Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp + CD player opinions

I am interested in buying Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp + Alpha 8 CD player. What is the matching:

1. Speakers
2. Turntable, using the built in phono stage of Alpha 8.

Newbie here, so please be gentle

Hi, what made you choose arcam amp and cdp to begin with? If you searched in the internet, arcam has limited followers.

Here in hifi4sale you will only see few members having arcam setup, I'm one of the few.

While I haven't own an arcam cdp, I have heard arcam cd 5plus togehter with quad amp + harbeth P3 with good results .

When I was looking for an amplifier few years back I had an option to get audiolab vs. arcam amp. After I auditioned arcam I did not bother about audiolab anymore.

Later last year when I sold my extra pair of speaker, the buyer (using audiolab) also sought arcam after hearing my system.

I'm not saying arcam is better than audiolab (which I did not hear myself), what I'm saying is arcam has a house sound of its own, you may or may not like it but it all boils down to preference.

So what sound do you expect to hear (ie.. neutral, detailed, etc.)? You may also let us know you music genre (ie. jazz, rock, etc.).

Maybe other may be able to chime in and recommend other than arcam if we know your preference.

Happy listening.

I am mostly into rock and metal music.

if you have a budget, consider my best recomendation all time-

AMPs- Naim Pre power[Chrome Bumper/Olive]
CDPs- Arcam Alpha+,Marantz CD40/50/94,Philips CD204/304/880/960,Naim CD3/Quad CD66.

If Budget Allow-
Naim Nap552/Nap500/552ps
CDPs- CD555/555Ps

bentara wrote:I am mostly into rock and metal music.

Funny, if your still into arcam then let me tell you from my experience that arcam do not shout if they do they do it with finesse.

Common knowledge will tell you that you need to have an aggressive (in your face / forceful ) amp with grunt for rock music.

Arcam will do it in opposite, it will present music in a composed manner which imho makes listening to rock more listenable for long hours (other genre included).

If this is your cup of tea, then let me know and I'll continue to share my experience with you.

Otherwise, if really into rock regardless of what amp please invest in good quality floor standers. Arcam or not, rock music benefit from floorstandars specially having that extended bass.

Keep rocking.

please continue mrquery.

I suppose once I have the Arcam then I will have to look for a floorstander?

Occasionally I would like to listen to other genres as well. Will Arcam be flexible on this with a floorstander?

Despite the "noise" of rock/metal music, I would also like to hear the details.

hi bentara, thankfully it's my rest day today thus I have time to share my experience with you. Like you, I usually ask more experienced member here about this and that (and hifi4sale members very helpful).

Floorstander:
I am not a rock only listener, actually about 20% is rock and 80% is mostly vocal jazz, instrumental, pop, etc.. With rock music I find arcam paired with my Acoustic Research AR98LS more suitable for that extended low frequency most rock music requires. But due to my recent move on a smaller room I am not able to use this combo anymore. I am telling you this because you may need room (bigger space) depending on your floorstander of choice.

Bookshelf:
Other than this, my castle clifton is enough for everyday listening pleasure. Later you may check on this site that many uses this arcam + castle combo. What I like about this is that the voices coming from the speakers are pin point in the center of the music. This is a cliche but yes, I can almost say I can grab Patricia Barber and kiss her then suddenly music will stop, that's how tangible she is for me when I play her songs. And did I say castle were never obtrusive, this top most important for me.

Other system:
I have heard of naim uniqute + AN bookshelf before but I'm still waiting for a chance to audition a full naim system so I can be swayed to the naim territory. If you have a chance to hear this then grab that opportunity as Tubeezator recommend.

Lastly, I am not gonna tell you what speaker to buy cause that is for you to decide. I just wanted to share my limited experience and how I perceived sound coming from my system and hope it help you in your decision.

Remember it's a journey, you may find what your looking for in one shot or it may take time for you to find the right system. What's important is you enjoy and learned from it.

Thank you for your time

mrquery wrote:

Floorstander:
I am not a rock only listener, actually about 20% is rock and 80% is mostly vocal jazz, instrumental, pop, etc.. With rock music I find arcam paired with my Acoustic Research AR98LS more suitable for that extended low frequency most rock music requires. But due to my recent move on a smaller room I am not able to use this combo anymore. I am telling you this because you may need room (bigger space) depending on your floorstander of choice.

Somebody says that Arcam 8 cannot drive a floorstander properly? How about Tannoy MX3?

I will be putting the system in my room (with wife) as it is impossible to put at the living room because I have 5 very active kids. My house is a typical 2 storey semi detached-house so you can imagine the bedroom size.

I like floorstander because of its look and needs the extra bass for rock/metal music. But a bit worried about the size of the room. Otherwise, please suggest me a bookshelf that can satisfy my needs for rock/metal.

bentara wrote:
Somebody says that Arcam 8 cannot drive a floorstander properly? How about Tannoy MX3?

I will be putting the system in my room (with wife) as it is impossible to put at the living room because I have 5 very active kids. My house is a typical 2 storey semi detached-house so you can imagine the bedroom size.

I like floorstander because of its look and needs the extra bass for rock/metal music. But a bit worried about the size of the room. Otherwise, please suggest me a bookshelf that can satisfy my needs for rock/metal.

Of course all this time I was referring to my arcam delta 290 which is 80wpc. And I agree that many amplifier can drive this floorstander better. Having said this, on bass department per se, I have heard arcam paired with mission 782 with great results. You may also try to audition the aforementioned tannoy mx3 and many others to choose from.

Happy hunting...

mrquery wrote:

bentara wrote:
Somebody says that Arcam 8 cannot drive a floorstander properly? How about Tannoy MX3?

I will be putting the system in my room (with wife) as it is impossible to put at the living room because I have 5 very active kids. My house is a typical 2 storey semi detached-house so you can imagine the bedroom size.

I like floorstander because of its look and needs the extra bass for rock/metal music. But a bit worried about the size of the room. Otherwise, please suggest me a bookshelf that can satisfy my needs for rock/metal.

Of course all this time I was referring to my arcam delta 290 which is 80wpc. And I agree that many amplifier can drive this floorstander better. Having said this, on bass department per se, I have heard arcam paired with mission 782 with great results. You may also try to audition the aforementioned tannoy mx3 and many others to choose from.

Happy hunting...

Yes - Mission 782 floorstander is indeed a very good speaker in terms of cost to performance ratio and i understand that a few forumers other than myself is also using it. Just to share: I listen to a wide range of music, including classical crossover, orchestra, vocal (ballad, jazz, country, celtic, folk, canton & mandarin pop etc etc), slow rock, choir & soundtrack and thus far, the 782 is able to portray these music in a clear, rich, dynamic & transparent manner. However, it is a 6 ohm load speaker and thus, required a good & fairly powerful amplifier to maximize it's true capabilities. (there are reviews in the internet that user of Mission 782 often encountered problems on it's driver and i suspected that it was manily due to being under driven). My 2 cents & humble opinion. Enjoy the music ~ Regards.

Hi, i own a arcam alpha 9 int + arcam alpha 5 cdp still hunting for floorstander to match with.....to all sifu here pls suggest some opinion...can this english equipments match with danish speakers..e.g dynaudio..?

kychoo99 wrote:
Yes - Mission 782 floorstander is indeed a very good speaker in terms of cost to performance ratio and i understand that a few forumers other than myself is also using it. Just to share: I listen to a wide range of music, including classical crossover, orchestra, vocal (ballad, jazz, country, celtic, folk, canton & mandarin pop etc etc), slow rock, choir & soundtrack and thus far, the 782 is able to portray these music in a clear, rich, dynamic & transparent manner. However, it is a 6 ohm load speaker and thus, required a good & fairly powerful amplifier to maximize it's true capabilities. (there are reviews in the internet that user of Mission 782 often encountered problems on it's driver and i suspected that it was manily due to being under driven). My 2 cents & humble opinion. Enjoy the music ~ Regards.

I never heard arcam was lacking with 782 then but I agree other amplifier can drive it better. That's hifi for us always something better (upgrade). Nevertheless, it was enough then for me to have had suggest to the OP to give it a try.
As most would say.. audition audition audition

OT: kychoo99, I have read your post before on AVI amp and I'm pretty sure it's close on how I perceive my arcam amp (not to offend). Hope to hear it sometime.

colour wrote:Hi, i own a arcam alpha 9 int + arcam alpha 5 cdp still hunting for floorstander to match with.....to all sifu here pls suggest some opinion...can this english equipments match with danish speakers..e.g dynaudio..?

Hi colour, nice name. I'm afraid I don't go out much and haven't tried more floorstander with arcam amp, thus I'm left with only 2 suggestions above based on experience.

It goes without saying that arcam amp is fairly a budget / entry level amp. Thus I cannot really complain if it can't really drive floorstanding speaker like other amp costing twice or more than arcam price (even used). What I value about this amp is it's house sound which I have not yet encountered at this price point. If anybody have had good result then we welcome your suggestion (I included).

mrquery wrote:
OT: kychoo99, I have read your post before on AVI amp and I'm pretty sure it's close on how I perceive my arcam amp (not to offend). Hope to hear it sometime.

Dear mrquery,

No offense taken & you got pm. Rgds.

Hi bentara,
I have owned Arcams before, in fact their first model the A60 (it was A&R before the name change) and then the Delta. Their later models essentially carry a similar sonic signature. Smooth open sound stage with beautiful vocals. As mrquery mentioned you can listen to an Arcam setup for hours without feeling tired.
If you listen to mostly rock and heavy metal, the Arcams are decent enough but they won't give you the whack like the Naim or even the Audiolab (I have also owned these). Exposure is another option.
So if you have not bought the Arcam, it may be worth the effort to audition these other amps with your type of music before making a decision. The other good thing about Naim, Audiolab and Exposure is that they can drive most speakers so more choices there.
Best of luck.

Hi Bentara,

My first post in hifi4sale and please be nice.

I had an Arcam system driving Mission 751s and they do sound warm and boring for metal and rock music.

The olive Naims are much better than most for your kind of music. I had NAC 72 and NAP140 pre-power amps driving Missions and Rega with great results for Megadeth, Metallica, King Diamond etc. New Naims, chrome bumper Naims, Exposures and Creeks are also good by none has the 'sting' like the olive series.

As for your questions, my suggestion is to listen to PMC speakers with Rega TT with olive Naims.

I used to partner my ex Delta 290 with AE109. Not bad at all.

I suggest Arcam 9 + 9P with B&W 603. I used to own 9 + 9P driving 601.

Hi,

A friend of mine is selling his Arcam 9P.  If this is the upgrade path for you, let me know.  Will pm him his contact.