I`ve had the alpha 9 with me for about six months now after having other cdplayers such as the Yamaha 835 and the Marantz se67 and also have heard other
brands such as the Nad`s and Rotel but I like the more natural smoothness and
dynamics and big soundstage which the Arcam alpha 9 delivers.All together a
superb job.

Very clean and open sound. Very wide soundstage.

Cheap looks. The soundstage it produces is much wider then it is 'deep'.

The Arcam 9 is a very good player. I've had it for a year now. The only thing I keep noticing, is that the soundstage it produces is much wider than deep. Other players (most notable the top Rotel-player and the Marantz CD-72) have a more balanced soundstage in this respect. The difference on HDCD is very noticable.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz CD-72 SE

great bass, excellent soundstage, makes old cd's sound great

none i've heard yet soundwise, plastic front panel

I love it I can't say anymore than that! Best sounding player i've heard.

Similar Products Used:

rega planet, denon, yamaha, nad

Outstanding sound quality, two analog outputs (great for comparing interconnect cables), upgrade history, 3 year parts/labor warranty, resale value, HDCD playback, and Arcam’s reputation.

The Alpha 9 lacks many of the features found in far less expensive units such as: peak search, headphone jacks, volume controls, CD text, CD Disk naming, filter controls, balanced outputs, and optical outputs. The face looks cheap as stated below in the other reviews. Also the remote is sparse and that’s being kind

Before selecting this CD player, I studiously read every review printed concerning it and the reviews recorded on this site. The general consensus of the professional reviewers is that theAlpha 9 CD player is quite a performer, besting units costing hundreds or even thousand of dollars more. Let me start out by saying this player is endowed with sound quality that is unsurpassed in any unit you will find for under $3,000. I brought mine from a local dealer for $1,200. I would not have paid one cent more considering that you can get really good sounding units for far less. I considered the Rotel 991 but I could not find a dealer that would discount it significantly from it’s $1,300 suggested retail price. If I could have found it for $900, I would have purchased it. By the way, don’t believe all the bull that some dealers are preaching…”Rotel and Arcam will not let its dealers discount or mail order.” I have found authorized dealers that will discount and mail order anything, even Rotel and B&W. However, I have been sworn to secrecy concerning their identity.

My previous CD player was a $500 Sony CDP 80ES model that has a ton of features and some impressive stats: S/N ratio of 115dB, 20 bit resolution, five-year warranty, isolated power supplies, a thick metal face plate, and a Dynamic Range greater than 100dB. I used the optical output of the Sony and fed it to my B&K Reference 20 Preamp. Comparing the features of the Sony to the Arcam…there’s no comparison, the Sony wins convincingly. Further, my Sony weighs in at twice the bulk and looks more luxurious. I will keep the Sony and use it in my study.

Yes the Sony is feature laden, but the Arcam Alpha 9 simply sounds superior in every way an audiophile can describe: superior imagining, larger soundstage, deeper and tighter base, etc., etc., etc… One thing that I noticed when comparing the Arcam to the Rotel 991 and the Sony was that the sound level increased when doing A/B comparisons. Since I was using the same recording to do comparisons, I thought it was odd that this would occur. Maybe there is an expert out there that knows the answer. I suspect the Ring DAC has something to do with it.

Is this outstanding sound quality worth an extra $800 above the cost of the Sony or $300 above the Rotel? That depends on your current budget and your lust for ever increasing perfection in sound reproduction. My wife did not even notice that I had a new CD player. If see did, there is no way I could keep this thing. There was a significant improvement in sound quality of the Arcam over the Sony but not as much a one over the Rotel. The Rotel is very, very good CD Player that produces excellent sound quality, but the Arcam is simply superior in every sound quality metric. However, the differences are slight and only noticeable when doing A/B comparisons. Rotel major weakness is not what it can do now, but what it won’t be able to do in the future. I suspect that Sony’s SACD will win the format war between it and DVD audio. With that said, Rotel’s current CD players are subject to massive depreciation. I willing to bet $300 (difference in price) that Acram’s Alpha 9 will have an upgrade path (my preamp and amplifiers are upgradeable also!).

In the August edition of “Stereophile,” the editors rave about Krell’s lates $17,000 monoblock amplifiers and Rockport’s $73,000 turntable. I just do not understand why anyone would spend that kind of money on stereo gear when a $1,200 CD Player and a $1,000 two channel amplifier will supply 98.9% of a person’s sonic needs. However, is you are addicted to this hobby and have an uncontrollable, insatiable desire for sonic excellance, then spend on.

My system:

B&K Reference 20 Preamp/processor
B&K Reference 4420 2-channel amplifier
B&K Reference 4430 3-channel amplifier
Paradigm Studio Reference 100 version 2 (fronts)
Paradigm Sudio Reference 60 version 2 (rears)
Sunfire Signature True Subwoofer
AudioQuest interconnects
Monster Z1 speaker cable