Cambridge Audio A1 + Arcam Alpha 9 combo?

Pascal

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I just wanted to bi-amp. It's a long story. I have the Arcam Alpha 9 + 9p combo bi-amping my linn speakers. they have a CD player and a turntable connected. In my study, I also have a NAD CD player connected to the Cambridge audio A1. Now the source selector of the Alpha 9 is severely damaged and I intended to move it up to my study, using just the CD position of the source selector and combining it with the A1 for bi-amping. I have bought an Alpha 10 to combine with the Alpha 9p in the sitting room. That's the whole story.
 

Pascal

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I see, any reason you want to do this? Is there a fault with either amplifier?
You will get no benefit from doing this compared to using the Alpha 9 on its own assuming it is the integrated amp you are talking about
I just wanted to bi-amp. It's a long story. I have the Arcam Alpha 9 + 9p combo bi-amping my linn speakers. they have a CD player and a turntable connected. In my study, I also have a NAD CD player connected to the Cambridge audio A1. Now the source selector of the Alpha 9 is severely damaged and I intended to move it up to my study, using just the CD position of the source selector and combining it with the A1 for bi-amping. I have bought an Alpha 10 to combine with the Alpha 9p in the sitting room. That's the whole story.
 
I just wanted to bi-amp. It's a long story. I have the Arcam Alpha 9 + 9p combo bi-amping my linn speakers. they have a CD player and a turntable connected. In my study, I also have a NAD CD player connected to the Cambridge audio A1. Now the source selector of the Alpha 9 is severely damaged and I intended to move it up to my study, using just the CD position of the source selector and combining it with the A1 for bi-amping. I have bought an Alpha 10 to combine with the Alpha 9p in the sitting room. That's the whole story.
There is a possibility of connecting the tape out on the A1 to the Aux in on the Alpha 9, I think.
Need others to confirm, but this might complicate matters ....
 
Power doesn't necessarily matter - you have bigger fish to fry. If you want to bi-amp it'll need to be with one volume control doing the job - you'll need one amp to have a set of phono sockets labelled 'pre-out' and on the other another set labelled 'power in'. Isn't the A1 a lot further down Arcam's range than the Alpha 9? If so, using it in conjunction may be a backwards step over just using the latter even if the above is possible.
 

doifeellucky

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Power doesn't necessarily matter - you have bigger fish to fry. If you want to bi-amp it'll need to be with one volume control doing the job - you'll need one amp to have a set of phono sockets labelled 'pre-out' and on the other another set labelled 'power in'. Isn't the A1 a lot further down Arcam's range than the Alpha 9? If so, using it in conjunction may be a backwards step over just using the latter even if the above is possible.
Different company, the A1 is Cambridge.
 
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D

Deleted member 160668

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Different suggestion for you.

Fix the Alpha 9 integrated. The issue you describe is a very common one and can easily be fixed with some contact cleaner. You can buy this cheaply and there are prob YouTube videos of exactly this. Or if you are not confident with this, then a local repair shop will do it for you.

I had this amp years ago and had exactly this problem. A regular contact clean and bingo!

Hope that helps.
 

Gray

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bristollinnet

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I had a not too dissimilar problem a few years ago with an Arcam 10 integrated. I was (still am) using it an a triamped set up with two additional Arcam 10p power amplifiers, driving a pair of (still gorgeous) Epos ES22 speakers.

I had the Arcam 10 privately repaired by a bloke from Wales that AudioT in Bristol recommended and it was a worthwhile investment. He also found some dodgy capacitors on the circuit board which he replaced for me to good effect.

I usually am first in line to berate the very latest offerings from Arcam, because frankly stuff in their current HDA series is just bloody useless on the software/firmware side of things. What HiFi continue to give them glowing reviews which is troublingly incredulous if not downright suspicious.

However, back in their John Dawson years, Arcam absolutely knew what they were doing with their A7/A8/A9/A10 series of amplifiers. Like anything of that vintage though, components will fail but they can be repaired, doubly so if you don't have the spare cash to jettison and buy a completely new (non-Arcam) set-up.
 
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There isn't a single Arcam amp in WHF's list of best buys in the magazine, and the last one I can see online is the SA10 from three and a half years ago, garnering only four stars. The A29 and A39 from 2015 only got four too. Given how many five star reviews there are over that timescale, I think you might be worrying too much about partiality!
 

Pascal

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Thanks all. I have bought the Alpha 10 and it's brilliant. It sadly reduces the 9P to a second-rate amp. So I got the P25 to pair with the Alpha 10 and combined the 9+9P again for the music in my study.
 
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Pascal

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I am coming back on this issue. The lay-out is now back to the arcam alpha 9+9P combo in the study. Could I use a preamp (say, the delta 110) as a source selector, feeding the alpha 9 through the AUX input. Would that work?
 
I am coming back on this issue. The lay-out is now back to the arcam alpha 9+9P combo in the study. Could I use a preamp (say, the delta 110) as a source selector, feeding the alpha 9 through the AUX input. Would that work?
Not sure TBH.
This sounds very convoluted. Why don't you just use a good Arcam integrated for what it was designed to do. Or go with a dedicated Arcam pre/power combo?
 
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