I would think that the Parasound Halo A31 would be a better power amp than the Anthem A5.
Re the hiss you heard from 2 feet away IMO there might have been something else in the signal path somewhere in your audio chain eg your preamp, kind of interconnects (single-ended or XLR), speaker cables, power cables, AC power line or AC power product, front end source component(s) that are the cause......again it's possible but I don't know for sure and can't confirm. But usually the noise floor is determined by your amp, but who knows something else might have contributed.
What at preamp are you using? What front end source component (digital or analog eg turntable) do you have? What kind of cables are you using? it's very likely that your AC power line product or your main AC power line in your home might be the source of the hiss that you heard from 2 feet away. Is your main AC line off your wall outlet grounded and do you have a dedicated line? What kind of AC power product are you currently using?
But again I've never personally heard the Parasound Halo A31 before but my buddy and many other people I know have and they said it is a great amp especially for the money. And the SNR of 112db on your Parasound A31 is a good number and in theory the noise floor should have been pretty low.
The power output rating of the Anthem A5 at 180 wpc @ 8 ohms will be enough power to drive your B&W 804 D3. These are pretty efficient speakers and aren't hard to drive assuming you have good quality clean amplification and not using some AV receiver.
But I would think that the Parasound Halo A31 would be a better amp than the Anthem A5. The Halo A31 is highly regarded and received high recommendations from various different hifi reviewers or magazines / publications. You can never go wrong with this amp.
Another good amplifier option for your B&W 804 D3 will be the Classe Sigma Amp2 stereo power amp or the Sigma Amp5 give-channel amp or the higher end series Classe Delta CA-2300 stereo amp or the CA-5300 five-channel amp. Even the lower priced Rotel RMB-1585 five-channel power amp will have great synergy with your B&W as well.
Re the hiss you heard from 2 feet away IMO there might have been something else in the signal path somewhere in your audio chain eg your preamp, kind of interconnects (single-ended or XLR), speaker cables, power cables, AC power line or AC power product, front end source component(s) that are the cause......again it's possible but I don't know for sure and can't confirm. But usually the noise floor is determined by your amp, but who knows something else might have contributed.
What at preamp are you using? What front end source component (digital or analog eg turntable) do you have? What kind of cables are you using? it's very likely that your AC power line product or your main AC power line in your home might be the source of the hiss that you heard from 2 feet away. Is your main AC line off your wall outlet grounded and do you have a dedicated line? What kind of AC power product are you currently using?
But again I've never personally heard the Parasound Halo A31 before but my buddy and many other people I know have and they said it is a great amp especially for the money. And the SNR of 112db on your Parasound A31 is a good number and in theory the noise floor should have been pretty low.
The power output rating of the Anthem A5 at 180 wpc @ 8 ohms will be enough power to drive your B&W 804 D3. These are pretty efficient speakers and aren't hard to drive assuming you have good quality clean amplification and not using some AV receiver.
But I would think that the Parasound Halo A31 would be a better amp than the Anthem A5. The Halo A31 is highly regarded and received high recommendations from various different hifi reviewers or magazines / publications. You can never go wrong with this amp.
Another good amplifier option for your B&W 804 D3 will be the Classe Sigma Amp2 stereo power amp or the Sigma Amp5 give-channel amp or the higher end series Classe Delta CA-2300 stereo amp or the CA-5300 five-channel amp. Even the lower priced Rotel RMB-1585 five-channel power amp will have great synergy with your B&W as well.