Arcam A19 impressions?

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.

Hi. I have my A19 driving a pair of AT-2's, a Pro-Ject Expression turntable and an Arcam CD38, using Kimber interconnects for both sources. To me, the sound is way better than the NAD 326BEE and the four channel amplifier NAD 245BEE that I have in another room. Sound resolution and built quality is above it's price, so happy with it.
You can add an Arcam Rblink bluetooth DAC and this is everything you need for a very good system at a reasonable price.