Arcam amp and questions

[holliswhy]

Hey all,

Have been reading for a while, trying to get some info on what setup to get.

I have a pair of POLK audio monitor 5 speakers and need some advice on getting a vintage integrated amp to drive them.

I have heard lots of Denons (ie 3535) but they sound a bit thick... and bright; and the an macintosh (no idea of model) seems a little dynamic... if i am using the right terms.

The best i have heard was a NAD 320 (non C), and playing stairways to heaven simply suits, warm, detailed and also produces suffice dynamic in the Page's guitar sounds.

However, I cannot wait no more. I have seen an Arcam alpha 5 amp on ebay (40w) i can afford.... but i am unsure if my speakers would suit this amp well. Anyone have an idea? I want to use the setup in a small apartment and quite listening. There are thin walls....

Thanks everyone!

[Geoffcin]

Hey all,

Have been reading for a while, trying to get some info on what setup to get.

I have a pair of POLK audio monitor 5 speakers and need some advice on getting a vintage integrated amp to drive them.

I have heard lots of Denons (ie 3535) but they sound a bit thick... and bright; and the an macintosh (no idea of model) seems a little dynamic... if i am using the right terms.

The best i have heard was a NAD 320 (non C), and playing stairways to heaven simply suits, warm, detailed and also produces suffice dynamic in the Page's guitar sounds.

However, I cannot wait no more. I have seen an Arcam alpha 5 amp on ebay (40w) i can afford.... but i am unsure if my speakers would suit this amp well. Anyone have an idea? I want to use the setup in a small apartment and quite listening. There are thin walls....

Thanks everyone!

If your going to be in an apt with thin walls and listening to music at low levels you may want to consider an intergrated amp with tone controls. I have to say that the Arcam units are well made and sound great.

[poppachubby]

That amp will be a great match with your speakers. It can play louder than your neighbours will tolerate.

[RGA]

If you can I would look for a used Sugden A48b. I have owned this amp as well as arcam. The Sugden amp tends to sound a little warmer but offer deeper bass (no frequency limiters) and the build is quite a significant step up over the Arcam units. The Sugden is less well known in the U.S. which may keep their used prices a little lower than the bigger name Arcams. If you have your heart set on Arcam then I would suggest you go to their older and IMO better sounding Delta series (before they went Audio/Video). The Delta 290 integrated is better IMO than anything I have heard from them since. Build quality is average though - the front buttons are mediocre and the back speaker connection can fall off (though very cheap to replace with better ones). But the Delta 290 integrated can be turned into a preamp and then you can buy their 290P power amp. The advantage here is price. The 290P power amp goes for $200 on the used market and the 290 integrated goes for about $250-$300. You can see pictures here of a http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/amplifier/ar...a-290/1258772/

A lot of Arcam fans still consider the 290 to be the best sounding amp they made. Despite some of the cheap connectors it's worth considering.

The 290 integrated is about 75 watts per channel and sounds open fast and clean. It was the least expensive integrated amplifier in Stereophile to receive a class B rating. That said the Sugden A 48b sounds a lot better IME and was not in their listing at all so I would take the list with a huge grain of salt.

Sugden is a bit more of a posh sounding amplifier (A YBA Integra DT but with more bass) and has a very seductive (valve-like) midrange and offers a fuller enveloping sound. The Delta 290 I owned for about 5 years and I liked them more than what followed. The Delta's will be much easier to find but the Sugden is a little gem. Either should have enough power to drive most any mainstream loudspeaker. The Sugden is 65-70 watts. Another amp to consider might be the Audio Refinement "Complete" used which is almost a YBA Integre DT (made by YBA). But I prefer the Sugden but it is ugly. http://listeninn.com/catalog/Integra...s/Sugden-A48B/

[Mr Peabody]

The Alpha 5 may be alright if you don't listen very loud. Arcam used 4 ohm power ratings on the Alpha series and I found myself needing more power. On the other hand I've seen them drive speaker loads an amp of that price should never be hooked to. So they will drive the Polk with no problem but maybe not to the sound levels you may want. Also, I've mostly heard the Alpha on Dynaudio speakers which are less efficient than the Polk, but the Dyn's were also 4 to 6 ohms depending on model, So if your Polk's are 8 ohm the Alpha 5 may only give a 20 to 25 watts per channel, although, high quality watts per channel.

As far as sound the bass will be faster and more detailed than the NAD, and compared to NAD the bass will seem thinner. Arcam will also not be a "warm" sounding as the NAD, Arcam's Alpha will have a more extended high end and have more of an open airy sound. From what you say about the NAD you may be happier with it. The Alpha will have a more pronounced or brighter tone to strings than the NAD. The two brands just have different presentations and it comes down to preference. I am very familiar with the Alpha line and want to help you make the best informed decision. The Alpha series are great amps, especially for the price they sold at. Their performance along with the outstanding CD players put Arcam on the map fast. So I'm not trying to put a negative spin, just to point out the differences if you really enjoyed the NAD. My friend's Alpha 9 had tone controls but the Alpha 10 didn't, I can't remember off hand if the smaller amps had tone control or not.

[holliswhy]

Thanks for the replies. As i am in Australia, everything is more expensive because of the distance from... well civilization...

It would be difficult to get my hands on smaller/less known brands.

The comparison between NAD and Arcam was very helpful. I have seen a NAD 3020 go on ebay recently.. i should have jumped on it... what other models should i look out for in the similar price range?

With the Arcam alpha 5, i think i will get it anyway if the price is right. Try it, and then sell it off again later, and try out a NAD if i find one. This would work because the item is in Sydney, and i am in Melbourne, i should be able to sell it for more, simply because of supply and demand.

With the speaker cable... I am a bit of a novice... How much should I be spending on the cables? and for my setup do i get a banana plug on the speaker side and then "open" (not attached to anything on the amp side? My father used to fix these things up and i ignored it...

[holliswhy]

I just came across Leak stereo 70.

Would this be a better match?

[Mr Peabody]

I'm not familiar with Leak. It would be cool if you get the Arcam that way you'd know how both them and NAD sound and which you prefer.

You can actually use bare wire on both speaker and amp. I personally have been able to tell the difference between regular and "higher quality" speaker cable and interconnect but that's really something most have to try for themselves. The Arcam will benefit from better cables as long as your speakers are good enough to reveal the difference. Well, I should say you will benefit, in terms of better sound quality. Most high end cables come terminated. Typically, spades provide a better connection by being tighter and covering more surface, but there's really no difference in sound.

Here's a decent cable for not big money and I believe they will ship out of country www.bluejeanscable.com These would be a good match with the Alpha amps but you might want to use something different with NAD.

[holliswhy]

thanks for the reply Peaboy.

out of random i picked up a NAD 3020 and its playing on the polk very nicely.

I am using some simple bare wire like you said and its working well. may consider pinching some better cables from my father to see the difference before slashing out, I am planning on getting a turntable is well.

the limitation of the apartment is killing me. my right speaker is next to the wall and the bass seems to bounce stronger on that side. i was thinking to get some material to sit on the side to reduce this.

in general, the NAD is very warm as expected, the bass is indeed on the weaker side of the denon but the vocal warmth makes up for it, as i just concentrate on that. Can't really multi-task lols.

thanks again everyone for your input

the limitations of my apartment is killing

[Mr Peabody]

When connecting the speaker wire did you make sure to connect red (+) on speaker to red (+) on amp and same with black? If those are reversed you will have a lack in bass because the speakers will be out of phase.

If your speakers have a rear port you can plug them to see if it will tame your bass response. Some come with plugs, if yours didn't you can try an old pair of socks or anything that will stop the air flow.and not pop out under pressure. Plugging the port will sometimes reduce or eliminate boominess when speakers are too close to walls or corners.

Still thinking about the Alpha 5 or was that it?

[holliswhy]

hey,

yeah i made sure the speakers are plugged-in properly.

unfortunately, there isn't any base port in the speakers. however, i placed some pillows at the back of the right speaker in the corner which fixed the problem.

i currently use an impluse audio DAC (burr brown PCM 2700) /tube (philips) /headphone mini amp to run as dac and preamp. signals is then moved to the nad 3020. i am happy to report that this working to my full satisfaction. at first the combo wasn't producing sharp and bright electric guitar sounds, but the loudness button on nad 3020 seems to do the trick. distorted power chords are more vibrant and powerful than before. the tube/ intergraded seems to work very well as the tube offers more warmth and depth on vocals.

thanks for all the help.

[Mr Peabody]

The 3020 already has a preamp built in, it's an integrated amp, how do you have both integrated amps connected? The 3020 is a great little amp.

[holliswhy]

i am just using the Aux input on the nad 3020. it ends up having two preamps.... sort of... i need a proper dac. but thats for later

[audio amateur]

In other words, there are two places he can adjust the volume.

[Mr Peabody]

If you feed a preamp into an AUX input I wonder if there is a limit to the proper voltage that should be put through an AUX input? Seems like there could be distortion caused if over driven. If it was a proper way to connect components why would there be a need for things like theater bypass. I don't think it is as simple as just two places to adjust volume. If the integrated has a DAC it would be better to use an analog out from there if one is available.

[audio amateur]

I've never had problems with 'over driving' when connecting, for example, a variable volume source (such as an ipod or my computer) into an int. amp.