Arcam A19 impressions?

IMO, Arcam is good mid-fi stuff. Sounds decent and non-offensive. It's the kind of stuff you might set your non-audiophile, but music loving friends up with. Personally, I'd buy an Onkyo integrated for $350 and save up for something nice.

Well, where to start? I've had my A19 for about 10 months now. In a word it's outstanding! The music has good tone with very good detail and resolution. So good is the detail and resolution that at times at reminds me of my 845 SET amp that I once had.

It is a room filling dynamic sound with a great wide soundstage. Depth of soundstage is decent. The build quality is beyond it price point. It has a heft and feel of a $3K amp. And the volume control is the best I have ever used with perfect tracking through its range.

As you've noticed all the reviews are very positive. I think Alan Sircom at HiFi+ amd Wojciech Pacula at High Fidelity do a great job with their reviews.

I'm looking forward to adding new speakers for it soon (Bowers and Wilkins 683S2) and I hope to enjoy my A19 for a long time.

I hope you get a chance to try one. Good luck with your amp search.

Cheers,

Scott

Scott,

Thanks for your response - you're not the first one to say that it is quite a performer for the price. I'm going to demo it - looking forward to hearing it in my room.

Thanks!

I have had the A19 driving KEF LS50s for the last 5 months. Before that I had B&W 804D with $8k separates. Unfortunately I had to downsize my room. The LS50's were a no-brainer, and then for amplification I was looking for something good but also with a headphone amp (which the A19 has. If this is important to you, as it was to me, according to what I have read Arcam put more than lip service to the headphone amp. As I have none to compare, I can't comment on how good it is, but for me and my HiFiMan headphones it sounds good, certainly better than my computer headphone jack). Anyway, for $999 I think the Arcam is a fantastic bargain. And so when the 'reviews' say the same thing, the first thing you think is "there's something wrong with it and they're just being nice." Not true. It is a fantastic bargain. This amp does nothing wrong, and that's saying a lot. It's not the most transparent, nor the best bass, nor the sweetest midrange, nor the clearest highs. But it scores a solid B+ on all of these. For much better in any one category, let alone all of them, you'd have to spend a lot more money. Overall I really like my A19. In the past I have owned integrateds from McIntosh and Rowland, at much higher cost. The Arcam is musical at its heart, and I like it with the KEF's.

Great post, Jimmy2615. Thanks for the sharing your experience with the A19, especially in light of the other outstanding amps you have owned. I think you sum of the A19 very well.