Upgrade From Alpha 9 & 9P, Same Quality Sound But More Power?

wokeye

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I've had these amps for quite a while now, always thought that the sound was top notch. I auditioned the Audiolab 8000A along with the 9, way back in 1999. Was a bit cold and sterile, so I guess I'm looking for a similar detailed sound, just more power. I was quite happy with it until I bought some Kef R500's for a bargain price off an auction site, must be the first bargain I've had off there this decade..

Anyway, these speakers are just in a different league from anything I've ever owned in my life. They've made me realise what a great sounding amp the 9 & 9P are, bi-amping. The problem I have is that I live in the middle of nowhere, detached house, the amp that drives the bass cuts out if I push it too hard, too early for me. Maybe would've been ok with other speakers that I have owned in the past that were crapping out at this point anyway. I get the feeling that these speakers can take a lot more power, I'd just like them to sustain the same volume that 9 cuts out to be honest. I've tried swapping bass duties over, to the integrated amp, and it cuts out exactly the same, at a very similar point.

What is the Alpha 10 like in this regard? Or probably 10 & 10P? Or is there another later Arcam amp that would be worth trying?
 
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10 and 10p were/are great amps. They were replaced by the A22 and P25 although it was mainly a cosmetic upgrade as I understand it. They in turn were replaced by the A32 and P35 which I believe were meant to be an improvement. Around this time the C30 pre-amp and P1 monoblocks also came out which I believed most thought were better than running a pair of P35's but I had both and liked the P35's better with my set up at the time. The P35 was then replaced by the P38 but at this point I lost track of what Arcam were doing. While all this may not answer your question, it gives you an idea of timelines when comparing used Arcam amps at least.

For the record, I live in a detached house with no volume limits and listen to a lot of loud rock music. I settled on a C30 pre amp with Monitor Audio GR20's bi-amped with a P35 and P38 (was a pair of P35's but one was replaced under warranty with a P38) and never feel the amps are particularly underpowered. My rooms aren't enormous though so can't say how they would perform in a massive room.
 
Cheers Timmy, that's really helpful info. I haven't a clue about Arcam stuff, just that I like the sound of the 9.
 
If I were starting from scratch with thousands to spend I would be considering alternatives but in your shoes, given you like your set up only you seem to have a problem at high volume levels, I think I would buy one of the amps I mentioned and take it from there. I'm 99% certain all these amps have the same gain so mixing and matching isn't necessarily a problem. It's also worth noting that all the integrated amps I mentioned have 'processor mode' so can be used as power amps only so you could for example use an Alpha 10 integrated as a power amp. Though that was worth mentioning in case you find the integrated models cheaper/easier to find than the power amp versions. Let us know how you get on!
 
Thanks Timmy that's great info. I've actually been enjoying these speakers at a reasonable volume and appreciating them for what they are. They sound fantastic, but it would be nice to be able to have the option to push them also, as they are certainly capable of it. I'm definitely going to be on the look out for one of the Arcam amps that you mention.

It's right what has been said about these speakers showing up issues with electronics used to amplify and sources. The Arcam Alpha 9 & 9P sounds great, really open and detailed, without been harsh sounding. However when pushed to louder volumes, the bass just loses all definition and sounds overblown and ponderous, there is just no control with it at all.

The amps either need replacing or avoid their limitations..
 
After trying a Yamaha A-S801 on demo, and purchasing an Roksan Kandy K2 with a fault that I returned, I finally ended up with an Arcam FMJ A39 ex demo. I would've kept the Roksan if it didn't have a fault, but this is a better amp than one of those. It doesn't get as harsh in the high frequencies, as soon, when pushed. It also has a more neutral sound to me, the Roksan certainly coloured the music to me, but I liked it. The A39 isn't light years ahead of the Alpha 9's at lower volumes, but the bass control is way better. Its a fantastic amp, can't believe that there is not more to read about it. It goes really well with the R500's, never sounds harsh. The setup shows up poor recordings, but it did with the Roksan too.

There is no doubt its a better amp than the Alpha 9, but neither of these amps were like a huge difference at lower volumes. Still a very good amp the Alpha 9, and despite what I've read about capacitors going bad, I don't believe that mine has any issues at all sound-wise, despite being nearly 20 years old. Apart from the input selector that's been changed once, and is going again, but I just bypass it with the tape loop. I hope the A39 is as reliable as the Alpha 9 was, as I think I'll have it for a long time..
 
@wokeye I have the arcam 9 amps in a bi amp set up, i think they are fantastic amps, so good that ive changed/upgraded speakers 4 times and still using the alpha 9 amps..

mine have never clipped or gone into protection mode, even driving 4 ohms. i rarely go past the 9 o clock position. at 9 i find its still pretty loud. what position on the volume knob and for running how long resulted in your 'woofer' amp shutting down?

have you tried an alpha 9 bi amped with the A38?
 
If I were starting from scratch with thousands to spend I would be considering alternatives but in your shoes, given you like your set up only you seem to have a problem at high volume levels, I think I would buy one of the amps I mentioned and take it from there. I'm 99% certain all these amps have the same gain so mixing and matching isn't necessarily a problem. It's also worth noting that all the integrated amps I mentioned have 'processor mode' so can be used as power amps only so you could for example use an Alpha 10 integrated as a power amp. Though that was worth mentioning in case you find the integrated models cheaper/easier to find than the power amp versions. Let us know how you get on!
Ive been looking at upgrading one or both of my alpha 9 amps and im not sure the pre out levels of all arcam amps are the same.

looking at the manuals from arcam's website of some of the different alpha, diva and fmj models the pre out levels appear to have different levels, or am i looking at the wrong thing...
 

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Ive been looking at upgrading one or both of my alpha 9 amps and im not sure the pre out levels of all arcam amps are the same.

looking at the manuals from arcam's website of some of the different alpha, diva and fmj models the pre out levels appear to have different levels, or am i looking at the wrong thing...

I'm no expert in the workings of these things but I think it's the input gain on the amps you need to match if you plan to bi-amp but that figure doesn't appear to be listed on all of those spec sheets. I'm not sure the pre-out levels are important.
 

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