Have I made mistake with Arcam 10 + 10p!!! Is it amps or speakers......can anyone save me and give me music to my ears please?!

[69biscuit]

HI People,

Hoping some of you out there can help me sort my life out!!! I'm desperate for music to my ears and not being an audiophile I'm currently completely lost, frustrated and hugely disappointed.

Currently running an Arcam 10 and 10p with Castle Chesters and very muck lacking soundstage, mids and bass, so have currently got on trial some Tannoy DC6t revolution and whilst being better than the Castle's, still way of being music to my ears.

Popped to a friends house tonight who has just got a pair of Tannoy F4 cutoms from Ebay and borrowed very old Music Fidelity and it sounds so much better. I also leant him my old Arcam 8R, which whilst not sounding as good as the MF still sounded far better than it ever did with my Castle's and better than my current set up.

I'm thinking I've made a big mistake with the Arcam's, they have such great reviews from the majority, but I'm finding both the 8R and 10's to be lacking in punch and bass. Should I cut my losses and sell them on? In which case any suggestions? Or is there the perfect matching speakers out there, waiting to make me grin from ear to ear? Help Help Help, seriously frustrated, would very much appreciate some help please....

 

[Dan Turner]

Try some Acoustic Energy speakers. Great match with Arcam in my experience.

 

[alimcd]

I can't say AE would be my first shout.

With the Arcam amp and wanting to grin ear to ear I would recommend going down the KEF R series route.

The R500's are a lot of fun. Great imaging and coherence, but big foot tapping ability underneath all that sensibility.

Alternatively, have you thought about PMC? I recently dem'd the 23's with an A28/38 and the pair just rocked.

We went from big scale Rudimental to some gentle folk/pop via MIA and the PMC's were just superb. You could just imagine being there in the studio while the recording was happening. Exactly how I personally feel HI-FI should be.

 

[Pete68]

+1 for Acoustic Energy speakers. I have an older pair with modified Alpha 9 amps and they are very good. If I was buying now I would be looking at he 301s or reference 1s depending on my budget.

BTW - modding those amps would make dramatic improvements!

 

[davedotco]

Sell what you have for as much as you can get.

Visit a competent dealer and listen to some systems.

Buy the one you like.

Do not rely on others to choose a system for you.

 

[alimcd]

301's are one of the most boring loudspeakers I have had to dem. At least you can buy them in gloss white to sit next to boring macbooks

If it is going to be standmount, have a look at the Roksan TR5. Immaculate presentation with a lot more life and vigour than the AE's.

 

[the record spot]

Have you tried repositioning your speakers slightly? Moving them a few inches either way and/or also changing the angle of toe-in is with trying out before spending more cash.

 

[69biscuit]

I'm told the latest Arcam range have more depth to their mid range and bass than the previous Alpha range? I'm looking for some powerful mid/bass, the clarity is fantastic but seems lacking everywhere else to me. Is it the amps I should look to change, instead of speakers?

I hope not, I would prefer to find speakers that really complement the system. I'm not into classical music at all and that's the one comment consistant in peoples reviews about the Arcam's, maybe just wrong for me..... My tastes are hugely varied from ~Straits, Guns and Roses, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Stereophonics etc etc to the likes of Paolo Nutini, Jack Johnson, Doobie bros, Bombay Bicycle to Calvin Harris, Gorrilaz, Example, Pendulum, House and drum and bass, along with various others.

Maybe I should be looking for a sub as well, I've briefly looked into the Rel T5....

 

[69biscuit]

Hi Record spot,

Yes I have but not done much good. Really don't think it's a case of repositioning with the amount I'm missing, although just in process of playing with the Tannoy's at the moment.

 

[69biscuit]

How do you go about modding the amps and what do they modify?

 

[toyota man]

kef r500 or r700 get my vote you will not need a sub

 

[Pete68]

How do you go about modding the amps and what do they modify?

Check out this thread for some more details

 

[davedotco]

Why make this so complicated?

Get rid of the stuff you don't like and by some stuff you do like, it's not difficult.

 

[alimcd]

You would need a bloody big room for 700's! I guess with my taste (I'm no DnB guy, well at least not since I've left uni)

I wouldn't worry about changing the electronics. The delivery of music is about to change and there is simply too much choice at the moment. Wait the format war out (AIFF/WAV/FLAC etc). A close friend and ex colleague still runs a Tri-amped alpha set-up and it is sublime. The old and new arcam share a sound. Don't think of the new ones as a revolution, more an evolution

 

[p_m_brown]

Daft question perhaps, but have you wired your speakers in the correct phase? If not, they will cancel out the bass you desire!

Your Arcam gear should be able to generate some pretty decent bass weight so speakers are probably the next port of call if the wiring if correct.

I've not heard your Castles I'm afraid but the Tannoys you mention do not produce earth shattering bass, so definitely check out the Kef R range.

BTW, how large is your room?

 

[69biscuit]

For that money surely better to just go out anf buy new amps?

 

[p_m_brown]

Depends on your budget. Speakers will normally provide you with most significant tonal change and of course generally speaking, larger boxes mean more bass.

Perhaps if you can let us know roughly how much you would like to spend, fellow collaborators can offer relevant suggestions.

 

[69biscuit]

Wiring all correct, pre amp to HF and power amp to LF, both are of SP1 binding posts and red/black all corresponding.

My living room is 5.4m x 5.0m.

What I don't understand is how by absolute chance, a friend can get a pait of speakers off ebay for £100, plug in borrowed old amp and it sounds amazing compared to what I'm getting, having researched hard and demo'd! He's managed to get the sort of sound I was after by complete fluke for absolutely nothing! :?

 

[69biscuit]

Little as I can at the moment, however sound is the important part so that will sort of dictate to a certain extent. For the time being I certainly can't afford to spend £1500, so maybe secondhand would be the answer. I'd wondered about Monitoir Audio GR20, RX6 and RS6? Also wondered about the REL T5 sub, but not convinced that's the answer as it won't fill the mids.

 

[alimcd]

The T5 over high level outputs may be just the ticket. Even a zero on high level (in the right place!) can be magical!

Awaits purist...

 

[p_m_brown]

Wiring all correct, pre amp to HF and power amp to LF, both are of SP1 binding posts and red/black all corresponding.

My living room is 5.4m x 5.0m.

What I don't understand is how by absolute chance, a friend can get a pait of speakers off ebay for £100, plug in borrowed old amp and it sounds amazing compared to what I'm getting, having researched hard and demo'd! He's managed to get the sort of sound I was after by complete fluke for absolutely nothing! :?

Well systems always sound different in different rooms due to the innate acoustic differences of every space. The size of the room, distance of the speakers from the wall, the distance to the listening position and the distance from that seat to the wall all make a huge difference.

Can you move your speakers slightly closer to the wall to help boost the bass?

If you have suspended wooden floors, putting a concrete slab down for the speakers to rest upon can also help to make sure to don't lose any frequencies into your floors!

 

[matthewpiano]

Sell what you have for as much as you can get.

Visit a competent dealer and listen to some systems.

Buy the one you like.

Do not rely on others to choose a system for you.

I'm quoting this to bring it back to the OP's attention. Its good advice.

 

[Overdose]

Firstly, unless there is a fundamental problem with one of your amplifiers, changing them is unlikely to make the large difference that you appear to need.

Forget modding.

As suggested, check all wiring connections and double check, as something simple could well be the issue.

Failing all that, the integrated amp is plenty powerful enough for most hifi speakers, so you might be best to offload the speakers and power amp and then go on the hunt for a pair of speakers that you like.

Edit: I see that you have checked the wiring. Why not get the same system as your friends if it has the sound you are looking for?

 

[MakkaPakka]

The Arcam 10s must be something like 14 years old now yet still change hands for decent money second hand. That would not be happening if the amp was as lacking as you say.

Best thing to do would be to try some different speakers if you're sure everything works ok and you're not killing the sound with a 'bad' room. Swapping the amps should be the last resort.

 

[ISAC69]

As a last chance try to change the cabel speakers to Tellurium Q black and the interconects to Tellurium Q black RCA they have the ability

to strenghthen the depth, bass and soundstage .

http://www.inner-magazines.com/news/295/61/TelluriumQ-Black-and-Ultra-Black/

If it doesn't help you must change your components . You must demo before buying , don't buy

blind otherwise you might face a disappointment again !