old Arcam Alpha 10 vs new Nad C356BEE

Viking

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Hello all,Thinking of buying one of these amps but the Arcam is nearly 15 years old while the Nad is new. They would be driving a pair of B&W 683's. What do you think would be the best option given that I don't really want to be changing the amp for at least another 15 years. Were the Arcams built to last?Thanks and happy Christmas to all.
 
T

the record spot

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The 10 any day if it were my money and those were the only two. The plastic fascia though was one of Arcam's worst moves.
 

d_a_n1979

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Someone will be along to consolidate your posts as you've three on this now but see here for other lies:

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/arcam-alpha-10-phono-integrated-amp-vs-nad-c356bee

The NAD is a stunning amp and powerhouse and will drive the 683's with ease as I've said before but it's not a £1k award winner which the Alpha 10 is & was back in 1998/1999

For the budget of a new NAD tou can get the Alpha 10 and it's matching power amp (Alpha 10P) and for me that would be a match made in heaven for the B&W's! 8)
 
T

the record spot

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Yep PP. Easy to see why they adopted the FMJ line next. But of the two choices here, any day over the NAD. Not convinced by the later NAD credentials. I'd point the OP to the C372 as the last of their great amps at the £1k mark. The 352 was good too, but the 356 and 375 are treading water.

The Silverline range however was excellent. Wish NAD had kept on with that one. Lovely kit.
 

Viking

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Thanks for that, however I really don't care about looks. More of a function over form kind of guy. As long as the sound is there and it's build well then it's all good.

Thanks again.
 

d_a_n1979

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Fully agree

Close your eyes and listen to the souinds coming from your system; worry about the looks another time (ideally when you've got nothing better to do then go listen to the system again and forget all about the looks... again...)!

I dont agree with PP's info though; I've always liked the Alpha range looks; it's quite industrial and it does the job. NAD's looks and colours are battleship etc...

You'll not go far wrong with the Arcam Alpha 10 if you do go down that route and one thing to take notice of is that they seem to retain their value so if you do buy it and feel that it wasnt the right move; you'll sell it on and get your money back (and poss. make a profit too if you're lucky)!
 

eggontoast

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I wouldn't say the Alpha 10 was ugly, especially when compared to a NAD amp !

I remember reading that Arcam did go down the FMJ route with the looks due to criticism about having a plastic facia on such an expensive amplifier. The important thing is though the Alpha 10 still is a fantastic sounding, powerful amplifier, the only down side is that age is catching up with them and they do have common failures now, some of the parts are also no longer available either.
 

Viking

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Ok thanks for that. Maybe it'll be the Nad amp as I just don't know if I'm prepared to pay X amount for something which may have a short life. Its always a gamble!
 

bluedroog

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I know the Alpha range quite well. I always thought they were just a little on the warm side, with the lower model (7) I think this makes the sound a little laid back and lacking, this sound signature partnered with the power of the higher models however works much better, you get all the warmth but in a good way ( if hub at is your thing) but with more control and ompth. The 10 is very good.
 

Viking

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It sounds like a lot of people like the Arcam but I was really wondering wheather it was a good idea to buy a nearly 15 year old alpha 10 as I know nothing about their build quality and average life span.
 

bluedroog

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Well I have an 8 which was my first my first intergrated I bought in about '95 and it served me well, it did developed a fault with a lose speaker terminal and source selector but I used to move it about all the time as a student and hammered it for years when I though come excursion was cool as a youth. It certainly isn't a rank but it is solid enough, you could always get it serviced unoddically fairly cheap.
 
bluedroog said:
I know the Alpha range quite well. I always thought they were just a little on the warm side, with the lower model (7) I think this makes the sound a little laid back and lacking, this sound signature partnered with the power of the higher models however works much better, you get all the warmth but in a good way ( if hub at is your thing) but with more control and ompth. The 10 is very good.

Having owned the Alpha 7R and A65+ they are fairly neutral, although fairly laid back. The biggest problem is they don't have the pure current of many other brands, hence why I always recommend a speaker that doesn't take a bulldozer to drive: PMC, MAs, Focal, Dali...
 

gramps23

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d_a_n1979 said:
Someone will be along to consolidate your posts as you've three on this now but see here for other lies:

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/arcam-alpha-10-phono-integrated-amp-vs-nad-c356bee

The NAD is a stunning amp and powerhouse and will drive the 683's with ease as I've said before but it's not a £1k award winner which the Alpha 10 is & was back in 1998/1999

For the budget of a new NAD tou can get the Alpha 10 and it's matching power amp (Alpha 10P) and for me that would be a match made in heaven for the B&W's!
cool.png

What did happen to that last thread on this? Nevermind.

Completely agree with Dan and others - the Arcam would be the obvious choice, and if you don't get the matching power amp now, you can always get one at a later date as a very effective upgrade.
 

eggontoast

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plastic penguin said:
Having owned the Alpha 7R and A65+ they are fairly neutral, although fairly laid back. The biggest problem is they don't have the pure current of many other brands, hence why I always recommend a speaker that doesn't take a bulldozer to drive: PMC, MAs, Focal, Dali...

I'm sorry but there is no comparison between the alpha 7 or the A65 and an Alpha 10 (I have owned all three), you're comparing chalk and cheese. The Alpha 10 is 100watts per channel, can deliver peak current of 23amps and has a 800va mains transformer, it will drive anything, and well.
 

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