[leapincoog]

my dad bought a cd player, fm tuner, and amplifier made by a company called arcam. He said that theyre british. He bought the stuff at bay bloor radio, a pretty renowned audio store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and it cost him quite a bunch. (over $1000, prolly more like $2000..in that range). I just was wondering if anyone has heard of arcam stuff and if it's good quality and good value? Also, the amplifier has a headphone jack on it...I am getting my Alessandro Ms-1's any day now and I was wondering how good a job the source/amplifier combo would do driving headphones? What kind of stuff is it comparable to?

 

[leapincoog]

Btw, all this stuff is meant to drive some pretty nice speakers my dad has. I dont think it's original design was for headphones..

 

[Oink1]

Used to own at one time or another an Arcam Delta 3 integrated amp and a Delta CD transport - Top kit that i only got rid of due to the infernal 'upgraditus'

 

[YngwieJMalmsteen]

Their website is here: http://www.arcam.co.uk/

I think their stuff looks pretty nice, though people who spend over 5 figures tend to look down on them, marantz, NAD, and rotel (though arcam is somewhat less mainstream). Anyone looking into putting together a sub-10,000$ system (myself included) would have to consider these brands as serious contenders.

 

[bundee1]

Arcam is great. I love the sound, warm and punchy. Its a great value.

 

[Fidelity]

Some of the best hi-fi hardware (in terms of sound quality) over the last decade or so have come from Arcam, they are certainly top notch, unless of course you have >$100k to spend...

 

[leapincoog]

Awesome. thanks for the opinions and info guys.

 

[creeky]

Quote:

Also, the amplifier has a headphone jack on it...I am getting my Alessandro Ms-1's any day now and I was wondering how good a job the source/amplifier combo would do driving headphones?

It should do a very good job. Most decent speaker amps have very good headphone outputs. being an Arcam it should be top notch

 

[JMT]

I used to own an Arcam DiVA CD72. It was a very good player, very dynamic sounding with bass to die for. The remote was overdone which made it a pain to use, but the player was a good solid player in the sub $800 range (I paid roughly half that for mine). I absolutely love their chassis styling and panel component layout. Elegant simplicity.

 

[HVK]

Arcam is a solid product. I chose the Rotel over the Arcam because I like a more detailed sound. The Arcam is warmer which some people like. Can't go wrong with them though.

 

[leapincoog]

great. I cant wait to try it out with the alessandro's.

 

[KZEE]

I've auditioned the the Arcam 9 and Arcam CD33 players - both had excellent sound, and IMO are well suited for headphone use. Through Conrad Johnson tube amps and B&W speakers the '9 was less transparent and punchier (great dynamics) than the '33, and the '33 had more holographic imaging, but was somewhat lacking in rhythm. It would be a hard decision to decide which I liked better.

 

[gpalmer]

Arcam is good gear, they frequently make the cover of Stereophile...

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMT I used to own an Arcam DiVA CD72. It was a very good player, very dynamic sounding with bass to die for. The remote was overdone which made it a pain to use, but the player was a good solid player in the sub $800 range (I paid roughly half that for mine). I absolutely love their chassis styling and panel component layout. Elegant simplicity.

I own one of these (though I am not using it at present) and it is a very nice player. But the person who designed the remote should be executed . . . . very slowly. Overall, I think Arcam products are quite good.

 

[Necros]

Arcam poweramps are very good for the money (owned a Alpha 8P) although the pre-amps could be better (noise & not balanced channels) not sure if new ones have improved in these matters.