Arcam vs roksan

Have a read of these: http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/proac-d18-and-which-amp?page=2

and from post No.6: http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/adding-a-p38?page=1

As a Arcam fanboy, the A38 is one of the few Arcs I haven't heard.

The Caspian is a fantastically detailed amp. I was very close on buying one myself before stumbling across Leema.

I would say both Roksan and Arcam are equally as adept, but will give you a different tilt: The Arcam is great for long listening sessions, but won't won't quite have the impact of the Roksan on an initial dem.

Thank for the replies

I really hope I can get a demo but at the moment he can only get a k2 from one of they're other branches. I don't think it would be a fair comparison between a38/k2 but it might be worth a listen to get a feel for the roksan sound. People seem to hold it in high regard including my local dealer who told me he had previously had a k2 power amp and audiolab cdq which he thought sounded superb.

Ill keep trying and take my time as I need to get this right as I only want to do it once and then work on my source but that's another story and financially a long way off

"might be worth a listen to get a feel for the roksan sound."

From personal experience Roksan don't have a trademark sound as such. The LIII is a very snappy, neutral machine that takes no sonic prisoners. The K2, on the other hand, and a direct replacement for the LIII, is more refined. In doing so, it has also rounded some of the earlier Roksan zeal. Still a wonderful amp but a little staid tonally in comparison. The Caspian, although lower output, is a different animal altogether, adding much more openness and detail to the Kandys.

However, this is my personal interpretation.

The A38 and M2 were on my shopping list last year. I really liked the refinement and smoothness of the Arcam. The Roksan has tighter bass, snappier timing and is more detailed. I thought it was an exciting listen albeit with some treble brightness with certain music, so that affects choice of partnering speakers. Both are very good amps.

I heard the K2 a couple of years ago and was underwhelmed. It could go loud but lacked dynamic expression. The M2 is way better IMO.

cheerSS

I would also suggest, that before you commit, you should also try to listen to the following amps as well:

Creek Evolution 5350
Musical Fidelity M3i
Sugden Mystro
Electrocompaniet PI-1
Audio Analogue Puccini Settanta Rev 2 (here is a good view: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?ramps&1211911717&&&/Audio-Analo...

IMO. The above amps are some of the most musical Solid State amps around the price of the Arcam, and should be tried in order to give you a good feel of what's available.

I'm very surprised a dealer thought a K2 and a CDQ sounded superb. I demoed the same and it sounded to me like someone had put a blanket over the speakers. It was that poor I think I only listened to half of one song!

I ended up buying a Caspian, so I agree with PP, Roksan probably don't have a house sound as such.

My advice would be to listen to as many as you can, and don't rush your decision. Cno has given you some good choices.

I have had both in a home set up, the A38 for a week whilst I was trying to decide. The A38 is smoother, and more laid back, the M2 is faster, edgier and more dynamic. I also found it to be more detailed with more air and space to its sound. Both are very very good indeed, and it comes down to the rest of your system. The M2 can be a bit harsh in bright systems, so my DACmagic isn not an ideal partner, and it wasn't great when running in the D18s - now they are, it sounds superb.

The K2 IME is very different from the M2, in fact the K2 is closer to the Arcam if anything, ceratinly when compared to Nait / Cyrus 6 and 8 

The only drawback is that the M2 is not the most powerful amp on the planet (though it sounds very powerful) so you could run out of steam in big rooms at arena listening levels.

Pretty much my conclusion.

Thanks for the replies. Some very useful comments.

I will keep trying to demo an m2 and will not bother with the k2.

I will try to demo from the list given but not sure which ones I will be able to try. I know my dealer is a creek stockist and so I should be able to try out the 5350 and Destiny 2.

I may also try audiolab cdq with 2x 8200m as I have been told these are available so may as well give them a go.