Arcam Alpha 9 Amplifier

[UpWithThePartridge]

Hi, I have a 20 year old Arcam Alpha 9 integrated amplifier, and I'm looking to purchase a pair of Proac Tablette 10 speakers. I would like to know whether the amplier will do justice to the speakers,or whether I should purchase a new amp too?
The system is intended to be used in a carpeted lounge/sitting room 19'x12'.
If I have to purchase a new amplifier,my budget will be in the region of £1500.
Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[password1]

That amp is a great match for my old Monitor Gold GR10, a £900 pair of speakers back in the day.

Id try it and see how it sounds.
An alternative is to use it with a power amp or use it as a power amp.

 

[UpWithThePartridge]

Most grateful to you. Thank you.

 

[Timmy C]

I'd certainly try it before making any decisions. It was a 500 quid amp back in the day and well loved at the time. Assuming it's working as it should then I would guess you would be looking at closer to 1000 quid in todays money to buy an amp on par with it. Throwing £1500 at a basic, no bells and whistles amp may bring about some improvement but even if the speakers would benefit from a better amp, I very much doubt you would feel it was a £1500 improvement.

 

[UpWithThePartridge]

I'd certainly try it before making any decisions. It was a 500 quid amp back in the day and well loved at the time. Assuming it's working as it should then I would guess you would be looking at closer to 1000 quid in todays money to buy an amp on par with it. Throwing £1500 at a basic, no bells and whistles amp may bring about some improvement but even if the speakers would benefit from a better amp, I very much doubt you would feel it was a £1500 improvement.

Thank you for the advice. I've owned the Arcam from new, and have been 'out of the market' ever since I bought it. I've called a few hi-fi stores, who shall remain nameless, and they've dismissed the Idea of holding on to the old equipment (well they would I suppose) but I gained the distict impression that they were salesmen, with very little in-depth knowlege of what they were actually selling ; hence my decision to join this forum. I still own the accompanying Arcam Alpha CD Player,so I just need to bring myself up to speed on streaming music from my iPad and the type of equipment suitable for doing that. Any advice on that subject would be greatly appreciated.

 

[password1]

You might also consider bi amping with another alpha 9. I have two alpha 9 amps and bi amping made a difference. There's one in the classifieds on this forum.

 

[UpWithThePartridge]

You might also consider bi amping with another alpha 9. I have two alpha 9 amps and bi amping made a difference. There's one in the classifieds on this forum.

Thank you for the tip.

 

[Timmy C]

Might be best to put a new thread in the streaming section of the forum for tips on that front. I still use Squeezboxes with separate DAC's for that purpose but there are probably better options out there now, particularly if not wanting the multi room type set up I use. I believe the Bluesound Node 2i is a popular choice these days,

If that's the Alpha 9 cd player you have then certainly hang on to it assuming you still have a cd collection. It's the general belief that modern DAC's are better than old but I'm yet to try one that I prefer to the one in my Alpha 9.

 

[UpWithThePartridge]

Might be best to put a new thread in the streaming section of the forum for tips on that front. I still use Squeezboxes with separate DAC's for that purpose but there are probably better options out there now, particularly if not wanting the multi room type set up I use. I believe the Bluesound Node 2i is a popular choice these days,

If that's the Alpha 9 cd player you have then certainly hang on to it assuming you still have a cd collection. It's the general belief that modern DAC's are better than old but I'm yet to try one that I prefer to the one in my Alpha 9.

Yes,it's the Alpha 9 cd player that I have. I'll take a look at the Bluesound Node2i. Thank you.