Anthem A5 or Parasound A51

[ManishKasera]

Hi,

I'm little confuse here.

Anthem or Parasound, both are great unit and have rave reviews. I know that A51 have more power than A5 but I have easy to drive speakers:
Paradigm Studio 40 v4
Studio CC590
Surround ADP 590

So 180W of Anthem should be good.

A51 costs me $4K and I can get A5 for around $3K so does $1K is worth for that extra power and what extra or sound quality I am going to get with that extra money.

What I have heard is hat Anthem is better at projecting Soundstage and more neutral and musical comparing to Parasound.

I really need help here, why is it so difficult to decide ;-)

 

[ParadigmDawg]

All good amps should sound the same.

Have you considered Emotiva?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

All good amps should sound the same.

Have you considered Emotiva?

Greg, greg, greg.

I guess it's your turn to get slam pretty soon by all the other Amp guys who will tell you that Emo is not the end-to-all.

But seriously, yes, all good amps do sound the same to me as well.

Disclosure: This is just my opinion. Please don't lash at me for agreeing with Greg that ALL GOOD AMPS SOUND THE SAME.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Hi,

I'm little confuse here.

Anthem or Parasound, both are great unit and have rave reviews. I know that A51 have more power than A5 but I have easy to drive speakers:
Paradigm Studio 40 v4
Studio CC590
Surround ADP 590

So 180W of Anthem should be good.

A51 costs me $4K and I can get A5 for around $3K so does $1K is worth for that extra power and what extra or sound quality I am going to get with that extra money.

What I have heard is hat Anthem is better at projecting Soundstage and more neutral and musical comparing to Parasound.

I really need help here, why is it so difficult to decide ;-)

Seriously, for that much money, this is what I would do -- I mean if I were you...and you were me....I mean.....well, you know what I mean.

I would get five of the $800 Emotiva XPA-2 and bridge that sucker to get 1,000 watts RMS into 8 ohms x 5 channels!!!!!

Can you say "1,000 watts per channel into 8 ohms"?

Yeah, you know.

 

[ManishKasera]

Very tempting but I live in apartment and already have trouble with storing existing gears where am I going to put these?

As Greg and other people mentioned I have no doubt about Emotiva quality but still I prefer to stick with my short listed that include B&K too ;-)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Very tempting but I live in apartment and already have trouble with storing existing gears where am I going to put these?

Where there is a Will, there is a Way.

Man, I wish I could brag about having 1,000 watts per channel x 5!

But $4,000 is way too much money to me for any amp.

But if I had to choose between just the Anthem or Parasound, I would choose Anthem as well.

 

[Warpdrv]

There are other alternatives...
For low space requirements and high power, you might want to check out some companies that produce IcePower amps... Class D

Check out this thread... http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=855660&highlight=d-sonic

B&O manufactures the modules and sells them to these high end companies, they are usually always placed in amps by said companies, untouched.


Here is a list of companies that make units with IcePower amps..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICEpower

I'm looking heavily at www.D-Sonic.net
Magnum 2000-5
MAGNUM 2000-5
3 X 525W / 8Ω 3 front channels - 1000W / 4Ω
2 X 250W / 8Ω 2 rear channels - 500W / 4Ω
18”W x 7”H x 13”D
Weight: 45.2 lbs
Price: $2590

 

[ManishKasera]

Here is a list of companies that make units with IcePower amps..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICEpower

I'm looking heavily at www.D-Sonic.net
Magnum 2000-5
MAGNUM 2000-5
3 X 525W / 8Ω 3 front channels - 1000W / 4Ω
2 X 250W / 8Ω 2 rear channels - 500W / 4Ω
18”W x 7”H x 13”D
Weight: 45.2 lbs
Price: $2590

Interesting, i will check it out. Thx

 

[dilznoofus]

Of the two amps you mention in the original post, go with the Parasound. No question about it.

 

[Seth=L]

Another vote for the Anthem in that list.

One of my top votes is the Emotiva MPS-2, which is off that list. The Emotiva MPS-2 has modules that can be removed should one not be needed or if it was faulty (not likely). The build quality of the Emotiva MPS-2 is in line with the others mentioned, but adds much heft without the hefty price. The Anthem weighs 57 pounds while the MPS-2 weighs 115 pounds. The Emotiva is more efficient and runs very cool, meaning not much power is lost through heat. It's very likely that the MPS-2 has bounds more power than the Anthem, B&K, or Parasound.

The resale for Emotiva products is quite high as well, around 70% original cost. You can't go wrong with Emotiva.

http://www.emotiva.com/mps2.html

 

[Antus]

another amp in the price range works great with M&K

Bryston 9Bsst C-series

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

another amp in the price range works great with M&K

Bryston 9Bsst C-series

Ooh, yeah, and you get the 20 year parts & labor warranty with those Bryston Analog amps too! How cool is that?

 

[ManishKasera]

Bryston 9Bsst C-series

I thought Bryston are much more expensive.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I thought Bryston are much more expensive.

Yeah, I thought Brystons were in the $6K-$7K as well.