wrx74

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Pre owned

Summary:
I was a bit doubtful that the Arcam alpha 9 was able to deliver since it doesnt weigh much (about 5 kgs) and rated at 75watts per channel.The last integrated amp i owned prior to the Alpha 9 was the huge PM7200 which lured me into buying due to its size and larger RMS watts per channel.

The Marantz was indeed good value but somehow its sound does not covey as as much emotion to draw me into music.I started looking around and picked up the Alpha9 from someone changing to a Cyrus amp and remembered i was pleased with Alpha 8 only wishing it had a bit more power.A side by side test of the marantz 7200 and Arcam Alpha 9 was obvious.The vocals from Norah Jones Come away with me album feels more alive on the Arcam and music was more open and seemed to fill the room more than the Marantz.Even my girlfriend who doesnt believe much differences between components could tell the difference in the test.The Marantz does the basic job of presenting music well but doesnt give "life" to music.I think it means when you are playing a cd, u can feel that the performer is alive and performing "to you" rather than sound generated by equipment.All sound must come from equipment just that the Arcam makes u forget that and enjoy the music.

Craving for extra Power, i bought th Alpha 9P which improves bass and separation.Its probably not the best equipment to play rock and bassy music but it does a very good job for relaxing music.So far for me,having owned for 2yrs now, i have no plans to upgrade yet and listening at Audio shops dont really blow me away as i know my system can deliver within my budget or they just fooling you with room acoustics.

Now the Alpha 9 combo sits in my living room and I've gotten the Arcam Delta 290/290P in my bedroom.Both are my treasured possessions.

My equipment:
Arcam Alpha9(Qed P75)
Arcam Alpha 9P(Qed P75)
Arcam Alpha 9 cd player(Qed P75)
Tannoy Revolution 3 (biwired with QED xtube300)

Arcam Delta 290(Qed P75)
Arcam Delta 290P(Qed P75)
Arcam Alpha 8SE(Qed P75)
Tannoy Revolution 2 (biwired with QED xtube300)

Strengths:
Music breathes freely and naturally thru this equipment

Quality built -since the amp/cd player has been around since 1998,the fact that they are still working well today shows they have quality tho the exterior makes people feel they are not.

Weaknesses:
I wished the exterior would look like the FMJ or Diva series

Similar Products Used:
Marantz PM 7200
NAD 302
Arcam Alpha 8 Integrated

Anh165

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $800.00 from HiFi Experience Lond

Summary:

I have had the Arcam Alpha 9 & 9P in bi-amp configuration for about a decade now, and I still enjoy the clean and honest sound quality from these boxes and still works well considering its age. Only from 2 years ago, I do now get the intermittent left/right imbalance at low volumes but I dont listen at those levels anyway unless i needed to turn the music down for other purposes.

They are currently driving some Linn floor standers (nice high end AV monitors) with a 20 year old Meridian 200 Transport and DAC combo as the source.

The Alpha 9 amp on its own works well, I think this amp's performance is perceived consistently across many listeners, well weighted bass, open midrange and a confident treble (not clinical or fizzy). The Alpha 9 starts to lose "grip" on more pacy and complicated music at higher volumes but add the 9P on in bi-amp mode and the weaknesses of the amp are virtually eliminated and its strengths are enhanced a stage further.

Stereo imaging is good, solid, doesnt drift. Nice depth to the placement of instruments, and detail is great but obviously not in your face.

I dont think this kind of amp pulls any tricks, it doesnt add what isnt there in the music or colours the sound to instantly grab you by the throat impression at the demo room. When in 9/9P bi-amp mode, I think it is only beaten by much more expensive gear. I think adding extra 9P amps to drive each channel would further control music especially at high volumes.

Strengths:
- Balanced, clear and untiring presentation.
- Upgradable and thus will outperform the sum of its parts, what more could you want?

Weaknesses:
- It's not the most solid built amp in the world, but its nice to know that all the money was spent on the parts inside rather than bling.

Similar Products Used:
- Arcam Alpha 10 integrated amp
- Audiolab 8000A

jwsb

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $400.00 from 2nd Hand

Summary:
A very good product a the price it is being sold for now. Best contender against the newer Rotels and NAD's. Paiored this with an Alpha 8 CDP and Celestion SL 600.

Rich and laid back. Took the edges off usually glaring recordings from GRP. Great vocals and a relatively large sounstage. Bass is authoritative, weighty and controlled. Made me think I was listening to a much larger amp of 150 wpc. Sweet and detailed. Highs were never tizzy or metallic. (Perhaps due to the combo as well) The volume works with the CD player's remote. Mids breathe with ease and finds the right place for itself.

Imaging was not quite as pinpoint but the overall image was relatively accurate.

Very relaxed but not boring...

Strengths:
Musical

Weaknesses:
Plastic facia! Letterings have rubbed off. Plastic knobs! Would look a lot better if the front had more aluminum.

Similar Products Used:
Integrateds:
NAD 3020, Rotel, Adcom GCA

I HAVE A SHOP AND HAVE ACCESS TO A LOT OF GEAR!! The benefits of ownership...

Arcam, Audio Note, Audio Research, Audible Illusions, etc. etc.

jack1111

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $250.00

Summary:
I bought the Arcam alpha 9 some time ago to replace my old NAD 317, which I loved, but which had finally failed after many years of faithful service.
I chose the Arcam based on its overall good reviews,
and because the other ones I was looking for were not easily available here in
Singapore. Unfortunately, here in Singapore, it is also not usually possible
to audition the equipment, certainly not at home. Anyway, I bought the Arcam,
perhaps against my own better judgement, and certainly in spite of its ugly
appearance. It is one poor design job, really cheap looking. Unfortunately, it
is not at all cheaply priced.
It was a huge disappointment. Compared to the old NAD, which had a very clean,
analytical sound, the Arcam sounds muddled. The bass falls off
suddenly where the NAD had a wonderful deep clean sound. The treble is tiring
and the midrange is indistinct. The sound did improve somewhat over time; I like
to think it is the components getting run in, although it could be me getting
used to it, I suppose. Also, the tone circuitry is incredibly noisy!
So now I have this ugly poor-sounding piece of plastic, and considering buying
yet another amp. I would definitely not recommend this amp to anybody.

Weaknesses:
cheap looking
my old NAD was much better

warrenmmmmm

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $900.00 from Hi Fi store

Summary:
My ratings relate to the Arcam Alpha 9 Integrated Amp in combination with the Arcam Alpha 9P Power Amplifier.

I bought my Arcam Alpha 9 in 2001 for AU$1400, which was $500 below the new price, having just been superceded by the Alpha 10. It was fairly involving, detailed and very musical, particularly when playing from my Linn Sondek LP12 turntable / Benz Micro MC-1cartridge / Rotel RQ-870 phono preamp, and biwired from the A and B speaker outputs into my B&W Matrix 2E speakers. Certainly a dramatic cut above every other amplifier I had owned until then. I recently bought a pair of Totem Arro speakers to replace my aging B&Ws, and took the opportunity to get a traded Arcam Alpha 9P power amp which is designed to match the Arcam Alpha 9. I tried the Alpha 9 / 9P combination biamping my B&Ws (which were about to be packed and shipped to their new owner), hoping to hear a marginal improvement in the system.

I was stunned by the audible improvements - wider soundstage, much more effortless quality to the music, vastly improved sense of tension in soft passages in the music, better bass control, the list went on and on. These improvements carried over and were even more pronounced when using the Arros. The Alpha 9 on its own would rate a 4 or so in my book (most amplifiers would rate a 1 or 2 to my ears). Adding the 9P brings it very close to a 5, up there with some of the best megabuck amps I have heard.

By the way, the Arcam Alpha 9 has an excellent facility for integrating AV into it - there is an AV input which is designed to accept output from the front speaker RCA outs on your AV receiver. This means that my audio speakers are also the front speakers of my AV system, without any swapping of cables. Works beautifully!

I recently upgraded my CD player to a 2nd hand Arcam Alpha 9 CD. I am now finding that same efforless musicality that I hear with my vinyl, coming through the CD as well, although the combination of Alpha 9 CD and Alpha 9/9P Amplifiers seems a tiny bit bright.

My advice to any Alpha 9 owner is to find an Alpha 9P and turn your very fine amplifier into a staggeringly good amplifier.

If you are considering an Alpha 9 purchase, I'd strongly recommend it, but if you can get the 9 and 9P, I can promise you that you will have to pay many thousands of dollars to get a better sounding amplifier.

Strengths:
(in combination with Arcam Alpha 9P)
Clean deep musical bass
Very musical
Sweet high frequencies
Portrays vocals superbly
Holographic stereo imaging
Wonderful ability to convey complex rhythms
Remains an intense listening experience at low volumes (very rare ability in ANY amplifier)
Sound quality nearly matching the very best amplifiers that money can buy.

Weaknesses:
No inbuilt phono (RIAA) preamp (or a very ordinary phono preamp on an add-in board)

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer A-400
Pioneer A-400X
Rotel RA-820B
Sansui AU-417 (heavily modified)