Arcam FMJ CD36 or Denon DVD A1XVA for cd playback?

onlyvik

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:) Goodmorning members,

This will be my first topic and i hope i will get some info.

Right now i have this setup:

A Denon DVD A1XVA (dvd-cd-sacd-dvd audio player)

A Denon AVC A11XV receiver

Elac FS 207.2 jet III speakers

I´ve got this all connected with the Denon 3rd link (Denon AKDL 1 high end cable)

Will a high end cd player like the Arcam FMJ CD36 (connected to the Denon AVC A11XV receiver) give me a much better stereo sound with cd/SACD ?? is the Denon A1XVA player comparable with a high end Arcam cd player like the CD36?

I did also see the Arcam DV 137 dvd player, will this give better video/audio performance than the Denon setup i have?

I am feeling that my taste is changing to more neutral looks like Arcam does, so maybe i will change to Arcam.

Thanx in advance guys :smashin:

Greetings from The Netherlands
 
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Hi onlyvik,

First of all, let me welcome you to this forum...

Concerning your question, I think it is a tough question. As far as I am concernend, I think there is no answer to your question. For sure (as I owned a Denon DVD player before I switched to the DV29 from Arcam) I can say that the sound you will get will be different. Does it mean it will be better ? That's all depending on your personal tastes. I thought the Denon was soundind a little too bright, to "christal clear"... Sound was good, but not as relaxing and effortless as the Arcam. But it was on a DVD player in the lower league than yours...
About the video : the DV139 from Arcam will deliver a picture quality that should impress by the natural and film-like look you'll get. I found the Denon to be really good, but sometimes a little too saturated and lacking of the smoothness of the Arcam.

Again : your set-up is already a really good one. The Arcam will bring someting different. But different doesn't always mean better ;-) That's up to you to decide !

Regards.

PenguinHifi
 
Hi onlyvik any reason you want info on the cd36 as its discontinued? I am guessing you have access to some good deals, as the cd 37 imo has a much improved sound in the mid range and low frequencies(i owned a cd 36 untill it went faulty and upgraded) and its the first time i have heard my B&w 805s spkrs deliver such deep bass(for a stand mount).

I also owned at one time a denon dvd a1 and denon av11sr and with that combo fed by chord company digital signature the dd/dts was superior to the arcam dv27 (i picked up 2nd hand) imo, however i felt that the arcam was the winner in analogue so i changed the dv27 for a diva cd92t and was really happy using the denon for dvda/sacd and all dd/dts modes with all red book cds via the arcam.

Hope thats usefull and sorry my experience of denon is a generation older than what you have which sounds a great combo.
 
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Hi onlyvik,

First of all, let me welcome you to this forum...

Concerning your question, I think it is a tough question. As far as I am concernend, I think there is no answer to your question. For sure (as I owned a Denon DVD player before I switched to the DV29 from Arcam) I can say that the sound you will get will be different. Does it mean it will be better ? That's all depending on your personal tastes. I thought the Denon was soundind a little too bright, to "christal clear"... Sound was good, but not as relaxing and effortless as the Arcam. But it was on a DVD player in the lower league than yours...
About the video : the DV139 from Arcam will deliver a picture quality that should impress by the natural and film-like look you'll get. I found the Denon to be really good, but sometimes a little too saturated and lacking of the smoothness of the Arcam.

Again : your set-up is already a really good one. The Arcam will bring someting different. But different doesn't always mean better ;-) That's up to you to decide !

Regards.

PenguinHifi

Hi Penguin,

Thank you for the reply.

I think i will have to take my speakers to a hifi store here in The Netherlands and listen to the difference.

About the video part, are you talking about the same denon dvd player as you mentioned before? what type of Denon player was that?

Thanks for your time :smashin:
 
Hi onlyvik any reason you want info on the cd36 as its discontinued? I am guessing you have access to some good deals, as the cd 37 imo has a much improved sound in the mid range and low frequencies(i owned a cd 36 untill it went faulty and upgraded) and its the first time i have heard my B&w 805s spkrs deliver such deep bass(for a stand mount).

I also owned at one time a denon dvd a1 and denon av11sr and with that combo fed by chord company digital signature the dd/dts was superior to the arcam dv27 (i picked up 2nd hand) imo, however i felt that the arcam was the winner in analogue so i changed the dv27 for a diva cd92t and was really happy using the denon for dvda/sacd and all dd/dts modes with all red book cds via the arcam.

Hope thats usefull and sorry my experience of denon is a generation older than what you have which sounds a great combo.

Thanks for the reply.

Yes i could buy the Arcam cd 36 for a good price but i think i will check the cd 37 too.

Thank you for the Denon info.

Njoy the weekend!! ;)
 
Your asked:
Will a high end cd player like the Arcam FMJ CD36 (connected to the Denon AVC A11XV receiver) give me a much better stereo sound with cd/SACD
The CD36 does not play SACDs. For that you need the CD37 (stereo only) or the DV139 universal player (multichannel). There are also some discontinued options such as the DV137.

Your Denon DVD A1XVA is a fine universal player, so auditioning would be absolutely essential to ensure that you are achieving a worthwhile improvement for your expense.

At the risk of heresy, I will also suggest that if mulitchannel SACD replay is important and you want a dedicated audio player, you may wish to consider the Sony SCD-XA9000ES. Unlike the Arcam options and your current universal player, it has native mulitichannel DSD processing and no video circuitry.

Without wishing to appear rude, IMHO the "weak point" in your setup is the Elac FS 207.2 speakers. I suspect that you'd achieve a much greater return on investment by upgrading the speakers.
 
Your asked:

The CD36 does not play SACDs. For that you need the CD37 (stereo only) or the DV139 universal player (multichannel). There are also some discontinued options such as the DV137.

Your Denon DVD A1XVA is a fine universal player, so auditioning would be absolutely essential to ensure that you are achieving a worthwhile improvement for your expense.

At the risk of heresy, I will also suggest that if mulitchannel SACD replay is important and you want a dedicated audio player, you may wish to consider the Sony SCD-XA9000ES. Unlike the Arcam options and your current universal player, it has native mulitichannel DSD processing and no video circuitry.

Without wishing to appear rude, IMHO the "weak point" in your setup is the Elac FS 207.2 speakers. I suspect that you'd achieve a much greater return on investment by upgrading the speakers.

Thanks you for the info :)

In short words you say: change the speakers first.

What would be your choice in speakers with my combo?

If you check the internet, it seems that Elac is very underestimated.
 
Choice of speakers is very personal - and without a budget suggestions are basically pointless.

My recommendation would be to make an appointment with one or more local high end dealers, explain what you have and what you want (performance, application, budget). Ask him / them to put together some suggestions for auditioning. As well as your own sources, take your wife / partner with (very important) and be prepared to spend some time listening carefully. When you've narrowed things done, try to arrange for an in-home auditioning, athough this is not always so simple, especially in smaller countries.

My other comment would be that you should expect to spend at least as much or more on the speakers as on the amplification.

Elac, as a German manufacturer, is quite popular here (CH). Area-DVD's comparative review on your FS 207.2's is here (German), the 5.1 Set (FS 207.2 etc) here. I don't think either review "underestimates" the Elac, they do like it as a speaker in its price range.
 
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Choice of speakers is very personal - and without a budget suggestions are basically pointless.

My recommendation would be to make an appointment with one or more local high end dealers, explain what you have and what you want (performance, application, budget). Ask him / them to put together some suggestions for auditioning. As well as your own sources, take your wife / partner with (very important) and be prepared to spend some time listening carefully. When you've narrowed things done, try to arrange for an in-home auditioning, athough this is not always so simple, especially in smaller countries.

My other comment would be that you should expect to spend at least as much or more on the speakers as on the amplification.

Elac, as a German manufacturer, is quite popular here (CH). Area-DVD's comparative review on your FS 207.2's is here (German), the 5.1 Set (FS 207.2 etc) here. I don't think either review "underestimates" the Elac, they do like it as a speaker in its price range.

Hi Mark,

Thanks again for your time.

I will check and listen to the B&W XT8 series next week, i really like the looks of it, let´s hope i will like the sound. :)

View the XT8 gallery at Bowers & Wilkins - The World's leading Hi Fi Brand

With underestimated i meant on forums, also here in Holland. The brand you hear the most about is always B&W. The problem for me with B&W is that i don´t like the colors that much, Cherrywood, Rosenut etc. a bit old fashion but that's personal offcourse.

I will keep you updated. :smashin:
 
HI as Mark Y mentioned the Arcam cd 37 has sacd and not converted back to pcm either like my old denon dvda11 but pure dsd stream via wolfson dacs. I have been loving all my sacd collection again but in stereo(suprise) as i have compared the layers on the discs and found the cd37 is a joy to listen to for both with the sacd layer having the detail edge without the flat sound in stereo that the older denon had.(Just in case you get the itch and have the opportunity to dem one.);)

I have a friend who has a pair of B&W XT8S after hearing my 800series but found them like yourself a bit old fashioned(i love the style and beauty of them of course) for his modern tastes. Most recently he purchased a B&W pv1 sub and is smitten.:)

Hope this has been of some small help.
 
At the risk of heresy, I will also suggest that if mulitchannel SACD replay is important and you want a dedicated audio player, you may wish to consider the Sony SCD-XA9000ES. Unlike the Arcam options and your current universal player, it has native mulitichannel DSD processing and no video circuitry.

No heresy here. He may even want to consider Sony's new CD/SACD player, the SCD-XA5400ES.:smashin:
 
:thumbsup: Thanks guys.

I will listen to the XT8 next week.
 
Assuming of course anybody can actually find the new SCD-XA5400ES in Europe. It isn't on the Swiss, German or UK Sony web sites, let alone a shop, and I can't really recommend importing one from US.
 
:thumbsup: Thanks guys.

I will listen to the XT8 next week.

Hi,

If it sounds as good as it looks, then it must be a killer speaker for sure.
But pay attention to some details... The Tri-Tower had that same sleek look, gavean impressive sound, but to my ears, ProAc had trimmed the bass so much it ate a little the other frequencies.

Please do share your experience.

Regards.

PenguinHiFi
 
Hi,

If it sounds as good as it looks, then it must be a killer speaker for sure.
But pay attention to some details... The Tri-Tower had that same sleek look, gavean impressive sound, but to my ears, ProAc had trimmed the bass so much it ate a little the other frequencies.

Please do share your experience.

Regards.

PenguinHiFi

Hi Penguin and the rest of you guys,

I went to the store and saw the B&W XT8, and i have to say that i didn´t like the looks of it, they look very cheap in my eyes so i skipped them as an option.

Now i bought these Elacs:

The elac FS 210 Anniversary with the X jet technology:

http://80985.webpublisher.cso.dk/documents/00165.pdf

I took a bit of a gamble with buying them on Ebay for a real good price before listening to them, but the reviews are very good of this speaker, they should be much better than the 207.2 that i have now.

I will get them in a couple of weeks and i will keep you updated. :thumbsup:
 

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