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

...The ideal partner to the 8R is the 8P power amp - a similar 50W design with gold-plated inputs and twin speaker outputs. You can connect the two together and then bi-amp suitable speakers to offer improved resolution and detail, apparently. I haven't heard bi-amping myself. However, as the Alphas are being phased out, you could instead add the equivalent product from the DiVA range - the P75 (I think) power amp, which is also 50W and, apart from cosmetics, should go well with the 8R (or the A85 (I think) integrated amp, which is roughly equivalent to the 8R from the DiVA range).... Read review

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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... Read review

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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.... Read review

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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... Read review

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

...It's just too old now but the new Arcam CD players address all of this one's problems. You won't pick them up for under £100, though!... Read review

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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 said... Read review

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Advantages: Nice weight, Great Finish, Sound Amazing!
Disadvantages: Slightly more pricier than other cymbals at the same level

...The New Paiste Alpha 'Pro' Range is something new, sweeping the Semi -Pro cymbal range completely under the carpet with a redefined look, sound and alloy. Constructed out of the traditional B8 Alloy, and hand hammered, the new Alpha Pro range certainly look great. Getting down to playing them, each cymbal blends with each other well, and most of the cymbals can be used amongst other cymbals if you rather swapping and mis matching your cymbals for that custom sound. Having tried out the ENTIRE Alpha Pro Range at my local music shop, yes all 34 cymbals, i fell in love completely, and purchased the entire 'Metal' Range of Alpha Pro (choosing the 22" ride rather than the 20" due to durability) and the Flat Ride, the New Paiste Alpha Pro Range is a great choice for the drummer looking for more than those cracked Planet Z's, Meinl Headliner... Read review

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Advantages: Intuitive interface, clever AI, a game you can come back to again and again, great fun, fantastic plot and cut scenes
Disadvantages: Multiplayer mode is difficult since one game can last weeks, some cut scenes will be familiar to Alpha Centauri players of the past

...The Falcon Writes... To say Sid Meier is not gifted is a gross understatement. In fact, it's completely ridiculous. Because he is a genious. From the very first release of Civilisation, with it's heavily bitmapped graphics and sound effects that drove you around the bend but were still strangely to compelling, to the awesome graphics in games like Alpha Centauri, I have followed his work with glee, rushing out to buy each new title as soon as it hits the shelves. And Alpha Centauri: Alien Crossfire is yet another title that will go down in gaming history. An intuitive interface, cunning AI and a compelling plot make this one of the best add-ons I have seen for a strategy game in years. The original story of Alpha Centauri (which, for those of you who havent come across the classic title before runs basically that Earth has been all... Read review

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Advantages: social, discussion about christianity, meet new people, find out what church is like
Disadvantages: weak arguments, holy spirit madness, no experience of God

...I expect most people in the UK (and a lot overseas as well) have heard of the banal and rather too popular Alpha Course, pioneered at Holy Trinity Brompton in the 1970s and modified for the general public by Nicky Gumbel, an Anglican vicar, in the 1990s. By 2007 it had been reported that over 10 million people worldwide (2 million in the UK) had attended a course. The Alpha Course is meant to be an introduction to the essentials of Christianity. It involves eating a meal, watching a video and then having a discussion, with about a dozen sessions in total spread over several months. I went on the course in 2001, which was organised by a local Anglican church. Most people on the course were already attending the church. It was all very low key (do these people really believe in an eternal lake of fire?), the video talks were lacking... Read review

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Advantages: Stlish digital slr
Disadvantages: sony customer service

...At first glance the sony alpha a100 feals slightyly plastickly, but this is partly due to the fact that the body itself is made out of plastic, never the less the sony a100 is a fantastic digital sslr for the first time photograhper. Although it is slightly dissapointing that sony has not made a vertical grip for this product, overall the smooth shiny feal to the sony alpha a100, feals nice, and the shutter button fits snugguly into your right hand, however the camera is exceptional, but the custumer service is dreadful, when i accidently smashed my sony alpha 3 days after purchasing it, i was devistated, but not to worry, i was soon on to sony, and was relieved that there was a set price of £114 but i had to forck out a lumply sum of £360 to get it fixed. There isnt realy a fixed price and the level of custumer service... Read review

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