I'm looking at bi-amping using Arcam gear, either the C31 and 2 x P38's or an A38 and P38. It has been suggested that I will get a better sound with the separate pre and power amps but that is the more expensive option. I like the sound of the Arcam amps they seem to go well with the Monitor Audio GS20's I have (although I realise that Arcam is not to everyone's taste) and I'm embarking on this with some trepidation as they will replace the A32 and P35 I recently bought having lost the first P35 to a fault and it's replacement to the same fault. Any thought's on the best combination?
Bi-amping with Arcam
- Thread starter Trahern
- Start date
Yep, i used to biamp the A85+P85, altho i didn't think that gave a particularly cost-effective upgrade from the single A85.
I have the GR10s in my second system too. I think the MAs go better with Musical Fidelity gear, and MF devalues quickly, so plenty of second hand bargains are out there. I now use Primare A30.2 with the MAs and this works very well indeed.
Anyway, you asked about Arcam route, so i'd say consider the value of your gear when selling it on afterwards - Arcam gear also devalues quicker than most brands - so if i were you i'd look around for second hand bargains rather than buying new/ex-dem and then realising you can't get much money back at the end when you (inevitably) upgrade again
Another advantage of going down the Pre-amp route is that it will allow you to switch power amp more easily.
I have the GR10s in my second system too. I think the MAs go better with Musical Fidelity gear, and MF devalues quickly, so plenty of second hand bargains are out there. I now use Primare A30.2 with the MAs and this works very well indeed.
Anyway, you asked about Arcam route, so i'd say consider the value of your gear when selling it on afterwards - Arcam gear also devalues quicker than most brands - so if i were you i'd look around for second hand bargains rather than buying new/ex-dem and then realising you can't get much money back at the end when you (inevitably) upgrade again
Another advantage of going down the Pre-amp route is that it will allow you to switch power amp more easily.
[quote user="peteAllen"]I now use Primare A30.2 with the MAs and this works very well indeed.[/quote]
Thanks for the reply pete. I did consider Primare but a couple of dealers raised concerns about reliability (in effect that they were worse than Arcam). Any views on that? One option if I went with Primare would be to get the pre amp and A30.5 as this would allow me to bi-amp the fronts and run the centre speaker as well. Now there's a thought!
Thanks for the reply pete. I did consider Primare but a couple of dealers raised concerns about reliability (in effect that they were worse than Arcam). Any views on that? One option if I went with Primare would be to get the pre amp and A30.5 as this would allow me to bi-amp the fronts and run the centre speaker as well. Now there's a thought!
[quote user="Trahern"]
[quote user="peteAllen"]I now use Primare A30.2 with the MAs and this works very well indeed.[/quote]
Thanks for the reply pete. I did consider Primare but a couple of dealers raised concerns about reliability (in effect that they were worse than Arcam). Any views on that? One option if I went with Primare would be to get the pre amp and A30.5 as this would allow me to bi-amp the fronts and run the centre speaker as well. Now there's a thought!
[/quote]
Well IMHO if there's any consensus opinion on Primare gear is that the build quality is second to none. Never heard of any reliability issues whatsoever. I'm really surprised the dealers you encountered said this. (I'll stick my neck out here and bet they don't sell Primare ).......
[quote user="peteAllen"]I now use Primare A30.2 with the MAs and this works very well indeed.[/quote]
Thanks for the reply pete. I did consider Primare but a couple of dealers raised concerns about reliability (in effect that they were worse than Arcam). Any views on that? One option if I went with Primare would be to get the pre amp and A30.5 as this would allow me to bi-amp the fronts and run the centre speaker as well. Now there's a thought!
[/quote]
Well IMHO if there's any consensus opinion on Primare gear is that the build quality is second to none. Never heard of any reliability issues whatsoever. I'm really surprised the dealers you encountered said this. (I'll stick my neck out here and bet they don't sell Primare ).......
[quote user="JAXON5"][quote user="Trahern"]
[quote user="peteAllen"]I now use Primare A30.2 with the MAs and this works very well indeed.[/quote]
Thanks for the reply pete. I did consider Primare but a couple of dealers raised concerns about reliability (in effect that they were worse than Arcam). Any views on that? One option if I went with Primare would be to get the pre amp and A30.5 as this would allow me to bi-amp the fronts and run the centre speaker as well. Now there's a thought!
[/quote]
Well IMHO if there's any consensus opinion on Primare gear is that the build quality is second to none. Never heard of any reliability issues whatsoever. I'm really surprised the dealers you encountered said this. (I'll stick my neck out here and bet they don't sell Primare ).......[/quote]
You are right although they said they had in the past and that was the
reason they stopped, whilst those that sold this brand said otherwise.
So it's good to hear that from an independent source.
[quote user="peteAllen"]I now use Primare A30.2 with the MAs and this works very well indeed.[/quote]
Thanks for the reply pete. I did consider Primare but a couple of dealers raised concerns about reliability (in effect that they were worse than Arcam). Any views on that? One option if I went with Primare would be to get the pre amp and A30.5 as this would allow me to bi-amp the fronts and run the centre speaker as well. Now there's a thought!
[/quote]
Well IMHO if there's any consensus opinion on Primare gear is that the build quality is second to none. Never heard of any reliability issues whatsoever. I'm really surprised the dealers you encountered said this. (I'll stick my neck out here and bet they don't sell Primare ).......[/quote]
You are right although they said they had in the past and that was the
reason they stopped, whilst those that sold this brand said otherwise.
So it's good to hear that from an independent source.
Never trust salesmen! They probably fell out with Primare or their distributor. I'll never forget advising a friend on speakers to get from Richer Sounds, but instead she took home a KEF Cresta (one of the worst speakers i've ever heard) because the salesman convinced her it was a "bargain" compared to Mordaunt Short.
Regarding the pre + A30.5, i'm a bit confused about what you're trying to get... Using 2 channel for a 4 speaker system is not very good, so you'd be looking at a multichannel preamp, and i don't know what Primare is like on that front. Probably a "cheaper" alternative is to get the SP-whatever, their integrated av amp, and then use an A30.2 to run the front speakers.
Regarding the pre + A30.5, i'm a bit confused about what you're trying to get... Using 2 channel for a 4 speaker system is not very good, so you'd be looking at a multichannel preamp, and i don't know what Primare is like on that front. Probably a "cheaper" alternative is to get the SP-whatever, their integrated av amp, and then use an A30.2 to run the front speakers.
I'm trying to get the best of two worlds! I have an Onkyo 905 which I'm using as a processor and to drive the rear speakers for home cinema. I plan to use the arcam or primare on home cinema pass-through mode to drive the front (bi-amped) and the centre on the fifth channel. Cd player will be connected directly to arcam/primare for stereo music so they will no longer be in home cinema pass-through mode for that.
Ah, i see. Since the MAs are fairly easy to drive, I'm still not sure why you want to biamp though, unless you want to reuse your existing Arcam. If you're ditching the Arcams, you'd have to buy two matching integrated / power amps like the I30/A30.1 with A30.2, and IMHO the Primare Pre + A30.2 would definitely sound better for similar price. Or possibly use the onyx as preamp and spend all the money on a power amp like one of the higher end MF power amps second hand (this really depends on how decent the Onyx is as preamp). Or by getting a single integrated amp that has pre-ins so it can be run in power amp mode (however, i don't think there are that many integrated amps around like that...?). Hope that helps.
There is an issue with this kind of mixing of brands, and that's that your av sound may be a bit unbalanced - if the onyx rear sound is very different from the front sound, then you will notice it on certain kinds of soundtracks.
There is an issue with this kind of mixing of brands, and that's that your av sound may be a bit unbalanced - if the onyx rear sound is very different from the front sound, then you will notice it on certain kinds of soundtracks.
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