Keep my Arcam 7CD or just use a all-in-one DVD ?

BeelzebubUK

Established Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2004
Messages
691
Reaction score
32
Points
178
Location
Milton Keynes
At the moment I have a Arcam Alpha 7CD and Alpha 7r Amplifier going through a pair of AE109's

I'm moving house so I'm going down the home cinema route.

I don't want the floorstanders in the new house as I'm trying to minimise clutter so will be geting a YSP-1000 + Rel Quake for my audio needs.....and think about a dedicated (but discreet) 5.1 system later if I need it.

I'm going to buy a new all-in-one DVD player and was going to go for the Denon 1920. Now I know its reportedly a half-decent CD player but how well does it compare to the Arcam Alpha 7CD ? Has audio playback progressed enough in the last 8 years that the new generation of all-in-one DVD players are good enough to get rid of it ?

Any advice appreciated.....or any alternatives to the Denon for about £200 that would fit the bill.
 
I've never heard an Alpha 7 but I did have a 7SE on my second system for a while and thought it was a cracking player for the money. I also haven't owned a £200 dvd player recently so can't be sure how good they are but judging by the sound from my 7SE and the sound from some more expensive recent dvd players I've heard I would guess you'll want to keep the Arcam for cd playback. If I were you I would at least hang on to it until you get your dvd player and then see how you feel.

As far as your dvd player goes I'm not very clued up on the £200 options. However, if you decided to spend more and would consider something second hand then you might want to look out for a Denon 2900. I used to own one and thought it was a fantastic machine and they can now be had for well under half price. I keep seeing them going cheap but can't justify buying such a good player just for my bedroom!
 
I too recently compared my Alpha 7SE with my Toshiba SD220E DVD player.

Playing the same track, at the same volume (with the Tosh through a relatively cheap 5m interconnect, and the Arcam through a more expensive - but not ridiculous - 0.8m interconnect) there was very little difference. The Tosh had the original CD, the Arcam the copy.

Both me and Mrs GW43 (who is a bit of a hifi cynic it has to be said) noticed a difference in straight A/B switching, and without being able to see which one was playing we could tell which was the CD player.

It was close though - the DVD player sounded a little less lively, less dynamic, but if I had to I could probably live with the sound it made.

I think this raises the whole question of when do diminishing returns kick-in?

Very good systems can be put together for £200-£300 per component. How much better are systems at multiples of these prices? - not better by the same multiple I'm sure. But, you pay your money...
 
GW43 said:
I think this raises the whole question of when do diminishing returns kick-in?

Very good systems can be put together for £200-£300 per component. How much better are systems at multiples of these prices? - not better by the same multiple I'm sure. But, you pay your money...

I always assumed that diminishing returns would make differences less pronounced as you go up the chain/cost.
Unfortunately for our wallets, more expensive kit really is that much better, shame it's that much more costly.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom