Hey folks

Hey!

I've been looking for a decent Hifi forum for ages (they all seem to be AV) and I'm glad I stumbled across this one!

I have a fairly humble system:
CD: Arcam 7SE
Amp: Arcam 8R
MD: Sony MDS-JE330
Tuner: NAD 402
Speakers: B&W 602
Stands: castle Stands
Interconnects: Transparent The Link 200 & Cambridge Audio Pacific.
Speaker cable: Supra (have some nordost super flatline, but it cant reach in current config!)

All in all it does the job very nicely Considering I bought it over 4 years ago and I'm still very very happy with it!

As cash is a bit tight, I'm starting to go down the DIY route now, starting with cables and hopefully making a decent stand soon enough

If ever I want some serious high fidelity, i just take a listen to my fathers:
LP: Linn Sondek LP12
CD: Arcam 6
Pre-amp: Meridian 101
Poweramps: 2xMeridian 105 momoblocks
Speakers: B&W 802 Matrix S3
Stand: Aavik A4
Interconnects: Nordost Blue Heaven
Speaker Cable: Nordost Blue Heaven

I also have a pair of B&W DM7mk2s from the late 70s which are very nice, but a bit too big for my room at the moment!

Mark :beer:

 

Welcome to the forum Mark.

Even though you are thinking about the DIY route, what about picking up a cheap Arcam 8P power amp on ebay? I did that when I had an 8R and the difference (either by bi-amping or just using the 8R as a pre-amp) was not small.

Matt.

 

The 8P is no longer cheap! One went for £180 on ebay the other day which I dont consider cheap.

I'm thinking of bi-amping using another amp - or is that a terrible idea?

 

I don't think that's a good idea. For bi-amping both amps must be gain-matched. After all, when you turn the volume knob you don't want the bass and treble volume to be changed out of proportion, do you?

 

good point.

Im looking into using the 8R as a pre-amp.

Or would I just be better off selling it and buying a dedicated pre-amp for about £150?

 

Hi. Welcome to the mad house. Your set up seems very impressive. Everyone have different aproach. Nowadays before I change or add anything again I always ask myself what is it that I am trying to achieve. Are you trying to use your dad system as a reference?

 

I hate making recommendations!

It all depends on whether you are happy with the Arcam sound. If the answer is yes and you want more of the same but perhaps with better control, I'd biamp. Arcam amps seem to improve a lot with biamping. OTOH if you aren't happy with the sound and think there is something missing then I'd look at another amp. I'm not sure if a £150 pre-amp would be a worthwhile upgrade though. It might be better to sell your int and add the money you get to your budget of £150 and get a better int.

Edit - good advice from Wolfgang.

 

Wolfgang:
Cheers - its not the best, but it's not bad considering I was only just 16 when I bought it
I suppose I look at my dads system as a reference - I am trying to achieve the power and control of it, whilst retaining the ability to fill small spaces without going overboard.

Dev:
I really love my Arcam sound to be honest. I auditioned loads of stuff for hours and hours and the Arcam B&W combo was best.

I would love to bi-amp and I think I will, I just need to find an 8p for about £120!

I'm also looking into bi-amping two of those Sonic t-amps & using the 8r as a pre - I might do that first and see how the sound grabs me!

I do feel that there is something missing from the sound of my hifi, but I think that has alot to do with how I have it set up - I have the rack beside my left speaker with a TV on top, which is well known to be fairly Horrendous for sound.
When I can afford a nice LCD, I'll change this!

I'm going to have a shot at cleaning up my power supply (I get a THUD everytime a light is turned off in the house ) and making some decent power cables - have people found this to help alot?

 

Here is an article by Rod Elliott on bi-amping which might be of interest to you. He also has strong opinions on a few other things. After reading a few of them I never could read audio magazines ever again in the same light.

http://sound.westhost.com/bi-amp.htm

 

wow - cool - had a brief read through - will have to have a more detailed read soon!!