Need a 5 channel amp.

[WineOfTheVeins]

The old Emotivas were nice, not too fond of the new tech in them now. Monolith has my vote. I was going to pull the trigger on one, but found something I liked much better.
That white lie only gets you so far. xD McIntosh is a solid unit, if you can afford a more powerful one, go for it! Amps do change sound, no if's and's or but's.

 

[Andrein]

The old Emotivas were nice, not too fond of the new tech in them now. Monolith has my vote. I was going to pull the trigger on one, but found something I liked much better.
That white lie only gets you so far. xD McIntosh is a solid unit, if you can afford a more powerful one, go for it! Amps do change sound, no if's and's or but's.

Monolith is great, though its transformers are not as quiet as in some other amps.

 

[PENG]

I understand Emo, to some degree monolith, but others like Anthem would not call exactly 'affordable'. Their mca 525 costs almost £4000 in UK. Dont know if they have a lower model line.

I realize "affordable" can be somewhat subjective and there should be a range. The MCA 525 is made in Canada, and is typically listed at C$4,000 or about C$3,200 discounted, that's about £2320, or £1856. In the US, it probably costs around 10-12% more but will still be much less than the £4000 UK price. So that's why I consider Anthem MCA series amps "affordable", though on the higher end of the "affordable range" for sure.

Anthem also has the PVA series, that is even more affordable, but those are only rated 125 watts per channel, no better than a upper mid range AVR.

 

[Andrein]

In

I realize "affordable" can be somewhat subjective and there should be a range. The MCA 525 is made in Canada, and is typically listed at C$4,000 or about C$3,200 discounted, that's about £2320, or £1856. In the US, it probably costs around 10-12% more but will still be much less than the £4000 UK price. So that's why I consider Anthem MCA series amps "affordable", though on the higher end of the "affordable range" for sure.

Anthem also has the PVA series, that is even more affordable, but those are only rated 125 watts per channel, no matter than a upper mid range AVR.

In US it is about $3500 https://www.crutchfield.com/S-nllMRLegASq/p_973MCA525/Anthem-MCA-525.html

Anyway, not quite the same 'affordable' price range as Emotiva. PVA series does not make much sense given their power ratings.

 

[WineOfTheVeins]

I realize "affordable" can be somewhat subjective and there should be a range. The MCA 525 is made in Canada, and is typically listed at C$4,000 or about C$3,200 discounted, that's about £2320, or £1856. In the US, it probably costs around 10-12% more but will still be much less than the £4000 UK price. So that's why I consider Anthem MCA series amps "affordable", though on the higher end of the "affordable range" for sure.

Anthem also has the PVA series, that is even more affordable, but those are only rated 125 watts per channel, no matter than a upper mid range AVR.

Agreed. Keep in mind some manufacturers rate their power rating differently. I know Anthem under-rates their power output for example. 125 is probably a conservative, constant number, whereas some other guys will say 150w, might be peak, even if it is RMS, probably not constant, if it IS constant, their definition might be a few seconds vs a few minutes. Just some food for thought for the OP.

 

[PENG]

In

In US it is about $3500 https://www.crutchfield.com/S-nllMRLegASq/p_973MCA525/Anthem-MCA-525.html

Anyway, not quite the same 'affordable' price range as Emotiva. PVA series does not make much sense given their power ratings.

I don't really know why you seemed troubled (I hope not..) by the term "affordable" I associated it with the MCA amps. I included them in my list of examples because the OP seemed to be considering the Rotel RA-1585 that is comparable to the MCA525 (within "range"). I think he was considering used, so that should bring such amps to the lower range of what I considered affordable.

Again, affordable is a somewhat subjective, and actually a relative term by nature, it can mean differently to different people. If something is considered affordable by some, there will something else that are considered more, or less affordable by others.

By the way, the price you linked are full regular list prices. I have never (or rarely, in case I forgot an instance or two..) paid full price. When my MCA 20 was listed for about C$1999 to C$2099 in 2011, it was on sale for about C$1600 IIRC, but I ended up paying a little over C$1300. I bargained particularly hard that time because I really didn't need another amp. I am quite sure I can walk in to a Canadian Anthem dealer and walk out with the MCA 525 for under C$3,500, that's about US$2,700, and I am being conservative. The fact is, Anthem has their higher end P and A series, their MCA series are in fact affordable, relatively speaking.

As for the PVA series not making sense, sure, I made the same point in my last post. In fact I was too harsh, comparing them to upper range AVRs. I mentioned them only because you asked if they had a lower line.

I realize in the UK or Australia, those amps likely will cost significantly more. Just like we have to pay more for B&W, Cambridge Audio, Arcam, Naim, Quad products etc. I am not aware of too many British made multi-channel power amps though.

 

[Andrein]

I don't really know why you seemed troubled (I hope not..) by the term "affordable" I associated it with the MCA amps. I included them in my list of examples because the OP seemed to be considering the Rotel RA-1585 that is comparable to the MCA525 (within "range"). I think he was considering used, so that should bring such amps to the lower range of what I considered affordable.

Again, affordable is a somewhat subjective, and actually a relative term by nature, it can mean differently to different people. If something is considered affordable by some, there will something else that are considered more, or less affordable by others.

By the way, the price you linked are full regular list prices. I have never (or rarely, in case I forgot an instance or two..) paid full price. When my MCA 20 was listed for about C$1999 to C$2099 in 2011, it was on sale for about C$1600 IIRC, but I ended up paying a little over C$1300. I bargained particularly hard that time because I really didn't need another amp. I am quite sure I can walk in to a Canadian Anthem dealer and walk out with the MCA 525 for under C$3,500, that's about US$2,700, and I am being conservative. The fact is, Anthem has their higher end P and A series, their MCA series are in fact affordable, relatively speaking.

As for the PVA series not making sense, sure, I made the same point in my last post. In fact I was too harsh, comparing them to upper range AVRs. I mentioned them only because you asked if they had a lower line.

I realize in the UK or Australia, those amps likely will cost significantly more. Just like we have to pay more for B&W, Cambridge Audio, Arcam, Naim, Quad products etc. I am not aware of too many British made multi-channel power amps though.

It is not the term affordable that i disagreed with. I just pointed that spending 1600 on emotiva is not quite the same as spending 3500 on something like mca 525. Let's put discounts aside. So I felt like some of the amps you mentioned belong to different price ranges. Often those who buy emotiva just cant afford anything else. Or at least it more or less used to be the case till recently.

Another reason was that i fotgot about pva series tbh. But even if i didnot it is not quite alternative to emo or monolith in terms of power. Anyway Anthem is just one of the cases. OP still has a lot of choices...

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

In

In US it is about $3500 https://www.crutchfield.com/S-nllMRLegASq/p_973MCA525/Anthem-MCA-525.html

Anyway, not quite the same 'affordable' price range as Emotiva. PVA series does not make much sense given their power ratings.

Those innards of that MCA 525 amp look awfully familiar.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-nllMRLegASq/p_973MCA525/Anthem-MCA-525.html

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Those innards of that MCA 525 amp look awfully familiar.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-nllMRLegASq/p_973MCA525/Anthem-MCA-525.html

They all look like ATI amps. But they are manufactured in Canada.

 

[everettT]

They all look like ATI amps. But they are manufactured in Canada.

Are you sure they're manufactured in Canada?

 

[Andrein]

Are you sure they're manufactured in Canada?

At least this is what Anthem web site says - designed and manufactured in Canada.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Are you sure they're manufactured in Canada?

I guess it's possible they could "design/engineer" in Canada, then get all the parts from ATI and "manufacture/assemble" in Canada.

 

[WineOfTheVeins]

Are you sure they're manufactured in Canada?

I know my model is hand made in Canada, not sure about other models. But I believe that is one of Anthem's models, designed, built, engineered in Canada. This massive toroidal beast is proudly badged, and on some of the circuit boards it says Paradigm electronics, which is also crafted in Canada. They share some things, Anthem Room Correction (which is hell-a amazing I must say) for one. I asked the dealer if it was actually all Canadian made, he verified they were. The craftsmanship, durability, warranty, and most importantly performance really shines on Anthems, some of the reasons I got one.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

I guess it's possible they could "design/engineer" in Canada, then get all the parts from ATI and "manufacture/assemble" in Canada.

On the back of the units, it does say:

"Designed, Engineered and Made in Canada"

Edit:
The ATI AT1805 and the Anthem MCA 525 do look different.
Maybe Anthem saw a good thing and copied ATI.

 

[PENG]

I guess it's possible they could "design in Canada", then get all the parts from ATI and "manufacture" in Canada.

The internal layout does look similar, but the same could probably be said for most 5 channel 200 W amplifier with similar enclosure size, that are class AB. Given the comparable dimensions, using two toroidal transformers, you don't really have much options in the physical layout.

Below is a quick comparison of the two 5 channel amp

Dimensions:
Anthem: 6.625"X17.25"X18.125", 61 lbs
Monolith: 7"X17"X16.5", 78.2 lbs

Amp specs:
Both class AB design.
Anthem......................................................................................Monolith
Output - 225 W/400 W, 20-20,000 Hz, <1% THD.....................200 W/300 W, 20-20,000 Hz, 0.03% THD
V gain - 29 dB............................................................................28 dB
Slew Rate - 30 V/us.................................................................. >50V/us
DF, 20-1000 Hz - 300.................................................................10 - 100 kHz - >400
Channel sep - >65 dB.................................................................20 - 20,000 kHz - >100 dB
SNR - 120 dB A weighting....................................................... >120 dB
Power consumption - 1200 W ("high output").........................na

Power supply
Transformer VA rating: na........................................................1230+1,025 = 2,255 VA total
Storage/filter capacitors size: 16,400 uF per channel........... 22,400 uF per channel

I did the @KEW (if he has free time I hope he will check my findings) thing, that is, compared the sizes of their transformers by scaling the photos.

The Monolith transformers are physically larger, approx. 17-20 % in volume. That does not mean the VA ratings are proportionally different, though I bet the Monolith 200X5 does have higher VA ratings.

The Monolith definitely has 36.6% more capacitance per channel. The Monolith is 17.1 lbs heavier, likely due to the larger transformers.

I highly doubt the MCA 525 is made by ATI, the design would be naturally similar though. Class AB power amps are not rocket science.

 

[Andrein]

Mca 525 tranformers have "LK 1535 C" on them. Could not find anything by this.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I highly doubt the MCA 525 is made by ATI, the design would be naturally similar though. Class AB power amps are not rocket science.

Yeah, these simple-looking amps are nothing like some AVR-derived-AVP's I know that have a million parts.

 

[Steve81]

The internal layout does look similar, but the same could probably be said for most 5 channel 200 W amplifier with similar enclosure size, that are class AB. Given the comparable dimensions, using two toroidal transformers, you don't really have much options in the physical layout.

One difference I see is that ATI builds generally have the filter caps on the individual channel boards. The Anthem appears to have a single large bank next to the toroids.

vs

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Some people swear by Emotiva, is that because its what they own?

Naturally.

Some people like them, some people don't.

 

[Good4it]

I had 1 and no complaints,YMMV.