Help me decide

[Chadwick]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and to hifi so please bear with me. I had a demo at a local retailer last week. I tried out a couple of different speaker combinations with an arcam a19, notably the monitor audio silver 8's, b&w cm8 and b&w 683 s2's. The latter being the speaker that I really wanted to listen to as I liked the look of it and it's physical size. The silver 8's looked lovely and created a nice sound. The cm8's and the 683's were pretty close for me. The cm8's probably produced a more natural sound, but it was marginal.

I am worried about a couple of things. The room they are going to be situated in is 7m x 5m with a vaulted ceiling, so I wanted a speaker that could 'fill' the room with sound. I was also worried about positioning the speakers as I have 2 young children that are accident prone and I was led to believe that the CM8's need to be away from the wall.

So basically what I am asking is if I would need a bigger amp like a rotel ra1570 or would the a19 suffice? And also, if I decide to go with the CM8's, are they going to sound desperately bad being stuck up close to a wall?

thanks in advance

 

[Chadwick]

Sorry, just to add, if I decided to go for the larger CM9 speakers would the a19 be able to drive them properly or would I need an amplifier with a higher wattage output.

thanks

 

[davedotco]

I know that it is very much the modern trend to spend more on the speaker than the amplifier.

I consider that to be very much the wrong way round. You are spending the best part of £2k, I strongly recommend that before you part with the cash you try a much better amplifier, cutting back on the speakers if you need to.

Give it a go, get the dealer to set up two setups, the prefered choice from your earlier dem and a pairing with a better amp and cheaper speakers.

See what you think.

 

[plastic penguin]

Agree with dave. There's been a few threads over recent weeks where the poster has been disappointed by the A19 performance, then we discover they want night club levels...

Ask the dealer for a dem (preferably home) and see how they stack up. Big doesn't necessarily mean better IMHO.

 

[Chadwick]

So basically I would probably be better off going for a more expensive amp with the cm8s or 683s than I would be paying the extra for the cm9s with the a19?? what would be a recommendation for a suitable higher powered amp, a roksan kandy??

thanks

 

[davedotco]

So basically I would probably be better off going for a more expensive amp with the cm8s or 683s than I would be paying the extra for the cm9s with the a19?? what would be a recommendation for a suitable higher powered amp, a roksan kandy??

thanks

This is as much a quality thing as it is about power, I'm not a big fan of Naim product but try a 5Si into a pair of £500-600 speakers. Should be easy enough to arrange, if you like what you here look a little further into amplifier offerings from Exposure, Leema etc.

 

[plastic penguin]

So basically I would probably be better off going for a more expensive amp with the cm8s or 683s than I would be paying the extra for the cm9s with the a19?? what would be a recommendation for a suitable higher powered amp, a roksan kandy??

thanks

No, not necessarily - the Arcam will play music on those speakers to decent levels, but you have to understand that a 50-watt amp will have its limitations in how far you crank the volume up. (I'm assuming you purchased blind, based purely on reviews? Big mistake IMHO).

If you want to keep the Arcam look at Focal 714V, which are great with Arcam and easy to drive. Likewise, MA BX5 or RX6 (or the Silver 6). All these will work a treat with your amp and won't be too demanding.

Best advice: dem, dem, dem... then if you're still not totally happy, find another dealer and look at alternatives like MonoPulse 32S. fairly distintive looking but, again, great with Arcam (and easy to drive).

http://www.monopulse.co.uk/models.html

 

[Vladimir]

Naim 5si is not nearly powerfull enough for B&W CM9. Check my signature Chadwick. My recommendation is where my money is.

 

[lindsayt]

Vladimir, are you recommending that Chadwick should buy a Roksan Kandy K2 and B&W CM1's?

 

[Vladimir]

Yes. :bounce: CM9 + K2 BT

 

[Al ears]

I'd like to propose the Creek Evolution 50A. Not that the Roksan is a bad amp or anything (had an LIII once)

See this thread, it might prove useful.

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/arcam-a19creek-50aroksan-kandy

 

[Chadwick]

So basically I would probably be better off going for a more expensive amp with the cm8s or 683s than I would be paying the extra for the cm9s with the a19?? what would be a recommendation for a suitable higher powered amp, a roksan kandy??

thanks

No, not necessarily - the Arcam will play music on those speakers to decent levels, but you have to understand that a 50-watt amp will have its limitations in how far you crank the volume up. (I'm assuming you purchased blind, based purely on reviews? Big mistake IMHO).

If you want to keep the Arcam look at Focal 714V, which are great with Arcam and easy to drive. Likewise, MA BX5 or RX6 (or the Silver 6). All these will work a treat with your amp and won't be too demanding

Best advice: dem, dem, dem... then if you're still not totally happy, find another dealer and look at alternatives like MonoPulse 32S. fairly distintive looking but, again, great with Arcam (and easy to drive).

http://www.monopulse.co.uk/models.html

I haven't purchased anything yet, I chose the 683s2's purely on what I liked the look of, and the fact that they were in my price range. The guy who gave me the demo said that the a19 was the perfect match for those speakers (I originally wanted to go with a rotel amp as this is what I had heard was a perfect match for b&w speakers) I had the demo with the a19 and although I found the sound amazing I felt like I should be expecting more.

I'm not in a position to buy for a few months, as we are having an extension put on the house, but I wanted to have a good idea of what I wanted. I will probably try a demo with another amp and see what difference it makes. I wanted to discuss cabling as this particular retailer offers a deal of ££ of cable per ££ spend on speakers. I didn't know whether it was a con to make more money out of me, but I have seen what tension cable topics cause, so I won't raise that issue

I really appreciate your input, thanks.

 

[Vladimir]

I'd like to propose the Creek Evolution 50A. Not that the Roksan is a bad amp or anything (had an LIII once)

See this thread, it might prove useful.

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/arcam-a19creek-50aroksan-kandy

You recommend a 50W amp to power 88db, 200W, 4 driver per box floorstanding B&Ws? That is really optimistic, to say the least.

 

[the record spot]

Seek out one of the better AV amps for a trial. Ample power on tap and gives you so much more flexibility but without sacrificing quality these days. 180wpc from mine...

 

[Al ears]

I'd like to propose the Creek Evolution 50A. Not that the Roksan is a bad amp or anything (had an LIII once)

See this thread, it might prove useful.

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/arcam-a19creek-50aroksan-kandy

You recommend a 50W amp to power 88db, 200W, 4 driver per box floorstanding B&Ws? That is really optimistic, to say the least.

Unlike another thread on this forum recommending ATC SCM7's be run by a 90 wpc AV amp my suggested setup will work. ray:

Honest, it's not all down to w.p.c. figure, I'd happily drive them with my amp. :shhh:

 

[Vladimir]

How do you get out 400W + from a 250VA transformer? :?

 

[Al ears]

Personally I would not use the CM8's unless they have a bit of space behind them (and a lot of reviewers including WHFSAV seem to agree).

I know it is a bit of a hassle but with young kids around I'd be advising having them hard up against the wall and then move them out when you want a listening session.

An audition is clearly a must.

 

[CarlDW]

I agree that a larger proportion of your budget should be spent on the amplifier. My suggestion would be the Rotel RA1570 with some B&W 685 S2. Unless you must have floorstanders...

 

[Chadwick]

Doe's a more expensive amp mean more expensive speaker cable and interconnects?

 

[plastic penguin]

Doe's a more expensive amp mean more expensive speaker cable and interconnects?

No.

 

[Chadwick]

So a van damme 4mm blue and interconnect would suffice

 

[Vladimir]

Yep.

 

[hifikrazy]

But taking it to the extreme, do you think somebody with a Naim Statement would use Van Damme cables or bell wires? It's like buying a multimillion dollar home and lighting it with cheap white fluorescent tubes.. perfectly functional but...

And I'm not referring to bragging rights.

 

[Vladimir]

But taking it to the extreme, do you think somebody with a Naim Statement would use Van Damme cables or bell wires? It's like buying a multimillion dollar home and lighting it with cheap white fluorescent tubes.. perfectly functional but...

And I'm not referring to bragging rights.

Far from it krazy. He would buy very expensive cables to match. The whole point is making a Statement, it's no longer about the music.

 

[bigfish786]

If I had 2k to spend right now on amp and speakers , I'd get the focal chorus 826v and a leema Tucana available on hifi wigwam for 1100. Speakers can be had for around a grand. That would be a cracking setup.