need to upgrade speakers on arcam system.

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Hi guys,

Iam looking to upgrade my current system, arcam A85 amp ,cd92 player, silver anniversary speaker cables and mission M73 floorstanders.System sounded good when i first got it home but i feel it lacks in bass dept, and sounding abit bland! I've read many reveiws but confused now on what area i should upgrade first.I want my system to be more punchy and deliver a more powerful bass when required. Any advice ? I am on a budget!
 

scene

Well-known member
Hi lobass, and welcome to the forums
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I suppose the first thing that springs to mind is, what is your budget? Personally, I think the A85 is a cracking amp, and the cd92 is excellent as well. You'll struggle on a tight budget to beat them, in fact I think the weak link in your system is yor speakers. There are plenty of upgrade options here that will give your A85 a new lease of life. If your budget is really tight, I'd recommend looking at secondhand / eBay. If you want more bass, then you might want to consider floor standers. A pair of Monitor Audio Silver 8is sing with the A85, I would say that, as that's what I used with my A85 until very recently. They have good bass, sweet treble and cannot be described in any way as bland. Depends how big your space is, as they need a bit of room. You can pick them up for around £200, which considering they were £8-900 new is a bargain. If floor standers don't work for you, a pair of MA BR2s are worth listening to.

I've got to stop here, but there are plenty of other options...
 
lobass:

Hi guys,

Iam looking to upgrade my current system, arcam A85 amp ,cd92 player, silver anniversary speaker cables and mission M73 floorstanders.System sounded good when i first got it home but i feel it lacks in bass dept, and sounding abit bland! I've read many reveiws but confused now on what area i should upgrade first.I want my system to be more punchy and deliver a more powerful bass when required. Any advice ? I am on a budget!

Would be helpful to know how far your budget will stretch...
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I agree with "scene" in that the amp and CDP are still very good and will compete well with more later models/other CD players and amps.

The speakers, in agreement again, are the major let down but I'd also look at changing speaker cable and interconnects as well.

It would be handy to know as asked above; what your overall budget is? It'd also be handy to know what music you generally listen to!

For me the likes of B&W and Monitor Audio would go very well with your system but so would QUAD and Acoustic Energy

If you're fine with 2nd hand speakers there are numerous pairs of Monitor Audio RS6's and RS8's on eBay currently and also a few pairs of the Monitor Audio RX2's. They're superb speakers when on very good stands
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If you're after new speakers and want floorstanders then I can whole-heartedly recommend the Monitor Audio RX6's and the QUAD 22L2's as well.

However there is a pair of gloss black B&W CM7's on eBay currently at a very good price. Dependent upon what music you listen to these would gel VERY well with your Arcam system!

With regards to speaker cable; better can be had (and more suited to your system) via QED & Chord... The likes of the Chord Odyssey or QED Revelation speaker cable would sit well.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
imo the monitor audio silver 8i are good but lacking greatly in bass, thats why Im selling them shortly.am fan of b&w dm602 s3-big stage, good bass, lovely sound. get the bigger b&w, ie 603 or 604 for bigger bass, go 2nd hand on ebay or typethingy
 
lobass:
Hi guys,

Iam looking to upgrade my current system, arcam A85 amp ,cd92 player, silver anniversary speaker cables and mission M73 floorstanders.System sounded good when i first got it home but i feel it lacks in bass dept, and sounding abit bland! I've read many reveiws but confused now on what area i should upgrade first.I want my system to be more punchy and deliver a more powerful bass when required. Any advice ? I am on a budget!

Hi lobass

If you are going to make changes in stages then in the first instance i will highly recommend you consider changing the A85 and the speaker cables. Simple. An amplifier to consider is Rotel's superb RA-1062 (which you should find a good used unit for around £300 or so) and for speaker cables some basic 79 strand OFC. Once the amplifier and speaker cables are changed then look at changiing the M73's.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I passionately disagree with that comment re replacing the Arcam DiVA A85 amp; it's a stunning amp and will do VERY well in a lot of systems etc...

Re speaker cable; thats a personal choice.

The Missions are definily letting the system down here... CD player & amp are solid players
 
MUSICRAFT:lobass:

Hi guys,

Iam looking to upgrade my current system, arcam A85 amp ,cd92 player, silver anniversary speaker cables and mission M73 floorstanders.System sounded good when i first got it home but i feel it lacks in bass dept, and sounding abit bland! I've read many reveiws but confused now on what area i should upgrade first.I want my system to be more punchy and deliver a more powerful bass when required. Any advice ? I am on a budget!

Hi lobass

If you are going to make changes in stages then in the first instance i will highly recommend you consider changing the A85 and the speaker cables. Simple. An amplifier to consider is Rotel's superb RA-1062 (which you should find a good used unit for around £300 or so) and for speaker cables some basic 79 strand OFC. Once the amplifier and speaker cables are changed then look at changiing the M73's.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

What is it you don't like about Arcam?
 

scene

Well-known member
Well I must admit I've never found my MA 8is bass light, but I suppose it's subjective. The RS6 is great match for the A85, as would be the B&Ws and AEs are definitely worth hearing. I've found the RS8s a bit tubby at the bottom end, and too bass heavy - then again I don't think the 8is are bass light, so who knows.

I know a
Yes the A85 is far from the most powerful amp in the world, but it is extremely musical, and paired with the right speakers, sounds wonderful. It's this character that seems to divide people, with some bemoaning it's lack of power, with supporters adoring it's musicality.
 
hifilover1979:
I passionately disagree with that comment re replacing the Arcam DiVA A85 amp; it's a stunning amp and will do VERY well in a lot of systems etc...

Re speaker cable; thats a personal choice.

The Missions are definily letting the system down here... CD player & amp are solid players

Hi hifilover1979

Have you compared the A85 to the RA-1062?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hi Guys,

Thanks for all your replies, i will have to hang on to arcam set up till funds allow! Just to mention i listen to rock,pop.urban, dance, i think iam err biased towards 684's haven't auditioned yet would appreciate any feed back. Have been checking out RS6's and RS8.s on ebay as well. Not sure what cable to use, should i biwire or not?
 
lobass:

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all your replies, i will have to hang on to arcam set up till funds allow! Just to mention i listen to rock,pop.urban, dance, i think iam err biased towards 684's haven't auditioned yet would appreciate any feed back. Have been checking out RS6's and RS8.s on ebay as well. Not sure what cable to use, should i biwire or not?

Single wire RS6s - should serve you for years...
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