[sc53]

Arcam is top notch, like others have said. You should check out their home theater components like the A250 or the A300 multichannel receivers. Incredible features and sound for an all-in-one component. My friend got the A250 and she really has a home theater to die for. Plus their DVD and CD players are renowned for making great music.

 

[Shosta]

When I buyed my Musical Fidelity A300 I auditioned the Arcam A85. It has a warm sound but less liquid than the A300.
But far away 'better sound' (for my tastes) than a Rotel (I don't remember the model) which I auditioned too.

 

[gregeas]

I've bought many Arcam pieces over the years. I've tried other stuff but keep coming back. Right now I have the CD33, A32/P35 integrated amp/amp combo, and the DV79 for DVD/DVD-A. You could say I'm addicted.

Here's why: great build quality, living-room friendly appearance/WAF (I live in an apartment without a dedicated listening area), customer service (frequent hardware and software upgrades), and, most importantly, a purist approach to audio. These guys don't mess around with bells and whistles, but instead focus on key features to make the audio sound excellent. To wit, they refuse to add SACD decoding to their DVD players, since doing so will compromise the design.

The headphone jack on the A32 is pretty good -- it works with both HD650s and RS-1s. I've compared it to a maxed MPX3 and an SR-71 (both sold). I'm getting my GS-1 later this week from Headamp and will post some comparisons soon.

One nice thing about the CD player is that it has two sets of RCA jacks, so it can stay connected to my integrated and head amp at the same time.

 

[gregeas]

Oh yeah: avforums.com, based in the UK, has a dedicated Arcam forum that's frequented by the company's engineers.

 

[Necros]

Yeah Arcam are a big step over Rotel, from what I've seen the general feelings on the American forums class the two in a similar league. Over here Rotel are affordable budget well made gear, but nothing stellar.

Parasound are one step up from Rotel.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leapincoog great. I cant wait to try it out with the alessandro's.

While Arcam is a very good audio manufacturer their focus is on speaker based systems not headphones. Typically most speaker based amplifiers do not put an awful lot of thought into a headphone amp if they even include one. Of course there are always exceptions to this rule but be aware if there is a headphone output on the amplifier it may perform well or it may not but this shouldn't be a reflection on the quality of the gear in a speaker based system.

 

[Oliver :)]

*cough* Exposure *cough*

 

[Blizzard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

Their latest preamp, FMJ C30 has balanced channels. But the only poweramp that have a balanced input is the P1 monoblock, so it won't help if you use a their stereo poweramps. Also none of the CD or DVD players have balanced outputs, so you won't get a completely balanced line with only Arcam electronics, but I don't think that's so important.

I have an A32 integrated and CD33 player and I'm very happy with them. The sound is excellent. They look nice and especially the A32 has a ton of great properties.

I haven't yet compered the headphone output to headphone amplifiers, but it drives my HD650 quite nicely...

 

[Necros]

I was referring to their older Alpha range, the volume pots did have a problem of unequal channel levels at lower volume, he had to use the channel balance knob to counteract the amps own pot inaccuracy. He borrowed my pre-amp/poweramp combo and promptly sold off his Arcam..much better sound, much lower noise floor and no problems running in direct gain input mode, better build & design, more flexible amp for only a couple of hundred quid extra.

 

[gregeas]

I read that the C30 pre has an enhanced, audiophile-grade headphone circuit. Not sure if the A32 has this as well.

 

[truelies]

arcam is a very good audio company, same as rega. I think both from england.

 

[Blizzard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necros I was referring to their older Alpha range, the volume pots did have a problem of unequal channel levels at lower volume, he had to use the channel balance knob to counteract the amps own pot inaccuracy. He borrowed my pre-amp/poweramp combo and promptly sold off his Arcam..much better sound, much lower noise floor and no problems running in direct gain input mode, better build & design, more flexible amp for only a couple of hundred quid extra.

Alphas are old. All that is gone. Allmost all new Arcam amps have electronical stepped atentuators. Some kind of software controlled volume system. The channel balance is allways perfect. You can trim the inputs so that every source will play at the same volume at the same volume setting.

The C30 has a dedicated headphone amp section. I don't think the A32 or the other integreated amps have that, because they can drive the headphones out of the poweramp section with resistors. I'm also quite sure they would advertise it if they did have that.

 

[Bosch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregeas One nice thing about the CD player is that it has two sets of RCA jacks, so it can stay connected to my integrated and head amp at the same time.

I have my Arcam 8 CD player connected to my Solo and RA-1. It also makes it very easy to compare interconnects on the Solo, which has two sets of input jacks and a switch. Not surprisingly perhaps, in many of the comparisons I could not tell a difference at all...after years of clubbing and live gigs I doubt my ears are too well preserved anymore, but there you go.

I'm thinking of upgrading to a new Arcam player (CD33) or a Meridian G07 (just for a change) if finances permit it.

 

[rsaavedra]

Arcam A85 used to be top integrated amp choice in many audio magazines (Stereophile has/had it as class B though if I remember well, but still a top choice). The A85 now has been replaced by the Diva A90. I think Arcam can be regarded an audio manufacturer with a very good and widely recognized reputation.

 

[peter braun]

Yeah, Arcam is a solid brand, well made and decent sounding. I personally would not buy Arcam myself, but would not discourage others from doing so.