nick200wrx

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Amazing for the money in the second hand market. Less than £100 gets you a lot of amp.
Sounds better than arcam alpha 8 and 9 to me.
Just look for dodgy input selector.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Being a music lover on a budget is a difficult thing. As a college student, I never was able to purchase any sort of listening gear (too busy paying for musical instruments- guitars, keyboard, amps, etc.). So, after being out of college for 6 years, I found myself thoroughly tired of listening to the Realistic brand record player/amplifier that had sat in my parents' garage for the duration of my youth, and decided to take the plunge and purchase some real equipment. The amplifier was the first thing to go for. I did a lot of reading reviews on this site (great site btw!), and decided on a price range of about $200-300. For that price, a home theater system was pretty much out- plus, I figured I could hold off until the market (and the many coding formats) settled and pick something up used in a couple years. So, I learned about some quality integrated stereo amps and figured that's what I could afford. Some of the other amps I considered: Creek 4330, Rotel, NAD 350/3020, Cambridge A500, Denon DRA775. I knew I wanted a decent phono stage too, to jump into vinyl eventually. Ultimately, I decided on the Arcam based on the reviews here. The sound of this amp is amazing. Everything is tight and controlled- from tasteful bass, to midrange vocal presence, to crisp yet warm highs. Good recordings have such a presence I never expected- jazz vocal recordings (which I have a soft spot for) appear to be right in the room with me. There's a natural, neutral quality to everything. I've heard amazing things about soundstage, but have yet to upgrade other items in my system (cd player/cables) and have only experienced marginal amazement in that category. Still, this amp astounds me. I've paired it with Axiom M22ti speakers (amazing inexpensive quality speakers!) and an old Revolver turntable, and am very very happy with the results.

Strengths:
Wonderful natural sound: tight bass, realistic vocal presence, beautiful midrange/highs.

Weaknesses:
None at the price point.

Similar Products Used:
None- this is my first REAL amplifier.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This amp is stunning eventhough it is a couple of years old now. Bass is very tight and treble is clear and warm. The arcam has shed loads of power on tap and 75wpc is plenty i have 2 pairs of jr149 speakers and it can power them easily. at 40% volume the speakers clip but at that volume your ears hurt!!!!! It does need to warm up and when it does the sound is truly incredible. I have recently purchased a denon 1803 av reciver and the arcam blows that away. when phono board fitted can make turntables sound thier best.

Strengths:
sounds stunning can drive almost any pair of speakers loads of grunt keeps cool even when running at high volumes for long periods of time.

Weaknesses:
needs to warm up THATS ABOUT IT

Similar Products Used:
Denon Arcam Marantz

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Second Hand

Summary:
This is a very versatile amp. Full remote control and a facilty to override the volume control when used in a home cinema setup. There's also the option of a phono stage. I agree with comments that this amp needs to warm up to perform at it's best. It's well worth the wait, you get a wonderfully rounded rich sound with bags of detail and superb imaging. If thats not enough, try adding a Delta 290P power amp, then you're into a whole new ballgame. Improved separation greater dynamics and also there is noticeably more bass at the subsonic end of the spectrum. Originally I used these amps with an Arcam Delta 270 CD player and was more than happy with the results. I have now upgraded?? to a cheaper Marantz CD6000 KI. The sound is now stunning. Taut rythmic and very fast, with a real 3 dimentional soundstage. Speakers are Acoustic Energy AE1 Series II. A brilliant amp. To hear it at it's best it needs to be partnered with a high quality clean sounding source and speakers. A tip I picked up from a Hi fi dealer: if you are biamping with a D290P, try using the power amp to drive the tweeters and the integrated to drive the bass. This is the opposite to what Arcam recommend, but it tightens up the bass and improves imaging. Try it you may be pleasantly surprised.

Strengths:
Build Quality, Flexibility, Power, Runs Cool when driven hard.

Weaknesses:
Source selector switch can become dirty, Rear phono sockets can pull out if you're not very careful.

Similar Products Used:
Denon, Arcam Alpha, Marantz,

Price Paid:  $450.00 from second hand

Summary:
Very fine integrated amplifier, complete with its remote control. Can drive loudspeakers with low impedance: it replaced my Marantz PM53 that could not drive my JM LAB 713. This was night and day ! Now I changed my loudspeaker for more compact models and recently replaced the amplifier with an Atoll AM100 (french make). The differences are noticeable but the Arcam is not as overpassed as the Marantz was. It never goes hot, which is quite impressive. One drawback: the source selector requires some cleaning after several years. Same for the remote control. But this takes 5 minutes every 5 years. Really deserves 5 stars: far better than what I expected.
Buy with confidence.

Strengths:
Very stable with a sound that is never agressive even at high volume. Compact size compared to japanese rivals.

Weaknesses:
Really needs to warm up

Similar Products Used:
Marantz PM53, Atoll AM100