Purchasing Advice: Arcam FJM series and KEF LS50

[ChemMan]

Audiophiles,

I currently own B&W CDM 1s, Rotel CD player, Velodyne Sub-woofer (No exact model numbers. Sorry the system is in Africa right now) and an Arcam A70, and it has served me well. I am loyal and want to stick with Arcam. I need a new system and am hoping for some adivce. I have spent more than a week studying virtually every review on the entire FJM series and the KEF LS50s. I am sold on the speakers and need to decide between the Amps. I also need some cables. I am moving the sub-woofer up from Africa to deal with the bass issues I have read about with the LS 50. I will play most of the music from a lossless format on a computer until I get a new CD player and the CDs from Africa. We mainly listen Rock, Classic Rock, Jazz and Classical.

I am in Prague and will most likely purchase these from hifix in Coventry and have them shipped to CZ.

Assistance please?

Cheers

 

[matthewpiano]

There is a significant jump in performance from the FMJ A19 to the FMJ A29, so I would suggest you opt for the A29 as a minimum. I'm sure David from Frank Harvey will be along with more specific advice at some point, but Arcam and KEF usually pair together very well.

 

[Q5]

What's your budget for the amp.

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

I think the current (pun intended *blush*) Arcam amps work exceedingly well with the LS50s...I'm a little biased though, as I have an AVR600 (Class G) and LS50s.

The higher up the range you go, the better the LS50s will sound.

If you take care with set up and use solid, part filled stands with decent copper cables, you may be surprised at how much scale the little LS50s can generate.

If you have the funds, I would be looking at the A39.

 

[Q5]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

I think the current (pun intended *blush*) Arcam amps work exceedingly well with the LS50s...I'm a little biased though, as I have an AVR600 (Class G) and LS50s.

The higher up the range you go, the better the LS50s will sound.

If you take care with set up and use solid, part filled stands with decent copper cables, you may be surprised at how much scale the little LS50s can generate.

If you have the funds, I would be looking at the A39.

I have to agree with CNO, I have the LS50's with the A49 amp and the combination works really well.

 

[ChemMan]

Budget for the Amp is about 1500 Euros. 1200 Pounds or so.

 

[ChemMan]

CNO,

At the moment I am stuck playing digital music from a computer or I-pad. If I am using lossless music and connect to the 3.5 mm port on the front to the 3.5mm port on a computer should this be enough?

 

[rainsoothe]

+1 for Arcam. Great sounding amps - for these ears.

 

[CnoEvil]

CNO,

At the moment I am stuck playing digital music from a computer or I-pad. If I am using lossless music and connect to the 3.5 mm port on the front to the 3.5mm port on a computer should this be enough?

I believe that you are then using the rather cheap DAC in your PC. IMO. You would be better off getting an external DAC to plug your PC into, using a digital connection...and from there to your amp.

Ps. Try to find the extra cash for the A39, as it has the full Class G amp (which the A29 doesn't).

 

[ChemMan]

Looking into that now. Got the LS50s today. A39 tomorrow. Audioquest Type 4 wire, though I was thinking on skipping the banana clips and simply using the post holes. Any opinions on DACs or even a dragonfly?

 

[CnoEvil]

Looking into that now. Got the LS50s today. A39 tomorrow. Audioquest Type 4 wire, though I was thinking on skipping the banana clips and simply using the post holes. Any opinions on DACs or even a dragonfly?

You don't mess about!. Let us know how it all sounds.

You could look at the Arcam irDAC, or have a read of this: http://www.whathifi.com/best-buys/best-dacs

 

[rainsoothe]

Congrats and enjoy. After a week or two, if you find your bass is tame, it's the Type 4's fault. I used it to tame bass bloom in my room. Qed XT40 is the opposite, regarding bass. DNM Reson is in the middle.

 

[ChemMan]

Hey fellas,

Everything seems to be working well. Break in is going along I haven't taken volume above 55 for more than about 30 seconds. I figure 50 hours. I set up the speakers as asked in the user manual including placement of Velodyne CHT subwoofer off to the side with a 90 degree directional angle.

You can't really listen to anything until 30 on the volume. Is this normal or does it have to do with the source: MacBook Pro through dragonfly black?

Cheers

 

[torikoos]

Not sure if the newer Arcam have the same scaling as the older series, but I find that my Arcam Diva A85 needs to be turned up to 30 or above to get any volume. I don't mind that, there is quite a range on the dail and therefore is nice and controlled, unlike many rivals from the orient where the dail doesn't get past 9 or 10 o clock.

So what if you need to turn it a little further, if it sounds good, it generally IS good 🙂