Here's a brief summary of the experience in-shop: Their cheapest amp turned out to -be- the Arcam A70 (£500), so we listened with that. I don't know why - I had given him an idea of our budget - but the rather unenthusiastic sales gentleman decided to plug in some Totem speakers costing £600. We listened... they had great power and sounded impressive but we felt the clarity was lacking.
A step down to the Arcam Alto speakers (£400), and we heard much more detail but didn't feel moved by the music due to a lack of low end punch. By that time, the guy I'd spoken to on the phone had appeared, and he seemed much more enthusiastic and interested despite our comparatively low budget. He discussed what we felt about what we'd already heard and got some KEF Cresta 10s plugged in. Although these only cost £150 in-shop we felt they sounded the most balanced, with detail -and- presence. The staff recommended spending more on the source/amp than the speakers, and offered a deal of the Arcam A70 and the ex-demo Cresta 10s for £600, including speaker cables. We were tempted as we thought we were happy with the sound (although after three run throughs of our test CD, and suffering with a full bladder, I wasn't entirely sure what I thought anymore) but we didn't go for it on the spot as I wasn't convinced about spending so much more on the amp than the speakers, especially after the advice already given here. I really liked the A70s looks, though. According to the staff, the British electronics and build beats Rotel by a long way. Anyway; we're listening to a RA-05 and some Monitor Audio BR2s elsewhere this Friday. As always, your input is welcome. Thanks. -- Impeller ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Impeller's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=8396 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30074 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
