Tír Na HiFi

Dear all,

I've just discovered this site and I joined it straight away! Brilliant!
One of my dreams is to have a proper audio set up (room included) so I'm planning to get there little by little. I saw this amp for sale in my area: Arcam Alpha 8R amplifier with a set of B & W DM 603 S2 Speakers. Does any one have any experience with this amp and/or brand and speakers? I'd like to know if they'll be a decent "starter set". I'll keep doing a bit of research in the meanwhile, I just ask cause they might sell.

Thank you all

Cavez

Welcome to the Forum Cavez.

I am not the best person here to discuss equipment but I did have some Arcam equipment in the past and I really liked it. I have never owned B & W speakers but I have heard them obviously. Cloney Audio in Blackrock sell both brands and you would be able to hear both brands there. I think that if you are just starting off and beginning to build a system then this would be a good place to start if you get yourself a good CD player as well. Best of luck.

Hi cavez
Arcam & B&W is mariage made set. And I think it's a good starter to Hi - Fi roots. Just look for the same brand player and you gonna reach synergy. But before you buy anything have a good listen with your music and your ears :)
BTW welcome on board

yeah, perfectly good starter system there. Welcome to the beginning of an expensive addiction!

Welcome on board cavez.....


Fran

Hi cavez and welcome to the Forum, Arcam and B&W are a very good combination, be careful though once you start exploring the wonderful world of sound reproduction you may get hooked and it can prove to be a expensive pursuit. Cloney Audio in Blackrock are very good and well worth a visit. If you can manage to do so: get a loan of the system before you buy it and listen to it in your own home before you make a decision on it.

Do please let us know how you get on.

I second what has already been said. My dad had the B&W speakers and I thought they sounded very good for the price. I have the DM303. But they are are a little too small for most rooms and can tend to get shouty or bright with the wrong equipment. I just tried them with my M3 Nu-Vista amp compared to PMC and Frugal Horns. They are pleasant but produce a much flatter image and detail is missing. The 602 should be a good bit better and match well with the Arcam amp.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome on board cavez....You will most definitely not be lead astray in this hallowed place ;)

Welcome Cevez,
I've used an Alpha 8R with B&W speakers in my system a good while back.It's a cracking little amp and a great
starter amp that's for sure.You could pick up an alpha 7se or an alpha 8 cd players for next to nothing on the net.
One thing though,spend a few quid on interconnects and speaker cables and you'll be in Hifi heaven.

jadarin wrote: One thing though,spend a few quid on interconnects and speaker cables and you'll be in Hifi heaven.

Agreed (all hail the cable fairies). Have a look in the classified ads too, there's always a few for sale. I know other members have spare speaker cable and I have several Van den Hul interconnects sitting on a shelf.