Arcam Alpha 9 CD Player Ring DAC

Barcam

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie on here and trying to find out some information regarding this CD player.

I have owned my Arcam Alpha 10 integrated/10P power and 9 CD player from new, must be close on 20 years now! It's given sterling service in that time with no problems whatsoever. I realise it's now all very long in the tooth but I'm still very happy with the system as a whole.

Unfortunately, recently, whilst out there was a power outage in our area, when the lights finally came back on the Alpha 9 started making a buzzing/whining noise even when switched off. ( my home cinema projector has also taken a hit and won't power up ) The frequency of this noise increased when turning on the unit and although all lights and display illuminated the unit would load but not play the disc.

It would seem that the mains transformer has failed and these are no longer available from Arcam or elsewhere. I am therefore thinking along the lines of perhaps getting another used Alpha 7 or 8 in good working order and swapping the DAC from my Alpha 9 to the lower spec player or similar.

I know the Alpha systems were designed to be upgraded at dealer level but what sort of job would this turn out to be, assuming of course that my DAC survived the power surge. Is this just plug and play or something a lot more difficult?

Thank you all in advance for your time.

Mike.

DT79

I should think if you could get a working, good condition, Alpha 7 or 8 on eBay then you could either port the DAC one way or the transformer the other. Plus you also have a spare drive mechanism which is what usually fails. You’d have to open them up and take a look. If you didn’t feel confident doing the job yourself, it would be a piece of cake for any electronic repair shop. I’m sure you could find someone in your area without too much difficulty.

Hixs

Why not take the opportunity to upgrade to a CD92 which has the ring dac.

SickSquirrel

I would buy a new player, even entry level players today are far better than high end players from the 90's.

Those old Ring DAC's are nothing special IMHO, and nothing like the stuff DCS do now!

This is a good one for £250:-

                                                                                                                                                                                                        DCD-600NE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        www.denon.co.uk

DT79

Or, I think, the CD23T from the FMJ range If you want go fancy.

Timmy C

I guess that's a matter of opinion and of course I've not tried every modern player at home but I do own an Audiolab M-DAC and Arcam irdac which are relatively modern and well regarded and I still think my Ring Dac players sound noticeably nicer when used on their own.

Timmy C

I'm not sure that's an upgrade is it? I think it's identical on the inside and as far as I recall, even the boards used in it have Alpha printed on them. I may be mistaken but I think the only difference is the casework which wouldn't match his current Alpha amps. The 23/23T's did have an upgraded power supply but I don't think the 92 was any different. I think picking up a 7 and swapping the DAC board over is probably the best way to go unless he spots a cracking deal on 9/92/23.

SickSquirrel

I doubt you can just swap the DAC board, it may have different power requirements to the lower level boards...  Is the power transformer the same?

Hixs

You can just swap DACs. They designed the diva range to be upgradeable. So a cd72 could be upgraded to cd192 with a new DAC/PSU. I believe that the 7x and 8x and maybe the 9x all shared the same internal components bar the DAC.

I knew the diva range were just updated alphas but after a few beers last night it sort of skipped my brain..

Timmy C

The OP actually messaged me about this last night as he had seen in other threads that I've swapped DAC boards over before but I think I've only done it from one 9 to another. I know they sold upgrade kits so it's a straightforward job but do you know if there's anything more to it other than plugging in the DAC board and fitting the plastic support posts? I was just wondering if there's any tiny switches or links or anything that need changing or removing. Would be handy to know for the future.