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Review 2 of 21 Summary:
The Alpha One has never successfully tracked *all* of my CDs, but it's only the odd one here and there that doesn't work. Having owned it for six years, contrary to the crass generalisations of one or two other reviews here, the player is working as it did when I bought it.
And the sound quality, in tandem with an Alpha 5+ and Mordaunt-Short MS30 speakers, is really quite good. It's never going to rival high-end systems, as the treble is rolled off and the bass, while articulate and rhythmically correct, does not delve deep enough. But the midrange is very good, the soundstage is solid and it drives music along without drawing too much attention to itself.
By the way, I also own an Arcam 170.3 CD transport (12 years old!!), hooked up to an Arcam Black Box 50 DAC, and the transport is still rock solid, has never had the laser changed, and having been clocked with a Trichord Clock 3, sounds quite excellent. A similar upgrade to the Alpha One could work wonders on timing and dynamic range.
Who says Arcam products don't last? Strengths:
Good sound for a budget box Weaknesses:
Doesn't track all CDs well Similar Products Used:
I've listened to many players, from budget Technics CD models to Naim CDS
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