this as I got it for a good price and it's only 3 years old with very little use. Is this good enough for my system or should I have went for one of the more expensive arcam players? And synergy wise, will it be good? Thanks again!
Yes, synergy-wise it should be fine. However, the A85 originally retailed at about £800 while the Nad RRP was £350. Plus your adding a power amp, so the CDP won't get the best from your Arcs.
But, like the power amp, you could sell it on and buy a cdp that will make the most of the Arcams.
I'm not sure if I should have bought the C542 really. I think I'll get the power amp now and run the Nad for a while until funds become available to buy a decent cd player. I should have bought a better cd player first and added the power amp at a later date. I got the C542 for £115 + del which I think is a good price and I hope to get this back when I sell it on. What cd player would you recommend Penguin?
Depends on your budget. The obvious choice would be Arcam CD 192 (Ebay, around £350 - £400), or Exposure 2010S (£450 - £500). Up your budget and look at Roksan Kandy CDS (£900).
Although I've not heard it, listen to the Rega Apollo, many on this forum rate this cdp highly.
Excellent stuff Penguin! I'll do a bit of research into those and keep an eye on prices etc. before I pull the trigger. The Nad won't be too bad for a while anyway and I can take my time buying. Thanks again..
you are going about this system in a very good way in my opinion - the Arcam is great and bi-amped will be excellent then the NAD C542 at that price is a great deal, it is good cd player, yes it can be bettered but for now it will do a great job.
i would continue with the biamp thought and then upgrade the cd player at a later dateto the arcam 192.
i used to pair nad with arcam with good results and for the money you are paying it would be extremely difficult to do much better to be honest
i would continue with the biamp thought and then upgrade the cd player at a later dateto the arcam 192.
i used to pair nad with arcam with good results and for the money you are paying it would be extremely difficult to do much better to be honest
crusaderlord:you are going about this system in a very good way in my opinion - the Arcam is great and bi-amped will be excellent then the NAD C542 at that price is a great deal, it is good cd player, yes it can be bettered but for now it will do a great job.
i would continue with the biamp thought and then upgrade the cd player at a later dateto the arcam 192.
i used to pair nad with arcam with good results and for the money you are paying it would be extremely difficult to do much better to be honest
I hope so Crusaderlord. The Nad is supposed to be a great player and I'm confident I'll get my money back when I sell it on. It also gives me a bit of time to research and check out prices etc. on a higher end players like Arcam, Roksan Kandy etc. I heard great things about the Arcam 192...
i would continue with the biamp thought and then upgrade the cd player at a later dateto the arcam 192.
i used to pair nad with arcam with good results and for the money you are paying it would be extremely difficult to do much better to be honest
I hope so Crusaderlord. The Nad is supposed to be a great player and I'm confident I'll get my money back when I sell it on. It also gives me a bit of time to research and check out prices etc. on a higher end players like Arcam, Roksan Kandy etc. I heard great things about the Arcam 192...
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Ollie.:
crusaderlord:you are going about this system in a very good way in my opinion - the Arcam is great and bi-amped will be excellent then the NAD C542 at that price is a great deal, it is good cd player, yes it can be bettered but for now it will do a great job. i would continue with the biamp thought and then upgrade the cd player at a later dateto the arcam 192. i used to pair nad with arcam with good results and for the money you are paying it would be extremely difficult to do much better to be honest
I hope so Crusaderlord. The Nad is supposed to be a great player and I'm confident I'll get my money back when I sell it on. It also gives me a bit of time to research and check out prices etc. on a higher end players like Arcam, Roksan Kandy etc. I heard great things about the Arcam 192...
Ollie, the Nad is a fabulous machine. Within it's price-range it's the choice for most, but the ones I mentioned earlier will offer the Arcam amp to really shine and some.....
The Nad will do a good job and will give you many hours of pleasure, but.....there's always a but.....you will hanker after an upgrade sooner or later.
Enjoy your system in the meantime
crusaderlord:you are going about this system in a very good way in my opinion - the Arcam is great and bi-amped will be excellent then the NAD C542 at that price is a great deal, it is good cd player, yes it can be bettered but for now it will do a great job. i would continue with the biamp thought and then upgrade the cd player at a later dateto the arcam 192. i used to pair nad with arcam with good results and for the money you are paying it would be extremely difficult to do much better to be honest
I hope so Crusaderlord. The Nad is supposed to be a great player and I'm confident I'll get my money back when I sell it on. It also gives me a bit of time to research and check out prices etc. on a higher end players like Arcam, Roksan Kandy etc. I heard great things about the Arcam 192...
Ollie, the Nad is a fabulous machine. Within it's price-range it's the choice for most, but the ones I mentioned earlier will offer the Arcam amp to really shine and some.....
The Nad will do a good job and will give you many hours of pleasure, but.....there's always a but.....you will hanker after an upgrade sooner or later.
Enjoy your system in the meantime
I'm after getting the Arcam CD192 now Penguin; the Nad didn't quite work out as there was a problem with it. The 192 is a superb sounding player. I was lucky to find one for sale locally
. Trying to find a black P85 is proving to be a lot more difficult though..
scene
Well-known member
As the proud owner of an A85 from new (partnered with a DV88 - now only as a CD player), I'm keen to know what your experiences of partnering it with the P85 - something I've toyed with on and off for s few years. The P90 is pretty much identical to the P85, 5W extra power, but gain is identical, etc. So might want to look out for either.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
Good luck, and keep us posted!
scene:
As the proud owner of an A85 from new (partnered with a DV88 - now only as a CD player), I'm keen to know what your experiences of partnering it with the P85 - something I've toyed with on and off for s few years. The P90 is pretty much identical to the P85, 5W extra power, but gain is identical, etc. So might want to look out for either.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
I'll definitely report back Scene, if I can find one. A few wanted threads on another site classifieds lately, so they're very scarce indeed. Finding one in black is even harder. A black one made £333 + del on ebay a few weeks ago, so fetching pretty strong money. A P90 would be fine too. Cheers..
As the proud owner of an A85 from new (partnered with a DV88 - now only as a CD player), I'm keen to know what your experiences of partnering it with the P85 - something I've toyed with on and off for s few years. The P90 is pretty much identical to the P85, 5W extra power, but gain is identical, etc. So might want to look out for either.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
I'll definitely report back Scene, if I can find one. A few wanted threads on another site classifieds lately, so they're very scarce indeed. Finding one in black is even harder. A black one made £333 + del on ebay a few weeks ago, so fetching pretty strong money. A P90 would be fine too. Cheers..
matengawhat
Well-known member
Cheers for that Matengawhat. I was only looking at P85's and P90's and wasn't even aware of the P35. Does this have the same gain too? I'll keep an eye out..
matengawhat
Well-known member
my understanding is that most manufacturers try to keep the gain the same across their ranges to allow ppl to swp and changed or updaye as models move along - might be worth a quick email to arcam - thnik original retail was about £900 and tend to go for about £450/500 and in my opinion its a really strong amp
matengawhat:my understanding is that most manufacturers try to keep the gain the same across their ranges to allow ppl to swp and changed or updaye as models move along - might be worth a quick email to arcam - thnik original retail was about £900 and tend to go for about £450/500 and in my opinion its a really strong amp
Thanks for that Matengawhat, I'll definitely look into this amp..
Thanks for that Matengawhat, I'll definitely look into this amp..
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Ollie.:I'm after getting the Arcam CD192 now Penguin; the Nad didn't quite work out as there was a problem with it. The 192 is a superb sounding player. I was lucky to find one for sale locally
. Trying to find a black P85 is proving to be a lot more difficult though..
The 192 is a cracking choice
. Is all your system black?
The 192 is a cracking choice
plastic penguin
Well-known member
There's a CD92 in black on ebay. It won't have the sonic bite of the 192, but it'll be so much better than the Nad.
plastic penguin:
Ollie.:I'm after getting the Arcam CD192 now Penguin; the Nad didn't quite work out as there was a problem with it. The 192 is a superb sounding player. I was lucky to find one for sale locally
. Trying to find a black P85 is proving to be a lot more difficult though..
The 192 is a cracking choice
. Is all your system black?
All except for the Monitor Audio RS6's, they're walnut. I only received the Arcam CD192 today, and it's a gem of a player..
Ollie.:I'm after getting the Arcam CD192 now Penguin; the Nad didn't quite work out as there was a problem with it. The 192 is a superb sounding player. I was lucky to find one for sale locally
The 192 is a cracking choice
All except for the Monitor Audio RS6's, they're walnut. I only received the Arcam CD192 today, and it's a gem of a player..
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Ollie.:plastic penguin:
Ollie.:I'm after getting the Arcam CD192 now Penguin; the Nad didn't quite work out as there was a problem with it. The 192 is a superb sounding player. I was lucky to find one for sale locally
. Trying to find a black P85 is proving to be a lot more difficult though..
The 192 is a cracking choice
. Is all your system black?
All except for the Monitor Audio RS6's, they're walnut. I only received the Arcam CD192 today, and it's a gem of a player..
Congrats, Ollie. Enjoy your new kit.....
Ollie.:I'm after getting the Arcam CD192 now Penguin; the Nad didn't quite work out as there was a problem with it. The 192 is a superb sounding player. I was lucky to find one for sale locally
The 192 is a cracking choice
All except for the Monitor Audio RS6's, they're walnut. I only received the Arcam CD192 today, and it's a gem of a player..
Congrats, Ollie. Enjoy your new kit.....
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