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Arcam CD Player, are they reliable?

gerlando

gerlando

Prog Rocker
Since I found that the amplifier brand that comes closest to my taste is Arcam, I was thinking of combining my Arcam Delta 60 amplifier with a CD player of the same brand.

I'm currently using a Marantz CD-48 (purchased from Cash Converters for £29....) which is in like new condition and works great.

In your opinion, is it worth replacing it with an Arcam, basically for aesthetic reasons and compatibility?

Are the Arcams as reliable as the Marantz? (of all the CD players I've had in my life, the only one that broke was an Arcam CD72)

Which model offers the best VFM?

What possible alternatives (e.g. Creek, they seem better built)?

Many thanks.
Mauro
 
I've got 2 Alpha 1's from the 90's and both are still going fine. One of them was my first ever hi-fi CD player.

I've had lots and lots of other CD players give up the ghost (including some fairly expensive ones) but the Arcam ones (based on my limited sample anyway) have been reliable so far.

I wouldn't replace the CD player for compatibility reasons though - if it was me I'd be tempted to go for an external DAC and give that a go. If you get a DAC with multiple inputs then you could add other stuff (like a streamer) that can use it as well.
 
Obviously subjective, but when I sold Arcam, among numerous other brands, I always found the Arcam stuff a bit 'soft' sounding for my taste. YMMV, but I'm just wondering whether adding an Arcam CDP might push that softness too far? Certainly my recollection of Marantz is of a little more 'assertiveness'.
I'd agree with Steve's DAC idea.
 
SteveG said:
I've got 2 Alpha 1's from the 90's and both are still going fine. One of them was my first ever hi-fi CD player.

I've had lots and lots of other CD players give up the ghost (including some fairly expensive ones) but the Arcam ones (based on my limited sample anyway) have been reliable so far.

I wouldn't replace the CD player for compatibility reasons though - if it was me I'd be tempted to go for an external DAC and give that a go. If you get a DAC with multiple inputs then you could add other stuff (like a streamer) that can use it as well.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your suggestion.
Unfortunately, at the moment my ears are no longer able to perceive differences between DACs (so that I sold my previous Topping E30 DAC).
Therefore, my main expectations are on the aesthetics/combination between the electronics and the ease of use/user satisfaction.
 
CD player reliability generally has much more to do with the manufacturer of the laser mech than the manufacturer of the rest of the unit. The reliability of Arcam players is going to vary depending on the model.

The older players with Philips swingarm mechs are very long lasting but may well need partial recap by now to make them reliable.

I'm a big fan of the Delta series stuff. Really nice solid no nonsense units.
 
I bought an Arcam Delta 60 amp in 1991, my son is still using it today after a few dry joints were repaired once, a few years ago. He also has my original Arcam Alpha CD player from about 1992/3 which is still working fine over 30 years later.. So reliable ? Well the early models certainly are.
 
I had an Alpha 5+. It was very good, but then the drawer mechanism failed, due to a little plastic gear disintegrating and shedding its teeth. It is quite a common issue on some Arcam machines from that era, but is quite easy to replace. I eventually replaced it with a Cyrus CD6SE, mainly for aesthetic reasons...as I had bought an 8VS2 amp.

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I would agree that it depends on which model. I had a Delta 70.3 which was a lovely machine and very solidly built. When I sold it a few years ago it was still working perfectly (although I have to say that it was in a second system so hadn't had a hard life).
 
My Alpha 8, bought new in 1997 (I think it's the only main piece of hifi that I have bought new), is still going strong, surviving quite a few house moves over those years.
 
If not the arcam dacs are nice sounding and reliable and can be bought at a low cost.
Rather than soft sounding I would say they are reasonably transparent and balanced. The cd23 with its ring dac is a lovely thing.
 
Curtis said:
The cd23 with its ring dac is a lovely thing.
Click to expand...

I remember hearing that model at a friend years ago, wasn't bad at all.
Unfortunately never had a chance to hear it in my own setup.

No idea if Arcam still support their players ?
Surely some of them used Philips - long discontinued mechs.
 
Mullardman said:
Obviously subjective, but when I sold Arcam, among numerous other brands, I always found the Arcam stuff a bit 'soft' sounding for my taste. YMMV, but I'm just wondering whether adding an Arcam CDP might push that softness too far? Certainly my recollection of Marantz is of a little more 'assertiveness'.
I'd agree with Steve's DAC idea.
Click to expand...
The Arcam CD players I've tried (eg original Alpha, 7SE, Delta 250/500) tended to be the opposite of the soft amps, ie detailed, some verging on bright (7SE, but not to excess), so that they cancelled out some of the softness of the amps.

For the OP I'd recommend a Delta player as it will match the amp perfectly, was the 90 - 90.2 around the same time and style?
 
Only a sample of one, but I bought an Alpha 8 fairly soon after it came out. (mid 90s?). It was still going strong after c15 years when I p/ex'd it.
 
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