Thanks for this review. I'm still rocking with the cambridge audio 340a se that I received as a 21st Birthday present. Still sounds amazing. Paired with mordaunt-short avant 902i speakers
I love the more analytical sound of Arcam amplifiers. Professional Monitor Company DB1 with a 200 Watt Hypex sub with Volt 38 cm radial speaker. I love it. Whether rock, classic, pop or acoustic, just great and never stressed out.
Have you tried with the arcam pushing the speakers closer together that sounds like it will sort out the extra wide soundstage and weak bass will give you more focus in the middle. And vice-a-versa if a amplifiers to focus than not expanding enough
I still have my Cambridge Audio Azur 350a (and 351c CD player) from, probably, 12-13 years ago and they both still work well and sound brilliant with Monitor Audio speakers!
I have an Azur 640a v2 , I wonder why it draws so much power turns out it's a class AB amp. It sounds great. Paired it with Wharfedale Diamond 9.2. It has A & B speakers set, and the spec says it can be 4 or 8 ohm, I wonder if using biwiring will trigger the 4 ohm, because 8 ohm will give 65 watt of power while 4 ohm will give 100 watt of power. I use speaker A for woofers and speaker B for tweeters on Diamond 9.2's biwiring.
Bi-wired speakers won't change their impedance to any significant degree, so your amp will see a similar load and drive your speakers safely within the limits of its rated power. Incidentally the majority of transistor amps are class AB and as such do not draw anything like the current that class A amps do.Class A amps are generally pretty expensive and run rather hot due to the high levels of quiescent current continually present, even in the absence of a signal.
I’ve got the A 8r on my office system. Works well as a preamp too. Just remember to turn the switch on the back. Edit: Added a WiiM/Schiit Modi3 a few weeks ago. Used to have a iPad/Dragonfly black running Tidal. Driving my Triangle Titus EX speakers. Now that I’ve retired I still find myself spending time in that room just reading and listening to music. SQ is almost as good my main.
Kelvin. Any suggestions for an amp to power Elac Unifi 2.0 UB52 ? Would prefer something wit a coaxial connection and at least one optical. Thanks John.
Picked up an Arcam alpha 8 for £80 plays cds really well but when plugged into the turntable the amp hums through to the speaker quite loudly and gets worse as you up the volume. Don't know if the issue is with the amp or the speakers. (B&W DM601s). Doesn't happen with cds so I'm guessing amp issue.
My sister gifted me Arcam Alpha 9 with acoustic energy model AE2 speakers. I am learning what to do with them. I attached to TV using TV headphone socket. I understand I can use another cable and attach it to second source. I have PS5 I use for sim racing. I can probably use my AKG K7XX (have to fix them) or my Philips SHP9500 with this amps headphone socket. I’m afraid I can blow headphones as there are so many knobs I don’t know which does what. Why there are so many options? Thank you. kris from LDN
Hi Kelvin very enjoyable video buddy was surprised you thought the cambridge was best as Arcam always seems to get a lot of praise. Just shows there are some bargains to be had.
Timely; I was looking for reviews on the Teac as I was considering swapping out my Cambridge. Watched this and I will stick with what I have. Thanks. 👌
I'm a bit late to the party, but, an alternative view: I haven't owned or listened to the Cambridge, but I recently had a TEAC AH500, virtually the same device, for a few months. I let it go because it's a bit thirsty (an important consideratiion in these straitened times), but of all the amps I've owned over the last 40 years (quite a few - yes, it's a sickness!), from Harmon Kardon, Marantz, Denon, Kenwood to several NADs, I'd put it at the top of the heap for sheer musicality. It seemed to inject more life, more depth and yes, more space, into every kind of music I listened to, and it's output was much greater than specified. It's very heavy, solid and well built. I doubt very much that you'd be disappointed by it. So far as accuracy is concerned we don't really have a yardstick to measure it by if we weren't in the studio at the time of the recording; in addition, the engineers polish the recorded product according to their own preferences; and at the end of the day, it's what we like as individuals that counts, though sometimes that might involve some tweaking to adjust it to our taste, however much the purists might find that abhorrent ..
The Wife game me a Cambridge Audio AXA 25wpc integrated Amp and a pair of Cambridge SX50 bookshelves for Christmas, I love this setup. I'm a Cambridge fan...
@@MrTruth111 Defo, considering you hear so many stories about guys who's other halves make them get rid of their stuff. I remember back in the day when I used to read What hifi, one thing they used to take into consideration when reviewing stuff was WAF -Wife Approval Factor!
Hi. Have you considered setting up a Facebook page? It would be a great spot to share info, photos, Q&A etc. Regardless, I continue to enjoy your videos from Halifax Nova Scotia Canada. :)
I've got the Cambridge and a pair of tannoy E11 LE's which I am looking to upgrade from. Would very much appreciate any thoughts on what speakers would go well with this amp. Someone in the comments here said they are happy with Wharfdale Diamond 320's with them. I have a large living room. Vintage or modern I don't mind. I need a bit more warmth in the sound which can be a bit sterile and clinical but maybe this is more my tannoys...
Excellent review video... I've got an old Arcam CD72 player still working perfectly, is it possible to pair it with powered speakers like those of Swans or Kali audio???? How will the sound reproduction be??? Any idea???? Thanks.
Kelvin, thanks for another enjoyable review, wish you every success and keep those reviews coming. Have just got back to hifi after my wilderness years in home cinema, cd just doesn’t sound the same played on a blue ray through an AV Receiver, sucks the lifeblood out of it. I briefly owned an Arcam Alpha 8SE courtesy of EBay but it went back to EBay when I got the opportunity to get an audiolab 8000Q / 8000P combination. Liked the Arcam but the Audiolab setup is much better in all departments, so it should be though at 3 times the [ebay] price. I loved the conclusion you reached that the cheapest amp reviewed is the best. Shows that there are still some bargains out there if you have the knowledge and and set aside your prejudices.
That era of arcam was great value for money (budget range, high quality) and under rated IMO. I have the scaled down version of the arcam you reviewed here. It's called alpha 1, slightly smaller power rating and lacking a phono stage but otherwise identical to the alpha 8. When I added an external phono stage (graham slee gram amp 2) the arcam beat my nad 3020 which is celebrated as a classic. Too bad modern arcams seem to be extreme high end only.... Arcam alpha is a good choice because they're affordable and not quite old enough yet to suffer too badly from dried capacitors.
They are Camera CD player is a pretty nice thing it’s hard to find anything wrong with it so yeah put it with the Cambridge that will be good you wouldn’t want boring or two flats sounding speakers though. The Cambridge is a great bargain and it’s voiced nicely personally I would wanna inject something with a bit more life to give it a bit of a kick Speaker wise I mean
Another interesting review. I didn’t really notice TEAC producing amps back in the day. I always looked at them for their reel 2 reels and cassette decks. Btw, I spoke a bit to you about a Sansui 5000 I bought. I’m gonna keep it. It’s very good. For 50 years old, I’m pretty thrilled with it.
I just connected this Sherwood 7100-a I bought when I bought the Sansui. I gotta tell you this thing is lovely. It’s maybe 12 watts and it drives my Wharfedale Diamond 230 speaker with out a problem. They are supposed to need 40 watts optimally. It has great bass and a nice round too end. The treble may need a little boost but I’m ok with that. It’s a shocker.
I just upgraded my Sony mini system and bought a set of Cambridge Audio separates - A500 65 watt amp, T100 tuner and a D300 CD that are at least 10 year old new old stock - never been used or unwrapped, Had to change the CD drive belt but the combo thro my Mourdant Short 905's 3 way floor speakers is majestic and all for £300! Cambridge Audio is surprisingly great!
I'd be very interested to hear how a late silver-face era Japanese amp fared against this group, Kelvin. I suspect your Sansui AU-317 would come out well!
Hi Need help Need to get all my 70s gear out and set up again. Need advice and help 3xMichell decks 2 with arms and cartridges One SME 3009 S3 arm in pieces Rotel RA8020BX Monitor Audio R252 on Linn Kan stands
Great review Kelvin . One thing bothers me in reviews on older gear is how do you know what condition the internal components are in ? As we know capacitors for instance degrade over time , are you able have them checked in any way before review in order to make fair comparisons ? ... David .
Very true. I have a Teac A 500 that I bought new in 1997 and a Harman Kardon HK6500 from 1991. I decided to recap the HK6500 as it's close to 30 years old and the change was astounding. Suddenly I enjoyed listening to the amp again as it opened up and became more powerful. It was surprisingly worth the work. Looking forward to capping the Teac in a couple of years.
Actually I’m not sure that is a good match the Cambridge is quite clean and a bit lean I preferred it to the other team because they were annoying me You might get something with more power to force a good performance out of those little cones
@@stereoreviewx It's almost impossible to be objective when reviewing gear really, you can't have everything there at every price point. It's not really much different auditioning in shops, everything sounds utterly different in your own room space with your gear and cables. I buy speakers based on the words "smooth, bright, bassy or forwards" lol and kinda guess the rest based on size and original price...I've had to swap an amp out now and then and fiddle with cables. Be lovely to borrow 3 sets of speakers and go home with them, Richer Sounds used to do a loan system. My Wharfedale 4.2's turn up tomorrow.....I'm fully aware they could sound absolute arse with my kit.
I have an Alpha 8 running into Tannoy Mercury V4 floorstanders. Kelvin makes a good point about the bass from the Arcam. It's a little overblown and boomy and could do with more definition. Recently I hooked up an old Technics amp that I had in the loft, not expecting much, but boy was I surprised! The bass boom was gone and was much better defined. There was more detail and the imaging was improved. It just didn't have quite as much scale as the Arcam, but it's only rated at 35 watts, compared to the Arcam's 50. I'm now planning to replace the Arcam, and I've been looking on Ebay for a Cambridge Audio amp. Think I'll go for something a bit more modern and powerful than the one he's reviewing here though
i got me that teac amp a while ago, was never my daily driver but should have set up a third system with it. heavy, very well built and pretty like few. i think it put out 35 wpc and maybe it paired better with big, 8 in woofers bookshelves.
I have similar Cambridge amp and the first word that came to mind was "creamy". The sound is so smooth, pleasant, almost soothing in it's presentation. Love it.
Cheers Kevin. And merry Christmas! Did you never have one of the original A&R Cambridge A60s? Would love to hear what you think of these. Aparently they image really well. They Certainly seem to have a kind of cult following.
The reason mid-fi amps, especially A/V boxes started sounding "synthetic" around this time is because manufacturers started pushing higher wattage ratings without corresponding headroom or increasing production costs. Basically putting bigger numbers on the unit to impress consumers. Early mosfet amps made the problem worse and we started to see the rubbish term "high current". Oh, it will do 75wpc, if you just play a test tone. Kenwood, Denon and Yammy were the biggest offenders. Audiophiles started retreating back to Class A and it took awhile for them to come back.
Ever tried 2000 era AV receivers in Stereo only mode? I know they are normally awful but picked up a cheap Arcam AVR100 for about £100. Using with some Spendor S9 and have tried on some little B&W CM1 Sounds alright you know. Drives the Spendors easily and good at low volume too, not bad at all for the money in stereo only 90watts per channel mode, pretty clean and detailed. Optical in is useful too.
I used to have the teac and it had so much gain! A bit fatiguing though after a while, quite sterile if I remember correctly. Very well built though and super sexy!
There's tone controls too less it down. You don't focus on detail on instruments rather just listen not bothering what where hidden instruments being played
I have cambridge topaz 10 and a cx a60 that has a bult in dac and also a cd player. They all sound almost similar and the presentation is just thesame as how you described the sound of that azur. Maybe thats cambrdge signature. And I also have arcam a19, and guess what, the sound presentation is just thesame as how you said about that alpha 8...so maybe unless they are different brands they all sound similar. Maybe 5% difference, 10% atmost?
Yes I agree companies generally have a sound maybe not for 30 years but in short periods there is commonality in the components Thanks for the feedback K
I see you have the elac debut 6.2 though I have never seen a review or comparison. I own a pair and I would think they should fair pretty well with most vintage similar sized or even the ls3/5a. I have jbl l1 2 way speakers from 1992 great musicality and dynamics.
I prefer the arcam sound as it's a smooth but punchy sound. I find the yamaha ax396 I run with my dm602s the bass goes deep but it digs out incredible amount of detail
@@seul8trmea648 my dad had the arcam alpha 9 then upgraded to the a85 and it sounds superb and its very punchy but digs tons of detail out of the music the only time arcam sounded rubbish is when it had svs speakers attached to them
@@chrisclose7793 tried all arcam amplifier, don't like then, on the smooth side. Love the Audiolab 8000C Vert analytical, super bright neutral, digs hidden instruments being played and super fine micro details, you can hear singer taking breathing intake and saliva, with pmc 5.22 speakers. Arcam was not made for that
How can it be smooth and punchy? Punchy is a sudden, aggressive gesture, smooth is not, it's one or the other, smooth would describe sounds being delivered gradually and with a flow, punchy would describe instruments and sounds being projected quickly and with a more clinical or aggressive delivery.
Nice review and comparison as always, Kelvin. How would you rate the sound of these amps to the 70s amps like those you have previously reviewed? Since following your reviews, I have got myself into vintage gears as well - now a happy owner of a Sansui AU101, A&R Cambridge A60, Pioneer SA-5500II, etc. Would love to see you review the A60 comparers to the Alpha 8 to see the differences. Also like to see if you have the opportunity to review the Musical Fidelity A1 and B1 in the future. My first amp which I am still happily using is the Musical Fidelity Elektra E10.
I have two A1s one refurbished, one original. Got them in the few months something magical in the midrange and connection to music. Bass a little soft compared to my Ion Obelisk 3X-XPAC1 but the connection / midrange much better.. One is playing though KEF LS50's nearfield
I’m fully expecting the Arcam to be the overall winner here. One of my first amps bought with my own wages was an Alpha 8R... it’s still in use at my parent’s house, lovely little amp! PS, it’s TE-AC! 🙂👍🏻
Stereo review X love your real world reviews, I commented speculatively on this one, I’m a little surprised by the outcome, the revised model of the Arcam (8R) and the Alpha 9 are really smooth but energetic sounding amps. I use all Linn amplification now and have done for several years, but I still like the Arcam.
I've run a Cambridge Audio A1 Mk1 before they started cheaping out the parts for the MK2/3 - sounds great, cost me £40. Also the Mike Creek in built phono stage is top notch! Alot of amp for not much money.
Parallel lines producer, Mike Chapman had issues with drummer Clem Burkes timing, he recorded each drum sound individually, starting with the kick, and layered on the parts to create the iconic drum part for 'Heart of glass'.
Hi Kelvin first time I have to disagree with you. I have had 2 of these amps and I found the cambridge audio not to my liking as if it was missing something. Yes very clinical and clear but no balls compared to Arcam in bass/mid range also had to wind up much higher to get similar output. Keep up the good work
Do you know Andy I wouldn’t argue with your analysis maybe I didn’t put it properly the Cambridge was the one that annoyed me least I know what you mean though he hasn’t got the balls
enjoying yr Video's kelvin , bit of a fan of the Chinese micro hifi stuff , ie SMSL , though very recently bought one of their latest offerings the SA300 , and it was anaemic , big disappointment , remembered what you said about Hifi sound , "does it put a big smile on your face or does it make your brow furrow trying to analyse the sound " , anyhow , unplugged the SA300 and rustled up my old NAD C320 out of the garage and plugged that in , Surprise surprise , put a big smile on my face , no contest compared to the SA300 , which got duly sent back to amazon for a refund ..
@@stereoreviewx .. No Really ,Thank You ! .... though i'll be honest , the Chinese SMSL Dac's have been a real game changer for me , totally transformed the sound from an average CD player or PC output ... so got the best of both worlds i guess , old laptop running linux mint / audacious player ( playing Flac file Audio ) - SMSL m300 dac - NAD C320 - B&W DM12 speakers .. Happy Listening .. :-)
Have alook for the naim nap250 clone with separate toroidal linear psu class AB its awesome with a sabre dac.or look at pro audio gear like QSC you only have to look at the insides to see how good they are.
@@markclancy5371 ... Thanks Mark , yes seen lots of good things about those Crown XLS drivecore power amps , looking for a suitable pre amp to partner one to drive some Tannoy floorstanders ..
I don't know if you have subscribed to this guy's channel, but I recommend checking it out if you haven't already . He has such passion for vintage HiFi too, like yourself th-cam.com/video/txc4mCbC7O0/w-d-xo.html
Play this on your vintage Sansui while it is restored. The dual mono of the 719 will blow away everthing you said. th-cam.com/video/CNFsiuCE_EI/w-d-xo.html
New to your posts Kelvin but have been hifi mad since late 60’s great to hear someone talk the way I think. Really enjoying it.
Still rocking my Arcam Alpha 6+ integrated and Alpha 7 CD after over 25 years
Kelvin, how about giving the Pioneer a400 a test drive,was highly regarded back in the day. Thanks
Thanks for this review. I'm still rocking with the cambridge audio 340a se that I received as a 21st Birthday present. Still sounds amazing. Paired with mordaunt-short avant 902i speakers
Using a dated azur540a bought right second hand and very pleased with the sound, this was my 1st Cambridge product. I'm a fan now, great values.
Love my 540a. Sounds great with dali oberon 5s
The Arcam Alpha 10 is a beast of an amplifier! Thanks for the excellent video, again!
Any Arcam amp is a quality build.
Love my 1990 Kenwood KA-109 integrated amp. Phono input. bluetooth added. 125 watts rms x 2. Four KLH speakers and an 80 watt powered subwoofer.
I love the more analytical sound of Arcam amplifiers.
Professional Monitor Company DB1 with a 200 Watt Hypex sub with Volt 38 cm radial speaker.
I love it. Whether rock, classic, pop or acoustic, just great and never stressed out.
Fair enough my friend cheers from London viva music
Have you tried with the arcam pushing the speakers closer together that sounds like it will sort out the extra wide soundstage and weak bass will give you more focus in the middle. And vice-a-versa if a amplifiers to focus than not expanding enough
I still have my Cambridge Audio Azur 350a (and 351c CD player) from, probably, 12-13 years ago and they both still work well and sound brilliant with Monitor Audio speakers!
I have one and no sound out my left channel when pressing a speaker button ?
I've got the Cambridge Azur 650 which I'm pretty pleased with - a slightly more refined version of the earlier products.
I have an Azur 640a v2 , I wonder why it draws so much power turns out it's a class AB amp. It sounds great. Paired it with Wharfedale Diamond 9.2.
It has A & B speakers set, and the spec says it can be 4 or 8 ohm, I wonder if using biwiring will trigger the 4 ohm, because 8 ohm will give 65 watt of power while 4 ohm will give 100 watt of power. I use speaker A for woofers and speaker B for tweeters on Diamond 9.2's biwiring.
Bi-wired speakers won't change their impedance to any significant degree, so your amp will see a similar load and drive your speakers safely within the limits of its rated power. Incidentally the majority of transistor amps are class AB and as such do not draw anything like the current that class A amps do.Class A amps are generally pretty expensive and run rather hot due to the high levels of quiescent current continually present, even in the absence of a signal.
I’ve got the A 8r on my office system. Works well as a preamp too. Just remember to turn the switch on the back. Edit: Added a WiiM/Schiit Modi3 a few weeks ago. Used to have a iPad/Dragonfly black running Tidal. Driving my Triangle Titus EX speakers. Now that I’ve retired I still find myself spending time in that room just reading and listening to music. SQ is almost as good my main.
Interesting as always, thanks Kelvin
Kelvin. Any suggestions for an amp to power Elac Unifi 2.0 UB52 ? Would prefer something wit a coaxial connection and at least one optical. Thanks John.
Picked up an Arcam alpha 8 for £80 plays cds really well but when plugged into the turntable the amp hums through to the speaker quite loudly and gets worse as you up the volume. Don't know if the issue is with the amp or the speakers. (B&W DM601s). Doesn't happen with cds so I'm guessing amp issue.
Have you checked the Earth wire plugged into the amplifier Turntable need to be Earth
@Pixie Pete I did. Schoolboy error. The turntable wasn't earthed. Plays like a dream now!
I love the audio recording on this video - really amazing. great review.
My sister gifted me Arcam Alpha 9 with acoustic energy model AE2 speakers. I am learning what to do with them. I attached to TV using TV headphone socket. I understand I can use another cable and attach it to second source. I have PS5 I use for sim racing. I can probably use my AKG K7XX (have to fix them) or my Philips SHP9500 with this amps headphone socket. I’m afraid I can blow headphones as there are so many knobs I don’t know which does what. Why there are so many options? Thank you. kris from LDN
Hi Kelvin very enjoyable video buddy was surprised you thought the cambridge was best as Arcam always seems to get a lot of praise. Just shows there are some bargains to be had.
please tell me the arcam alpha 9 and boston acoustic cr7 bundle for $250 is it a good buy and how will this bundle play? Thanks
Thank you for your review.
If you were to have to buy a separates system and speakers for around £1000 - £1200. What would you buy?
Thank you
Timely; I was looking for reviews on the Teac as I was considering swapping out my Cambridge. Watched this and I will stick with what I have. Thanks. 👌
Yeah it’s just a bit wrong that TEAC
I'm a bit late to the party, but, an alternative view: I haven't owned or listened to the Cambridge, but I recently had a TEAC AH500, virtually the same device, for a few months. I let it go because it's a bit thirsty (an important consideratiion in these straitened times), but of all the amps I've owned over the last 40 years (quite a few - yes, it's a sickness!), from Harmon Kardon, Marantz, Denon, Kenwood to several NADs, I'd put it at the top of the heap for sheer musicality. It seemed to inject more life, more depth and yes, more space, into every kind of music I listened to, and it's output was much greater than specified. It's very heavy, solid and well built. I doubt very much that you'd be disappointed by it. So far as accuracy is concerned we don't really have a yardstick to measure it by if we weren't in the studio at the time of the recording; in addition, the engineers polish the recorded product according to their own preferences; and at the end of the day, it's what we like as individuals that counts, though sometimes that might involve some tweaking to adjust it to our taste, however much the purists might find that abhorrent ..
Hi Kelvin ...Does engaging the CD direct button make any difference to the sound on the Teac ?
yeah it should honestly didn't spot it
The Wife game me a Cambridge Audio AXA 25wpc integrated Amp and a pair of Cambridge SX50 bookshelves for Christmas, I love this setup.
I'm a Cambridge fan...
Your wife? wow.. she is a keeper:)
@@MrTruth111 Defo, considering you hear so many stories about guys who's other halves make them get rid of their stuff. I remember back in the day when I used to read What hifi, one thing they used to take into consideration when reviewing stuff was WAF -Wife Approval Factor!
Hi. Have you considered setting up a Facebook page? It would be a great spot to share info, photos, Q&A etc. Regardless, I continue to enjoy your videos from Halifax Nova Scotia Canada. :)
I've got the Cambridge and a pair of tannoy E11 LE's which I am looking to upgrade from. Would very much appreciate any thoughts on what speakers would go well with this amp. Someone in the comments here said they are happy with Wharfdale Diamond 320's with them. I have a large living room. Vintage or modern I don't mind. I need a bit more warmth in the sound which can be a bit sterile and clinical but maybe this is more my tannoys...
Is the arcam a good match for some b&w dm4 speakers?
Excellent review video... I've got an old Arcam CD72 player still working perfectly, is it possible to pair it with powered speakers like those of Swans or Kali audio???? How will the sound reproduction be??? Any idea???? Thanks.
Kelvin, thanks for another enjoyable review, wish you every success and keep those reviews coming. Have just got back to hifi after my wilderness years in home cinema, cd just doesn’t sound the same played on a blue ray through an AV Receiver, sucks the lifeblood out of it. I briefly owned an Arcam Alpha 8SE courtesy of EBay but it went back to EBay when I got the opportunity to get an audiolab 8000Q / 8000P combination. Liked the Arcam but the Audiolab setup is much better in all departments, so it should be though at 3 times the [ebay] price. I loved the conclusion you reached that the cheapest amp reviewed is the best. Shows that there are still some bargains out there if you have the knowledge and and set aside your prejudices.
Hi
Do you know if there is a difference in sound between Arcam Alpha 7r and 8?
I couldn't compare them
Best regards
That era of arcam was great value for money (budget range, high quality) and under rated IMO. I have the scaled down version of the arcam you reviewed here. It's called alpha 1, slightly smaller power rating and lacking a phono stage but otherwise identical to the alpha 8.
When I added an external phono stage (graham slee gram amp 2) the arcam beat my nad 3020 which is celebrated as a classic. Too bad modern arcams seem to be extreme high end only....
Arcam alpha is a good choice because they're affordable and not quite old enough yet to suffer too badly from dried capacitors.
when u say it beat the 3020 - in what way >
Could you do some 'ranking list' for tested models of stuff? I like these reviews.
Always preferred Pioneer and kept with them until the Audiolab 8000a interesting to see if I was right
The Pioneer A400 is better than the 8000a:)
Very informative vid, I really enjoy your channel, thanks
Very nice presentation indeed...Good luck !
Very nice video , many thanks. Could you tell us how your cds sound with the arcam player and the cambridge amp? Is it a winning combination?
They are Camera CD player is a pretty nice thing it’s hard to find anything wrong with it so yeah put it with the Cambridge that will be good you wouldn’t want boring or two flats sounding speakers though.
The Cambridge is a great bargain and it’s voiced nicely personally I would wanna inject something with a bit more life to give it a bit of a kick
Speaker wise I mean
Keep up the good work and good morning from Singapore
Another interesting review. I didn’t really notice TEAC producing amps back in the day. I always looked at them for their reel 2 reels and cassette decks. Btw, I spoke a bit to you about a Sansui 5000 I bought. I’m gonna keep it. It’s very good. For 50 years old, I’m pretty thrilled with it.
Oh yeah I remember glad that it worked out K
I just connected this Sherwood 7100-a I bought when I bought the Sansui. I gotta tell you this thing is lovely. It’s maybe 12 watts and it drives my Wharfedale Diamond 230 speaker with out a problem. They are supposed to need 40 watts optimally. It has great bass and a nice round too end. The treble may need a little boost but I’m ok with that. It’s a shocker.
What amp would you recommend ? Whats the best all round amp you have come across?
Good group review of amps. Could you do more of these? Say, a vintage musical fidelity vs a vintage rega vs a vintage a pioneer?
Thank you so much! I would love to see what system you would recommend with these amps :)
I just upgraded my Sony mini system and bought a set of Cambridge Audio separates - A500 65 watt amp, T100 tuner and a D300 CD that are at least 10 year old new old stock - never been used or unwrapped, Had to change the CD drive belt but the combo thro my Mourdant Short 905's 3 way floor speakers is majestic and all for £300! Cambridge Audio is surprisingly great!
Meant Mourdant Short 906's - great speakers.
Enjoy your reviews on older hifi! Greetings from geir Røssaak, jessheim Norway!
I always imagine a house on a lake, somewhere in Scandinavia, and how important a good Hi Fi would be
I'd be very interested to hear how a late silver-face era Japanese amp fared against this group, Kelvin. I suspect your Sansui AU-317 would come out well!
Yeah the Sansui it’s like the Cambridge with the life and quality of the Arkham
Hi
Need help
Need to get all my 70s gear out and set up again.
Need advice and help
3xMichell decks 2 with arms and cartridges
One SME 3009 S3 arm in pieces
Rotel RA8020BX
Monitor Audio R252 on Linn Kan stands
Well one good bit of advice that I know is called start 😜
Great review Kelvin . One thing bothers me in reviews on older gear is how do you
know what condition the internal components are in ?
As we know capacitors for instance degrade over time , are you able have them checked
in any way before review in order to make fair comparisons ? ... David .
Very true. I have a Teac A 500 that I bought new in 1997 and a Harman Kardon HK6500 from 1991. I decided to recap the HK6500 as it's close to 30 years old and the change was astounding. Suddenly I enjoyed listening to the amp again as it opened up and became more powerful. It was surprisingly worth the work. Looking forward to capping the Teac in a couple of years.
Hi, Thanks for the videos. Can anyone advise if the 340a amp will be fine paired with B&O cx100 speakers?
Actually I’m not sure that is a good match the Cambridge is quite clean and a bit lean I preferred it to the other team because they were annoying me
You might get something with more power to force a good performance out of those little cones
Sounds like that Arcam would appreciate a larger floorstander.
Yes I mean the right speaker can often sort out certain discrepancies as long as the quality is there which is there I agree
@@stereoreviewx It's almost impossible to be objective when reviewing gear really, you can't have everything there at every price point.
It's not really much different auditioning in shops, everything sounds utterly different in your own room space with your gear and cables.
I buy speakers based on the words "smooth, bright, bassy or forwards" lol and kinda guess the rest based on size and original price...I've had to swap an amp out now and then and fiddle with cables. Be lovely to borrow 3 sets of speakers and go home with them, Richer Sounds used to do a loan system.
My Wharfedale 4.2's turn up tomorrow.....I'm fully aware they could sound absolute arse with my kit.
I have an Alpha 8 running into Tannoy Mercury V4 floorstanders. Kelvin makes a good point about the bass from the Arcam. It's a little overblown and boomy and could do with more definition. Recently I hooked up an old Technics amp that I had in the loft, not expecting much, but boy was I surprised! The bass boom was gone and was much better defined. There was more detail and the imaging was improved. It just didn't have quite as much scale as the Arcam, but it's only rated at 35 watts, compared to the Arcam's 50. I'm now planning to replace the Arcam, and I've been looking on Ebay for a Cambridge Audio amp. Think I'll go for something a bit more modern and powerful than the one he's reviewing here though
i got me that teac amp a while ago, was never my daily driver but should have set up a third system with it. heavy, very well built and pretty like few. i think it put out 35 wpc and maybe it paired better with big, 8 in woofers bookshelves.
I have similar Cambridge amp and the first word that came to mind was "creamy". The sound is so smooth, pleasant, almost soothing in it's presentation. Love it.
Agree 100% seems like the Cambridge sound is warm and laidback,
Spot on Kelvin, as ever. I predicted Cam / Arc / TEAK ...Cheers :D
Cheers Kevin. And merry Christmas! Did you never have one of the original A&R Cambridge A60s? Would love to hear what you think of these. Aparently they image really well. They Certainly seem to have a kind of cult following.
The reason mid-fi amps, especially A/V boxes started sounding "synthetic" around this time is because manufacturers started pushing higher wattage ratings without corresponding headroom or increasing production costs. Basically putting bigger numbers on the unit to impress consumers. Early mosfet amps made the problem worse and we started to see the rubbish term "high current". Oh, it will do 75wpc, if you just play a test tone. Kenwood, Denon and Yammy were the biggest offenders. Audiophiles started retreating back to Class A and it took awhile for them to come back.
I hate the term 'mid-fi'. It's misleading.
Hi, I have the Cambridge Audio Azur 340a with Wharfedale Diamond 230 speakers and I love it!
Ever tried 2000 era AV receivers in Stereo only mode? I know they are normally awful but picked up a cheap Arcam AVR100 for about £100. Using with some Spendor S9 and have tried on some little B&W CM1 Sounds alright you know. Drives the Spendors easily and good at low volume too, not bad at all for the money in stereo only 90watts per channel mode, pretty clean and detailed. Optical in is useful too.
Great video, thanks.
I used to have the teac and it had so much gain! A bit fatiguing though after a while, quite sterile if I remember correctly. Very well built though and super sexy!
There's tone controls too less it down. You don't focus on detail on instruments rather just listen not bothering what where hidden instruments being played
What's the Elac like behind you Kelvin? Is that the 5.2 or 6.2?
Yeah the 6.2 do a review soon
K
Hi Kelvin, love your videos. Really informative. I’m after a CD player any good bargains out there?
Thanks, you know, a lot!
Hi Kelvin, does the Direct button on the Cambridge Azur mean you could add a pre amp between the CD player and the Azur?
No even though you’ve got me thinking now but no
I have cambridge topaz 10 and a cx a60 that has a bult in dac and also a cd player. They all sound almost similar and the presentation is just thesame as how you described the sound of that azur. Maybe thats cambrdge signature. And I also have arcam a19, and guess what, the sound presentation is just thesame as how you said about that alpha 8...so maybe unless they are different brands they all sound similar. Maybe 5% difference, 10% atmost?
Yes I agree companies generally have a sound maybe not for 30 years but in short periods there is commonality in the components
Thanks for the feedback K
I see you have the elac debut 6.2 though I have never seen a review or comparison. I own a pair and I would think they should fair pretty well with most vintage similar sized or even the ls3/5a. I have jbl l1 2 way speakers from 1992 great musicality and dynamics.
I prefer the arcam sound as it's a smooth but punchy sound. I find the yamaha ax396 I run with my dm602s the bass goes deep but it digs out incredible amount of detail
Arcam is rubbish, smooth dead dull foggy smoky lost. No details, not good at pinpoint each instrument.
@@seul8trmea648 my dad had the arcam alpha 9 then upgraded to the a85 and it sounds superb and its very punchy but digs tons of detail out of the music the only time arcam sounded rubbish is when it had svs speakers attached to them
@@chrisclose7793 tried all arcam amplifier, don't like then, on the smooth side. Love the Audiolab 8000C
Vert analytical, super bright neutral, digs hidden instruments being played and super fine micro details, you can hear singer taking breathing intake and saliva, with pmc 5.22 speakers.
Arcam was not made for that
How can it be smooth and punchy? Punchy is a sudden, aggressive gesture, smooth is not, it's one or the other, smooth would describe sounds being delivered gradually and with a flow, punchy would describe instruments and sounds being projected quickly and with a more clinical or aggressive delivery.
@@fewik8567 what I meant is the top end on a arcam is smooth and the bass is punchy
Is 50 watts per channel enough ?
Does power really matters ????
Well I would say no quality matters
Cheers K
Nice review and comparison as always, Kelvin. How would you rate the sound of these amps to the 70s amps like those you have previously reviewed? Since following your reviews, I have got myself into vintage gears as well - now a happy owner of a Sansui AU101, A&R Cambridge A60, Pioneer SA-5500II, etc. Would love to see you review the A60 comparers to the Alpha 8 to see the differences. Also like to see if you have the opportunity to review the Musical Fidelity A1 and B1 in the future. My first amp which I am still happily using is the Musical Fidelity Elektra E10.
I have two A1s one refurbished, one original. Got them in the few months something magical in the midrange and connection to music. Bass a little soft compared to my Ion Obelisk 3X-XPAC1 but the connection / midrange much better.. One is playing though KEF LS50's nearfield
Teac has the looks ! Have you every tried something from the sony es line ?
Not yet
@@stereoreviewx you can borrow mine if you want ! I'm in Hackney
I’m fully expecting the Arcam to be the overall winner here. One of my first amps bought with my own wages was an Alpha 8R... it’s still in use at my parent’s house, lovely little amp!
PS, it’s TE-AC! 🙂👍🏻
Your reviews are just great and very detailed always looking forward to your reviews on vintage equipment
Thanks mate
Stereo review X love your real world reviews, I commented speculatively on this one, I’m a little surprised by the outcome, the revised model of the Arcam (8R) and the Alpha 9 are really smooth but energetic sounding amps. I use all Linn amplification now and have done for several years, but I still like the Arcam.
I love british amps with Pylon Audio speakers 😎
Arcam 8 is a fantastic amplifier
Allways happy to see this honoust review
I've run a Cambridge Audio A1 Mk1 before they started cheaping out the parts for the MK2/3 - sounds great, cost me £40. Also the Mike Creek in built phono stage is top notch! Alot of amp for not much money.
Interesting K
Great video. I believe that Clem Burke's drumming was largely replaced by session drummers on Parallel Lines
I am going to doubt that quite a lot quite am quite a big blondie fan
That's always happened even dave Clark of the dave Clark five used a session drummer also the kinks to name but a few
Parallel lines producer, Mike Chapman had issues with drummer Clem Burkes timing, he recorded each drum sound individually, starting with the kick, and layered on the parts to create the iconic drum part for 'Heart of glass'.
The Arcam has a direct button too
Very descriptive but I didn't even get to hear them. 22 mins :\
Always interesting. I'm a tube guy, but love hearing about all kinds of gear. Thanks.
Tube Preamp with Power Amp is good isn't it?
One of the absolute best British amps is Sonneteer!!! Will blow your socks off in comparison to these!!!
It damn well should, too, given the price differential.
@@thisisnev Indeed...:)
fantastic amplifiers
Can I have a dollar for every time you say "snare drum" in your videos 😂. Keep up the good reviews
I run ram alpha 7 pre amp with a 8 power and keg q35.2 and I’ve never heard music sound so food
Hi Kelvin first time I have to disagree with you. I have had 2 of these amps and I found the cambridge audio not to my liking as if it was missing something. Yes very clinical and clear but no balls compared to Arcam in bass/mid range also had to wind up much higher to get similar output. Keep up the good work
Do you know Andy I wouldn’t argue with your analysis maybe I didn’t put it properly the Cambridge was the one that annoyed me least I know what you mean though he hasn’t got the balls
I totally love you. All my system is Cambridge. I tell a lie my speakers are mourdants.
enjoying yr Video's kelvin , bit of a fan of the Chinese micro hifi stuff , ie SMSL , though very recently bought one of their latest offerings the SA300 , and it was anaemic , big disappointment , remembered what you said about Hifi sound , "does it put a big smile on your face or does it make your brow furrow trying to analyse the sound " , anyhow , unplugged the SA300 and rustled up my old NAD C320 out of the garage and plugged that in , Surprise surprise , put a big smile on my face , no contest compared to the SA300 , which got duly sent back to amazon for a refund ..
Yeah that’s what happens no life in the sound glad you figured that out a lot of people just never compare
Thanks for the info cheers K
@@stereoreviewx .. No Really ,Thank You ! .... though i'll be honest , the Chinese SMSL Dac's have been a real game changer for me , totally transformed the sound from an average CD player or PC output ... so got the best of both worlds i guess , old laptop running linux mint / audacious player ( playing Flac file Audio ) - SMSL m300 dac - NAD C320 - B&W DM12 speakers .. Happy Listening .. :-)
Have alook for the naim nap250 clone with separate toroidal linear psu class AB its awesome with a sabre dac.or look at pro audio gear like QSC you only have to look at the insides to see how good they are.
@@markclancy5371 ... Thanks Mark , yes seen lots of good things about those Crown XLS drivecore power amps , looking for a suitable pre amp to partner one to drive some Tannoy floorstanders ..
Tea -ack
Oh Kay
I don't know if you have subscribed to this guy's channel, but I recommend checking it out if you haven't already . He has such passion for vintage HiFi too, like yourself th-cam.com/video/txc4mCbC7O0/w-d-xo.html
I play as much vinyl as cd so the Arcam for me.
I'm pretty sure it's pronounced Te-ac, not teak.
Well now you say that I’m pretty sure you’re right🤪
I used to know a Teac employee in the sales dept.who would always say Teac as in the wood.
Tea-ack all day long
Kelvin is the new Jesus ... Fact
А, по русски как это будет?
Never seen a snare drum move about when being played, lol
Keith Moon 🌙
Play this on your vintage Sansui while it is restored. The dual mono of the 719 will blow away everthing you said. th-cam.com/video/CNFsiuCE_EI/w-d-xo.html
Come on own up - who rushed to see where the snare drum is on their system?
It's just to the right of the bass drum button on my drum machine. ;¬)
No sound demo snif!
You need some more adverts, there was only about 20 watching this video
Hope he's making something off those adverts.
am reducing the ads now I have figured out how to do it cheers K
ebay is bad if yoy sont have a printer
I'll give a slight piece of advice. You talk way too much. Show us by a demonstration.
it doesn't work on you tube I have tried it