sound

none

I'm a little disappointed at the build problems people are having. I've had an Alpha one for 7 years and shipped it around the world a couple of times and never had a problem. I also have an Arcam amp and am quite happy with the sound.

Arcam's Alpha 1 is a reasonably priced single box CD player. It has a remote control and a co-axial (electrical) digital output. The player is finished in Arcam's usual manner, making it elegant if a little old fashioned. The sound quality is excellent, if a little warm, making it suitable for use in most lower cost systems. The player lacks the ultimate detail required for the best classical recordings but that is hardly a complaint at the price. When used with similarily priced amps and speakers it's performance really cannot be faulted.
Conclusion: Highly recommended.

A very good player for the price. The Alpha 1 offers wide soundstaging, open sound, and good detail but slightly lightweight on bass when compared to other players.

I love this player. It is extremely rhythmic and exciting to listen to. It is not harsh, has good detail and a large soundstage. It dosent suffer poorly mastered discs however.

I bought this CD player about 18 months ago, and I credit it with sparking my current interest in audio. It was a vast improvement over my old Sony, and improvements in amp, speakers, and even vinyl have since followed. I have had no mechanical problems with it (knock on wood!)
More recently, it has been functioning as a transport, first with a MF X-Act Dac, and more recently with the MSB Link. The addition of a anti-jitter device (an Audio Alchemist DTI plus) has hugely improved its function as a transport, and I hope it will serve until the dust clears in the format wars and I can spend serious money on a digital front end.

Very fine player for the price soundwise - open, natural, good detail without artificial sound present in some other players. I auditioned against CAL DX1 and Marantz player similar priced player (63se I believe). However long term build quality is not good - I have had my player for two years and it will not play many cds that play without problem in cheap portable or car stereo. Lack of wide dealer network and repair support in the US make this worse and I have not received replies to email sent to Arcam personnel. I would replace it with Arcam 7 but posts on the Arcam 7 review board indicate others have had similar problems which make having a good local dealer necessary.

Warm and detailed sound, not over-bright like some budget players

Transients can sound harsh and unconvincing

I was surprised to read that several reviwers are dissatisfied with this player; I have had nearly 6 years of reliable, trouble-free operation with the Alpha One and it even reads CD-RW discs with no problems. This player sounds warm and rich, and conveys a good level of detail. Transient sounds such as crashing cymbals are quite harsh and unrealistic and bass is a little light; otherwise the sound is pleasing and well focused if a little unexciting. For a budget CD source, I think it represents a good buy, and in its time was the best sounding player within its price range that I auditioned.

Similar Products Used:

Listened to some newer, better players such as Alpha 7SE and Rega Planet

I had the Alpha 1 for approximately 2 years and had nothing but trouble since day of purchase. The build quality needs to be vastly improved. Sound quality however was quite good, but extremely frustrated with unit being returned to arcam for repair to laser.

Overall sound for the money

none given the cost

Sorry to hear about the quality problems. I'm going on 5 years of heavy usage without a bit of problems. This is not an Audiophile product but at the price its very nice balanced sound with an ability to mate with anything I've hooked it up to from high-end tube equipment to decent solid state. Its NAD, Rotel sound at a good price.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz 63, JVC 1050

I bought my Alpha One back in 94 and was the best player around in it's price range at the time (I auditioned Rotel and others). It's served its function well, but the laser tracking is also getting very wobbly.
Last week I visited my local Arcam dealer and they assured me they could give it a overall and retrack the laser for $100-150 bucks. Could be money well worth spending to extend the life of this good budget player.
Andy