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Help Me Choose Better 5-Channel Amp

Our home theater has evolved from a home theater only into a hybrid HT/2-channel system. Both the HT and the 2-channel perform very well and overall I am very pleased with the outcome. But I would like to improve what I perceive to be the weak link when it comes to 2-channel listening. Right now I am using an Anthem Statement A5, a good match for the Anthem AVM50 and great for HT sound. But when I listen to 2-channel, I believe the sound could be improved with a better amp. I would prefer to upgrade the amp rather than buy a separate 2-channel amp and switch back and forth. When listening to 2-channel in this system, the other components are the Well Tempered Amadeus TT with a Dynavector XX2 LOMC cartridge, Levinson 390S CDP, Audio Research PH7 phono stage, Audio Research Ref 3 preamp, and Verity Fidelio Encore speakers. ICs are Aud23 and the speaker cable is Chord's Epic Twin.

Any suggestions for a better 5-channel amp that will improve the 2-channel listening experience?
4musica44107
jimburger
104 posts
 
The Theta Dreadnaught or Dreadnaught II would be worth considering. I moved from different brand center channel(Outlaw M200) and main amplifiers(Classe'25) to a single Dreadnaught II and the coherence of the multichannel presentation was much improved. The Dread II was definitely in the same league as the Classe'25 for 2 channel work in my system. Original Dreadnaught was designed by Charles Hansen of Ayre fame. It was designed as a fully balanced bridged amplifier with zero overall feedback which gave it a measured distortion characteristics similar to tube amplifiers. My Dread II which is the same basic design with some refinements by David Reich of Classe' and McCormack fame has some of the desirable big soundstage and high resolution characteristics of tube amplifiers. Not as powerful in the bottom end as the Classe' but still has very good dynamic drive. I should add that the Dreadnaughts are supposed to strut their best stuff in balanced systems.
bacardi's avatar
bacardi
639 posts
 
Why not try a Parasound HCA 2205AT. Very solid amp, 220 x 5. Only downfault is no XLR's. But for $1000 ish it is a steal.....Or go with the Parasound Halo A51 series. A little jump with XLR's and 250 x 5......pricier.....

Regards Bacardi
mbreed1962's avatar
mbreed1962
11 posts
 
Have you considered the Pathos Cinema-X? You can check it out at Pathos Acoustics dot com. It's a hybrid design; tube preamplifier and solid state amp, for the best of both worlds. Also, it's a 5-ch amp (110w/ch) that can instantly switch to 2-ch (450w/ch). It only has one set of balanced inputs, which will give you the best 2-ch results. I heard it's little brother (TT) driving a set of Focal-JMlabs Electra 1028BE at Axpona and it was amazing. I've got my eye on that piece and my processor is not as resolving and nice as yours. If you don't happen to be in the Jacksonville Florida area, send me an email with your zip code and I can find out who your local dealer is for a demo...
blindjim
2,837 posts
 

Butler TDB 5150. SE only though. Affordable, suprising sonics and control talents, and there's no mistaking the infulence of tubes it uses in it's hybrid design.

you'll sell the Anthem pretty quickly thereafter. the Accupase will continue on in it's environment and you won't be out much $$$.

50 lbs or so, stable, and doesn't run hot. Transferable 5 yr PL warranty from orig buyer too.

I often use it for 2ch along with my tubed preamp instead of my Dodd tube mono blocks as it's a plug and play affair with no need for bias checking or adjusting.

For a single one box remedy I can think of no other in it's price point (preowned or new) that competes so well.

When in 2ch the power revs up to over 200wpc @ 8.

Given your tastes, it's a good fit for you to peruse huybrid designs... be it Butler or some other brand.

Good luck.
dangelod
40 posts
 
if you go with the one box solution, I strongly recommend listening to the BAT 6200. IMO BAT ss gear does not get the credit it deserves. this amp is incredibly musical, but quite a bit of $$.
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