New arcam a19

[markiedee]

I currently run an a19 with kef r100s and as time goes on the more i'm loving my purchase, i feel like going back to 2 channel from 5.1 was one of the best things that i could have done. Music just has alot more sparkle and depth i actually find the arcam to be quite warm and as it is wearing in i find that it's sounding better and better.

I intially started running everything in with the arcams volume set at it's defaulted 20 i have since been turning up the volume to 25 and i have to admit that theres quite some power on this thing. I have a varied genre with music r'n'b drum and bass, raggae hip-hop and revival and the arcam seems to be handling the music with ease.

I have heard so much detail in tracks that i haven't heard before the arcam and kef combo maybe the reason for this. Vocals and female voices sound amazing and theres a sense of 3- dimensionality in the music which leaves me smiling from ear to ear.

On some songs i have actually increased the volume to 30 - 35 and at that volume sounds ample enough for my room it's actually quite loud in a good way

I can only imagine what it will sound like when there both fully run in. As you can tell i'm very happy with my purchase and can highly recommend both the kef r100s and arcam a19.

 

[p_m_brown]

I currently run an a19 with kef r100s and as time goes on the more i'm loving my purchase, i feel like going back to 2 channel from 5.1 was one of the best things that i could have done. Music just has alot more sparkle and depth i actually find the arcam to be quite warm and as it is wearing in i find that it's sounding better and better.

I intially started running everything in with the arcams volume set at it's defaulted 20 i have since been turning up the volume to 25 and i have to admit that theres quite some power on this thing. I have a varied genre with music r'n'b drum and bass, raggae hip-hop and revival and the arcam seems to be handling the music with ease.

I have heard so much detail in tracks that i haven't heard before the arcam and kef combo maybe the reason for this. Vocals and female voices sound amazing and theres a sense of 3- dimensionality in the music which leaves me smiling from ear to ear.

On some songs i have actually increased the volume to 30 - 35 and at that volume sounds ample enough for my room it's actually quite loud in a good way

I can only imagine what it will sound like when there both fully run in. As you can tell i'm very happy with my purchase and can highly recommend both the kef r100s and arcam a19.

This is very interesting - I have recently bought a set of Kef R100 and I love them! I now have my eye on this amp and will definitely be booking a demo after your review! Out of interest, what is your source?

 

[markiedee]

I currently run an a19 with kef r100s and as time goes on the more i'm loving my purchase, i feel like going back to 2 channel from 5.1 was one of the best things that i could have done. Music just has alot more sparkle and depth i actually find the arcam to be quite warm and as it is wearing in i find that it's sounding better and better.

I intially started running everything in with the arcams volume set at it's defaulted 20 i have since been turning up the volume to 25 and i have to admit that theres quite some power on this thing. I have a varied genre with music r'n'b drum and bass, raggae hip-hop and revival and the arcam seems to be handling the music with ease.

I have heard so much detail in tracks that i haven't heard before the arcam and kef combo maybe the reason for this. Vocals and female voices sound amazing and theres a sense of 3- dimensionality in the music which leaves me smiling from ear to ear.

On some songs i have actually increased the volume to 30 - 35 and at that volume sounds ample enough for my room it's actually quite loud in a good way

I can only imagine what it will sound like when there both fully run in. As you can tell i'm very happy with my purchase and can highly recommend both the kef r100s and arcam a19.

This is very interesting - I have recently bought a set of Kef R100 and I love them! I now have my eye on this amp and will definitely be booking a demo after your review! Out of interest, what is your source?

At the moment i'm just using my bluray player until i decide on purchasing a dac and then use either the optical or coaxial. I got my eyes on the arcam rdac as i like the idea of having the separate voltage socket on the a19 to attach a rlink or rdac to, and i'm also considering the beresford bushmaster i like the twin coaxial and optical inputs on there.

As always demoing is best and i have a good relationship with my local sevenoaks store and leading up to the arcams release the manager told me of how good it sounded as he went to an event and he got to hear it with the kef r300s which he then got into his shop for demo after being mightily impressed.

I trust his judgement as he tends to not really favour many brands but when he went on to explain the differences in previous models and he himself owns a a38 i had to get myself a demo.

I did demo various amps and speakers ranging from marantz pm6004, rotel ra-12 which i did like and the arcam. I also demoed a denon 3313 and i kept coming back to the arcam. I've never owned one before but from what i'm hearing i'm really liking.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys

Sorry for late reply on this thread, been away working for last 8 days.

Demo a38 and cd37 arrived safe and well last fri 1st feb from frank Harvey ,incidently top tip they were great to deal with.

Now today has been the the first day to really get the amp warmed up and tried various types of music.

Firstly for those of you that described the type of sound this pairing gives you were spot on.

Great solid deep base , with real crisp clear vocals and midrange , new upgraded morel tweeters are sounding so much sweeter.

One query I need to ask you experts is this.

When the CD player has been on for a little bit there seems to be a slight crackling in the sound, as if it was vinyl that was being played , is this due to the CD player finding small scratches on the disk due to it reading more accurately as when I plug in by old alpha 5 plus these crackles disappear .

Any feedback from you guys as always would be much appreciated.

pThanks again for great advice already

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Ben

loving the demo a38 and cd37 I bought .

your description of the sound was spot on , just what I experience now, so thanks for giving me peace of mind prior to me departing with my cash.

as you know I could not get a demo listen up in north Scotland.

I have put a few new comments and the original thread regarding slight crackle from some cd's do you experience this?

 

[Anonymous]

You got the description of the cd37 and a 38's soundstage to perfection so thanks for making my purchase easier.

 

[chebby]

When the CD player has been on for a little bit there seems to be a slight crackling in the sound, as if it was vinyl that was being played , is this due to the CD player finding small scratches on the disk due to it reading more accurate...

Nope. CD doesn't crackle.(And, as you said, you can't replicate it on another machine.)

Something is wrong.

CD players don't vary in their accuracy of reading discs. (Very often the transports are the same ones in both cheap players and more expensive models.)

I'd suggest the 'crackling' is in some other - most likely analogue - part of the CD player. If it were a problem reading the discs, then it wouldn't wait until it had "been on for a little bit".

 

[Ben K.]

Hello again

Glad your enjoying your new purchase it really is a lovely combo.

Sorry to say I have no crackling what so ever on mine no matter how long it's on for. When it starts does it do it on every cd that you put in? I find that subtle details can be heard that were not noticed on other players I've had, for example a prodigy track has a sample that must of come from a worn record as every time it is used I can hear a crackle behind it that I couldn't hear on my marantz cd6003. It is only on that one track though and only at the points in the track that the sample is used so it must just be from the original source.

You could contact arcam although other people on here have had lots of problems doing that. Have you registered your products? If not do so.

Let me know how you get on.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok thanks for comments

it only seems to give this odd crackle on some discs.

It still however must be something not quite normal with the player.

i will register both tomorrow .

after that will try and contact arcam.

will keep you posted

 

[Anonymous]

hi all

called arcam today.

they state that its likely the CD player as if I'm not getting a problem with they old CD player it's most likely the DAC within the cd37

They have advised me to take the player to my local dealer to set it up with one of their amps on Friday to see if the crackle can be heard on the discs I have issues with at home.

will get to the bottom of this one way or another I'm sure.

 

[Ben K.]

Did you get this sorted out?