Question Suggestions for foundational parts of a longer term vinyl setup

[RTHerringbone]

It looks great!

Thanks! I've got a satisfying feeling of "Aaaand relax" after a busy few months researching, listening to and gathering this stuff. Putting it all in a custom cabinet was always the cherry on top.

Now for the best bit: just relaxing and listening to it. And hunting out vinyl. And looking properly at new headphones 🎧

 

[Shrek]

New cabinet is here and it's a perfect fit. Next job is to fill up that bottom section and start enjoying the fruits of this madcap three month spree.
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lovely looking setup and furniture ,once you have filled the bottem shelf you will have paid of the mortgage and the records will be worth more than the system enjoy 🫠🎧

 

[Revolutions]

It looks great!

Ditto 👌🏼

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

how's the quality; is it solid American oak ?

 

[RTHerringbone]

how's the quality; is it solid American oak ?

It's very good. It's solid Scandinavian Redwood with a dark oak finish.

My wife is (perhaps unusually) a carpenter by trade and she ran a very critical eye over it yesterday and was impressed.

I've just been back to the record shop AGAIN to pick up a couple of extra LPs to start filling out that bottom section.

 

[RTHerringbone]

Incidentally, Lagom Studio have given me a 10% discount code now that I've bought the cabinet, which is a nice touch but I'm hardly going to buy another one any time soon, so if anyone is interested then I'm happy to send it over. Will typically equate to a saving of ~£50+

 

[RTHerringbone]

Hmm. I have a "headphone" issue, that I think might be an amp issue - thoughts please:

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that intermittently, the volume through my headphones would fluctuate and I'd sometimes also get some fuzziness or distortion. Usually adjusting the lie of the cable resolved it, but it would reoccur again at some point. It happens every listening session, but for 90% of the time all is fine.

I've tried other cables to no avail, and I've tried different sets of headphones, but the problem persists. I suspect that it therefore must be the headphone socket on the amp that has the issue. Are there any other logical tests I should do before getting in contact with Peter Tyson to arrange a repair? There are no reports of similar issues online for this amp.

EDIT: It's booked in to be returned to Arcam (didn't realise I have a 5 year warranty) as the Peter Tyson Customer Service chap agrees that it's probably a duff port or connection on the amp. It's being picked up by DPD on Tuesday (Bank Holiday weekend is in the way!) and then hopefully it won't take too long to fix. I assume they actually try to fix them somewhere, rather than just replace the unit altogether.

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

Hmm. I have a "headphone" issue, that I think might be an amp issue - thoughts please:

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that intermittently, the volume through my headphones would fluctuate and I'd sometimes also get some fuzziness or distortion. Usually adjusting the lie of the cable resolved it, but it would reoccur again at some point. It happens every listening session, but for 90% of the time all is fine.

I've tried other cables to no avail, and I've tried different sets of headphones, but the problem persists. I suspect that it therefore must be the headphone socket on the amp that has the issue. Are there any other logical tests I should do before getting in contact with Peter Tyson to arrange a repair? There are no reports of similar issues online for this amp.

EDIT: It's booked in to be returned to Arcam (didn't realise I have a 5 year warranty) as the Peter Tyson Customer Service chap agrees that it's probably a duff port or connection on the amp. It's being picked up by DPD on Tuesday (Bank Holiday weekend is in the way!) and then hopefully it won't take too long to fix. I assume they actually try to fix them somewhere, rather than just replace the unit altogether.

small squirt of wd40 or similar on a clean rag then root the port ?

 

[RTHerringbone]

small squirt of wd40 or similar on a clean rag then root the port ?

Nah, I'm going to play it super safe and get it sent back to Arcam. It's just one of those things.

Peter Tyson have arranged for DPD to pick it up on Tuesday (bloody Bank Holidays!) and then I think it just gets fixed at an approved service centre somewhere.

 

[Revolutions]

Nah, I'm going to play it super safe and get it sent back to Arcam. It's just one of those things.

Peter Tyson have arranged for DPD to pick it up on Tuesday (bloody Bank Holidays!) and then I think it just gets fixed at an approved service centre somewhere.

Sounds like you’re gong to need to find a bargain 70s or 80s amp via gumtree to fill in while the Arcam is in hospital… 😎

 

[RTHerringbone]

Sounds like you’re gong to need to find a bargain 70s or 80s amp via gumtree to fill in while the Arcam is in hospital… 😎

Fortunately the latest SONOS updates seemed to have worked, so we'll make do with those for a week or two and then get back to appreciating proper Hi-Fi.

 

[RTHerringbone]

The Arcam A25 is packed up, ready to be picked up tomorrow to be taken for repair 🙄

I probably inevitably now wonder "Is this representative of Arcam build quality now?" (I doubt it, my old FMJ A18 was fine throughout my years with it). But I can't help thinking about the option of potential alternatives.....😂🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

Nait Nait 50. For the phono stage alone…Let alone the sound.

 

[RTHerringbone]

Nait Nait 50. For the phono stage alone…Let alone the sound.

Don't joke - I have been thinking about it but have some concern about its compatibility with the LS50 Meta's, which are rumoured to be tough to drive, and that's one of the reasons I got the A25 in the first place.

The Nait 50 is down as low as £1,399 now, so actually less costly than the A25 following the big discount from a pretty beefy initial RRP - almost 50% off now, which is bananas.

I may just make a gentle enquiry with Peter Tyson as they're arranging the Arcam repair and if I end up having to do another bit of box-swapping, c'est la vie.....

 

[Fandango Andy]

The Arcam A25 is packed up, ready to be picked up tomorrow to be taken for repair 🙄

I probably inevitably now wonder "Is this representative of Arcam build quality now?" (I doubt it, my old FMJ A18 was fine throughout my years with it). But I can't help thinking about the option of potential alternatives.....😂🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

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At a risk of saying something about modern build quality that makes me sound 100 like a mad old grandpa in movie. My Marantz amp is 25 years old. The Sony in by bedroom is about 30, I got it second hand ten years ago. I use one or the other every day. I got a new DAC a couple of years ago that last 18 months, nobody questioned this, suggesting they are relatively cheap, get a new one.

I would say hope you get it fixed soon, but am wondering have you lost confidence and are moving on to something different?

 

[RTHerringbone]

I would say hope you get it fixed soon, but am wondering have you lost confidence and are moving on to something different?

I think it has probably sown a seed of doubt. I will have used that headphone socket daily but it has only been three months so I assume I've just been unlucky and got one with some dodgy soldering or something like that. That aside, the Arcam, sounds great and has good usability and connectivity, so I am happy with it.

On the other hand, it does become a convenient fault that my wife is aware of, and so a different shaped box at the end of it wouldn't irritate her too much. It might be a risk worth taking - I'll see what Peter Tyson come back to me with.

Basically if I can swap for the Nait 50 and spend not much more than £500 in the process, then it'll be tempting. Compatibility with the LS50 Meta is a minor concern, but I do see retailers bundling them together, so they must work and ultimately this change would open up my latest endgame speaker option.....If PT don't offer enough, then I just need to settle down and stop looking at new things

 

[RTHerringbone]

I'm waiting on confirmation from Peter Tyson, but from what they've emailed me this afternoon, it seems like I'm potentially going to be a happy post-Easter bunny.

I was fully expecting to have to make a tough choice about a trade-in for the Nait 50, but when the "trade-in" becomes an in-warranty refund at full RRP, the tables turn somewhat.....🤔

If this pans out as it seems set to, I'm going to be absolutely stoked 🤞

EDIT: I'm very confused so definitely waiting on final confirmation. Their refund policy for faulty products is to refund within 30 days but "If your purchase falls outside this time, then please contact us". They just seem to be honouring it with no quibbles. I'm amazed and delighted if this works out.

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

then what ?

 

[RTHerringbone]

then what ?

They've seemingly agreed to send me a brand new NAIT 50 and credit my account with £100 to make up for the inconvenience of the Arcam having an issue.

They appear to be handling the Arcam as an in-warranty refund at full RRP (£1,499), so the £100 credit is basically the difference between the current RRP of the Arcam and the current £1,399 they're selling the NAIT for.

I just wanted them to confirm my understanding of that as it sounds too good to be true, given that I'm outside their standard return policy window (30 days) and that the Arcam was part of a bundled deal with the LS50 speakers - I effectively only paid ~£1,100 for it, so I feel like I'm being "over" refunded. Obviously I didn't remind them about the bundled deal and the guy handling it is their Customer Service Manager, so I expect he has to keep his word on this now.

 

[Shrek]

MY Experience of Arcam bad build quality in the past have they improved ?

 

[RTHerringbone]

MY Experience of Arcam bad build quality in the past have they improved ?

I previously had a FMJ A18 for a decade that was flawless and this latest incident is probably just one of those things. I googled it to see if my issue had been reported elsewhere, but it hasn't.

Headphone ports need some level of resilience so I'd expect more to have failed if it was a general manufacturing issue. I certainly haven't been at all heavy-handed with it.