Alpha equals A for quality

Advantages: Quality 'Arcam' sound - full, powerful. Remote control, phono stage, twin speaker outputs, gold-plated connections.
Disadvantages: Soon to be discontinued model, remote only controls volume, perhaps lacking detail compared to 'high end' amps

...I recently bought an Arcam Alhpa 8R to replace my Alpha One. The remote control is the first most noticeable addition - it's cute (controls just volume up, down and mute) and not having to get up to change the volume is a definite plus. Inside an uprated power supply and beefier transformer ((50W) you notice - the amp is certainly heavier) make for a very likeable sound. I didn't think it could make that much difference over the Alpha One, but the bass is heavier and faster and stereo imaging and detailed seems improved also. Generally the sound is more alive. It brings back that "Oh my God!" feeling when you first move to a separates system. Other benefits include quality durable gold-plated connections, two sets of speaker outputs (not that I use them, but useful for mutli-rooms setups or bi-wiring), a 'processor' option that sets...

iangrant 30.12.2000 · Read review
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Review of Arcam Alpha 8R

Arcam hits all the right notes

Advantages: Great stylish looks, wide soundstage, powerful but crisply detailed
Disadvantages: Quite an expensive amplifier

...Arcam have built a reputation founded on quality, reliability and are synonymous with producing affordable amplifiers which target those who are looking for an extremely smooth sounding component for their hi fi. This amplifier is part of a range also known as DIVA and though this might sound like a strange name with reference to a woman, it stands for digitally integrated video audio. The main advantage of this feature or so Arcam claim, is it allows them to achieve extreme low distortion levels. The exterior has a very elegant, stylish modern look and in the silver colour, will surely suit any room and become a part of the furniture. A feature I look for in any good amplifier is a direct direct button which bypasses the tone controls and allows for the shortest signal path and thankfully this amplifier has this option. There are...

grandchamp 25.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Arcam A 85

Better than the best Japan can offer

Advantages: Brilliant sound quality, nice styling
Disadvantages: no optical out, just coax and phono

...I changed to the Arcam after having a Sony CDP 797e for a while. Sony are very good at CD players in my experience and I find them to be very easy to use and full of features. This Sony was the best sounding CD player I had heard. Then I got the Arcam. It blew the Sony away. I have usually been sceptical about how much difference the CD can make to sound quality (it's digital after all, shouldn't they all be perfect?). It must be the laser or the Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) but it really did make a big, noticable difference, I couldn't beleive it. I was sitting there listening to stuff I'd had for ages and virtually knew off by heart (I remember the Manics Everything Must Go for one). I heard all these noises I hadn't noticed and there was so much more detail, the sound was simply pesented much better. It does look a bit...

almillar 29.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of Arcam Alpha 5

Please Phone This Clueless Alpha Male, Alicia!

Advantages: Useful for Conducting Holiday Romances
Disadvantages: Lack of Decent Relatives to Phone

...-paid. This meant getting a heart attack every time the bill came through the letterbox. I think that later Cherry Communications went out of business. Since Cherry our main low cost telephone operator has been Universal Communications (Unicom). The service over the past 5 years has been fine. But recently the customer service staff having been messing us and other customers around. ALPHA THE FIRST TIME AROUND I remember reading an advert in the London Evening Standard about Alpha Telecom in 1996. The advert said that calls to India were 26p/minute. This was amazing, as the call charge to India using Unicom was 37p/minute. Like a prat I immediately signed up to Alpha Telecom. When I registered I was given loads of documentation. One of the leaflets said that the call charge to India was 37p/minute. I got on the phone to Alpha and they...

mrpaella 18.01.2002 (22.02.2006) · Read review
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Review of Alpha Telecom

Not a bad little amp

Advantages: Smooth sounding all rounder with no problems in a powerful performance
Disadvantages: no remote control

...The Arcam Alpha One Amplifier for is price (around £200) seems to work very well with anything that you might want to put with it. Although it power rating is only 35W it seems to handle dynamic swings in music movement as well as any amp in its class I have heard. In its ambience it seems to be a half way house between something like a warm sounding Rotel and a sharp sounding Yamaha. It versatile enough, in that it has five line inputs, a tape loop and a headphone socket. In general it’s a bit of an all rounder and I feel it performs very well in all departments. Baring the fact that it does not come with a remote control, its really a very safe bet and I have been very pleased with the Alpha One's performance. I do not think there is much better for the price....

ncostall 19.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of Arcam Alpha One

Smooth and refined, but lacking pace.

Advantages: Warm and smooth sounding
Disadvantages: Lacking in pace and drive

...I owned and used an Arcam Alpha 8 for a couple of years, and had mixed opinions. This amp is very warm sounding,and as my CD player at the time was somewhat forward and harsh, so the Arcam was a welcome partner to it, but it really lacked slam and pace to it. Alternatively there was quite a good soundstage, and although it was a little two dimensional, it was very broad, often extending beyond the boundaries of the speakers. Detail was a little hazy, but this meant the amp could be listened to all day, without any of the fatigue commonly associated with modern solid state amplification. One very useful feature was the fixed gain switch on the back. This allowed the volume to be controlled by an external source, for instance an AV decoder. This means that when using the amp as part of an AV setup, you don't have to worry about...

smileandnod 11.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of Arcam Alpha 8

Alpha course

Advantages: The people will be friendly and there will be a good atmosphere
Disadvantages: The program is structured so that awkward questions are not asked

...You should be aware that the Alpha Course is one mans version of what Christianity is all about, a man called Nicky Gumbell. I am a Christian myself, but would disagree with a lot of what he writes. He sees everything from a Charismatic perspective and the whole aim of the course is climaxed by a day or weekend away where perhaps some people will lay hands on you to receive what he calls the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Its important for you to know that its mainly Christians from a Charismatic church or pentecostal belief who would believe in such a thing. Most christians would say you have the holy Spirit the moment you become a Christian, and is not a "second stage" Most people who attend Alpha courses are already Christians, and a lot of very important questions just aren't covered, and its less than honest in its opinions...

sandydog 17.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Alpha Course

I am the Alpha and the Omega...

Advantages: You meet lots of like minded people.
Disadvantages: None.

...So what exactly is the Alpha Course? It is a short course, run over a number of weeks (one session a week or thereabouts). It was designed to provide a 'refreshing' look at Christianity, both for Christians and for non-Christians alike. Where did it come from? A well known Christian speaker and auther called Nicky Gumbel actually wrote this, based out of Holy Trinity Brompton - a Church of England church in one of the nicer parts of the capital. The very first 'course' as it were was aired on ITV1 (as it was then), and then got comissioned to the rest of the country. So what is involved? Well, like I said it is a short course that is run over a number of weeks. Each session will last for around 1.5 - 2 hours, and consists of the group sitting down for a meal first. Once this has been finished, they will go into...

danthepianoman 20.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Alpha Course

Alpha Centauri or just a load of old Pluto

Advantages: Good gameplay and original ideas
Disadvantages: Turn based, slightly repetitive

...Sid Meier was and still is one of the best developers of turn based strategy ever for the PC. After the stunning success of game such as Civilisation and the sequel Civilisation 2. The one problem with a successful series is that sometimes you can overdo it and try to milk the money by releasing very similar games. However, to his credit, Sid Meier has taken the bold step of changing the environment for this game. Although retaining the general ideas and concepts of Civilisation, this game does have many improved features. The game is set in the future on the planet of Chiron in the Alpha Centauri star system. The story is that a mission sent from Earth had lost contact with their home planet. In addition various incidents including the assassination of the captain had occurred on board the space ship and the crew had split into 7...

pumfster 28.02.2003 · Read review
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Review of Alpha Centauri (PC)

Arcam CD82 Compa -what!? What a mouthful!

Advantages: Slender design
Disadvantages: Kind of expensive/ Not upgradable like some Arcam products

...The silver slender looking Arcam CD82 Compact Disc Player is a mid-range CD player that has been designed and built to act as the ideal half-way point between the CD72 and CD92 in the Diva range. My brother has owned one for a fair while now and the CD82 is an extremely capable CD player. The box to the CD player informs us that state of the art audiophile design techniques are incorporated. Apparently, these are commonly found on players which would normally cost consumers thousands of pounds to purchase. The helpful instruction manual that comes with it informs us that the CD player utilizes very high quality Burr Brown op-amps in the output stage. Included is a high-stability Class 1 crystal oscillator in the DAC module. The player also utilizes two 24-bit 192 kHz Wolfson DACs, which is in a dual-mode configuration. One...

benraiben 14.06.2004 (16.07.2004) · Read review
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Review of Arcam CD 82 Compact Disc Player