Cables for Arcam A90, FMJ T31 and loudspeakers B*W 684

[admin_exported]

Hello I have bought me recently an Arcam A90, tuner FMJ T31 and a few loudspeakers Bowers 684 . My boxes are for bi - to wire up . They can recommend to me a few cables for loudspeaker for bi - to wire up . Pop and Rock of the 60 and 70. The chord company for example. Thank you.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Hello

Did you demo the A90 with the B&W 684's before you bought them? Only reason i ask is that i demo'd them a month or so back and found the Arcam A90 to be gutless and hollow sounding. Plenty of power on tap but seriously lacked bass and gusto! I felt the A90 made the B&W 684's sound awful which really put me off!

Back on track, with regards to cables - Are you after both speaker cable and interconnects?

If you're after speaker cable i'd go with QED Silver Anniversary bi-wire as i've found this to be best between Arcam and B&W speakers. As for interconnects i think QED Qenex 2 or 3 would be good as well as Ven Den Hul 'The Name' or Chord 'Chrimson'.

 

[Anonymous]

Not , I did not do the hearing . The devices are new, do not scare!!! Do not I still have mas imitation that them to sell ?
That amplifier had recommended to me for these loudspeakers?

 

[d_a_n1979]

To be honest i think you could do better amp wise but that's just my personal opinion

I'm not sure on the deal you have got the seperates on but if theyre brand new i'm sure you will be able to exchange them or return for a full refund

Amps for the B&W 684's i would consider would be the NAD C352 or the new NAD C355 when it's released or the Cyrus 6v2/8v2 amps. All very good and will certainly give the 684's plenty of oomph and power bass wise but still have a very controlled midrange and treble.

It may also be worth taking a look at Ebay for good 2nd hand amps such as the Arcam Alpha 9 or 10 integrated and with thouse you can always upgrade with the power amps too. Other amps would be the above mentioned and also Musicla Fidelity XA-1 or the X-A2 / X-A200R integrated amps.

 

[Anonymous]

OK ,THANK YOU!

 

[JoelSim]

Don't worry about the amp and speakers. I use Arcam A85 and it is brilliant. Dan_1979 must have tested with a rogue machine.

 

[Anonymous]

So badly is it listened?? The Nad they do not recommend it to me by no means. That you use cables JoelSim ???

 

[JoelSim]

It will sound excellent.

For cables try QED Silver Anniversary for speakers and Van Den Hul D102 III interconnects - eBay.

 

[d_a_n1979]

[quote user="JoelSim"]Don't worry about the amp and speakers. I use Arcam A85 and it is brilliant. Dan_1979 must have tested with a rogue machine.[/quote]

It wasnt a rogue machine at all.

I auditioned it against my Alpha 9 integrated and there was a world of difference. The A90 lacked in bass depth in all ways! Dont get me wrong, as i said above, the A90 has bags of power but it doesnt have any kick to go along with it!

I feel that a better amp can be had for less £££ than the A90, the NAD C352 would be a better choice in my opinion. OR a 2nd hand decent Arcam Alpha amp off ebay, such as the Alpha 9 or 10 integrated.

 

[Anonymous]

The 684 that it is a better bi - wired up or not ? In the web Chord company they were recommending to me that not . I have a trick , buy an alone cable, without bi - ware , To put the cable to the conector , I peel 10 cms aprox. of cable and to introduce it towards another point.
They believe that it is a good idea?

 

[d_a_n1979]

You would get a better soundstange by bi-wiring the 684s from the Arcam integrated amp - Use all 8 connections on the back of the amp to feed both sets of 4 speaker connections on each speaker.

There's a similar post mentioning the Rotel RA-03 amp. You can use the A connections on the amp to power the HF connections on both speakers and use the B connections on the amp to power the LF connections on both speakers,

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="esparrall1972"]The 684 that it is a better bi - wired up or not ? In the web Chord company they were recommending to me that not . I have a trick , buy an alone cable, without bi - ware , To put the cable to the conector , I peel 10 cms aprox. of cable and to introduce it towards another point.
They believe that it is a good idea?[/quote]

Yes, thats the way to do it, don't worry about bi-wiring. The Chord Company are good quality cables long with True Colours Industries.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Just thought I'd add a comment to this chat.

I have had an Arcam A75+ integrated amplifier paired to a Arcam CD72, with a set of B & W DM602 S2's and have had years of wonderful listening. The arcam delivers such a warm and detailed sound that the B & W's manage to handle with finess well above their relatively modest price tag.

In terms of speaker wire, all those suggested above are fine choices. If you go with one of the well known companies such as Chord, then you will be fine. And, as long as you have decent equipment which you do, it really is the case that the more you pay, the better the sound will be.

In terms of Bi-amping I would have argued that you probably don't need it a few years ago. However, my friend has Cyrus series 6 integrated and power amp combo and we bi-amped the 602's through it. I was absolutely shocked. They sounded like completely new speakers. The B & W's sounded like they should cost twice their original price. Unforunately, being a PhD student for past 4 years (finally finished!), I have not had the finances to upgrade, but will definately be looking to Bi-amping my 602's or even investing a new set of 684's.

 

[Anonymous]

No,No,no ,No,NO !

There is nothing wrong with
matching Arcam with B&W speakers. Although unless you like party bass keep
the speakers well away from the back walls. Recommended cables would be
anything from the Chord company. Avoid Vanden hull ( Bland'en dull)
chord chorus interconnect would work best if not then Cobra 3. Also
Chord Rumour speaker cable. Avoid Bi-Wiring as this can make things
worse NOT better. One run of decent single wire is better than 2 runs
of mediocre cabling! I don't recommend bi-wiring unless you are using
two power amps ( Bi-Amping!).

Also avoid poor components
like Cyrus & NAD amplifiers recommended by others. these are poorly
made and sound coloured and lack any sense of pitch or tunes !!!

Arcam amplifiers are fine and do not lack in the bass if fed with a good source.

But as I said before stick to Chord company for all your cable needs and you can't go wrong.

 

[Anonymous]

OHHH MY GOD!!!! I have realized a hearing with a friend who has the Arcam A75 (2X50), the Arcam Alpha 10 and my Arcam Diva A90. Total disaster!!!! The Arcam was extracting a dirty, horrible sound, was not filling you musically . In comparison with the A75, this A75 was fabulous, a sound very brilliant, definitely and with down powerfully ,veryyyy powerfully . In the Arcam tape-worm that the dial to move 2 thirds for 1 third of the A75 And the Alpha10 !!!!!!!! Alpha 10 and A75 PERFECT SOUND!!!!!!! DIVA A90 TOTAL DISSASTER!!!!! I do not understand it. Must they be the cables????? My Diva A90 Ex demo , I have put it to the sale in Ebay Spain.

Punctuation:

Arcam Alpha10: 10 Points

Arcam A75: 7 points

Arcam DIVA A90 : 2 points

Regards!!!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Tape-worm you reason mister d_a_n1979, Arcam tape-worm a dirty, dirty sound!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!

 

[d_a_n1979]

I hate to say it but

I told you so...

Not trying to sound smug but the A90 lacks in so much bass and mid-range power compared to other Arcam amps.

I dont think you'll go wrong with either the Arcam Alpha 10 or the A75 amps, in my opinion, i think you'd do better to go with the Alpha 10 integrated and look to add the Alpha 10P power amp later down the line.

With regards to cabling i'd definitly look at the QED Silver Anniversay bi-wire and bi-wire the speakers, even though its against what someone said before.

You'll find that the soundstage is much more open when bi-wired and even more so when bi-amped!

 

[drummerman]

I find a HENRY works much better. Sounds quiet but sucks much more dirt than a dyson.