Old system needs an upgrade

[LoFi]

I have an Arcam Alpha 8r amp and B&W DM601's which I bought about 10 years ago and have been stored for about the last 5 years, and they were originally paired with a fairly non-descript Pioneer CD, which has now bitten the dust. I dont have the money to upgrade the whole shooting match but would certainly need a new CD player, I remember paying around £300 or more for the Arcam so would consider paying a similar amount for a new CD player. There seem to be a few around such as the Cambridge Azur 650C, NAD C545BEE, & Marantz CD6003, though I seem to remember Marantz equipment being a bit bright when I auditioned stuff 10 years ago. The question is which one would pair well with my old amp? my musical tastes are fairly eclectic, though I usually listen more to rock music than any other. Any ideas will be gratefully received.

Cheers

 

[Don Jr]

I know that if you thought the Marantz was bright, you wouldn't think that about the NAD. You didn't think the Cambridge was bright?

 

[plastic penguin]

LoFi:

I have an Arcam Alpha 8r amp and B&W DM601's which I bought about 10 years ago and have been stored for about the last 5 years, and they were originally paired with a fairly non-descript Pioneer CD, which has now bitten the dust. I dont have the money to upgrade the whole shooting match but would certainly need a new CD player, I remember paying around £300 or more for the Arcam so would consider paying a similar amount for a new CD player. There seem to be a few around such as the Cambridge Azur 650C, NAD C545BEE, & Marantz CD6003, though I seem to remember Marantz equipment being a bit bright when I auditioned stuff 10 years ago. The question is which one would pair well with my old amp? my musical tastes are fairly eclectic, though I usually listen more to rock music than any other. Any ideas will be gratefully received.

Cheers

The Nad is the nearest sonically to the Arcam. For around £200 or so you could grab yourself Arcam CD73T. Value for money is excellent player, or another wonderful choice would be one of the older Rotel players. My previous player was Rotel RCD 975, as good as the 73T IMO, although very different sounding - very open and detailed.

 

[bobchiba]

Hi, I have an Alpha 8R which im not currently using but when i did I had it paired with a 7se cd player and it really was a nice setup, I think the Alpha range was quite underatted and a really good 'every-mans' audiophile setup. £300 could get you an Alpha 8se and a nice set of cables (ebay/2nd hand) and possibly a bit of change left over aswell. Other wise, seeing as you might be listening to rock type stuff,I'd consider a last gen Rega Planet circa 1998 for around £200 as its known to be a good pacey/rythmic palyer or u might even consider an older Arcam alpha 5 (not the 5+) for about 70-80 quid on ebay for a good one and send it to Net Audio (google it) and spend around £150-180 having it modded to a very high quality NOS( zero over sampling) configuration and other upgrades to bring it to a very high quality precise player.

 

[LoFi]

I havent had any chance yet to audition a NAD or Cambridge so cant really comment, I just remember listening to a Marantz and finding it a bit painful on the ears. I may give the NAD a try if it's similar, sonically to an Arcam.

 

[matthewpiano]

For a good and very solid budget spinner you can't go wrong with a well cared for used Rotel RCD965BX. Its very analogue sounding and should suit you if you find Marantz a bit bright.

The Arcam CD73T is also a very good recommendation used.

I had too many problems with my NAD C521BEE to consider buying another of their CD players, although it did sound superb.

 

[Anonymous]

If it was my money I'd go for an arcam alpha 7se cd player and add an alpha 8p power amp.You'll get both these for less than £300. I had the exact same setup but have different speakers now.