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Anthem Statement A2 Power Amp

I am contemplating the Anthem Statement A2 power amp. Reviews of the amp are scarce and dealers around me do not have it handy for audition. This model seems to be around for more than a decade without any refresh from Anthem.  Any views or feedback on the Anthem A2?

ct221933
auxinput
1,538 posts
 

I really asked so that others know what you are working with.  I don't have direct experience with Anthem, but I can give you my thoughts.

The Anthem products have been stated as being excellent products.  Reading a lot, the Anthem A2 tends to be towards very transparent and clean (as well as their other preamp style products). 

Your Cambridge is engineered to be very transparent/clean/revealing.  The Rotel is also more of a transparent/clean signature (to the point that several people do not like Rotel because it is too "bright").  When you combine these two with the Anthem A2 amp, you will have a lot of detail and transparency and attack.  However, I think there may be a slight possibility that it will be too bright/harsh.

Another amp you could look at that is in the same budget range is the Parasound A21.  I have seen it written that it is not as transparent as the Anthem, but I think it may "sing" better in your situation due to its high bias into Class A.  I think it will fill out the body of midrange and midbass better than the Anthem and the sound will be smoother / less harsh (not that I'm saying the Anthem is harsh at all).  The Parasound has a significantly beefier power supply (it's 60 lbs compared to the 32 lbs Anthem). The Anthem A2 looks to be just an A5 with only 2 amp boards and a trimmed down power supply.

auxinput
1,538 posts
 
Yeah, sorry. I totally missed your restricted space requirements.  The smaller Parasound A23 is 13-1/4" deep.  It's less power and less refined than A21, but keeps the Parasound sonic signature.
ct221933 OP
25 posts
 
Thank you auxinput.
auxinput
1,538 posts
 

I was just thinking. This new idea may or may not work for you, but with your small space restrictions, you could look into the newer Class D ncore amps, such as ATI Technologies AT542NC.  It’s a two channel amp with fully balanced differential (bridged) amp modules. I’m not particularly a fan of Class D amps, but these seem to be better than the others and you do have severe space restrictions. The AT542NC would fit perfectly because it’s only 10-5/8" deep.

The Nord ncore amplifiers use a discrete Class A input stage (using either Sparkos or Sonic Imagery discrete op amps). These would be good for your situation. Their monoblocks are 9" deep, stereo models are 13" deep. Being Class D, you should be able to stack them no problem.

nutty
1,928 posts
 
Paradigm is the parent company of Paradigm. They are a sonic match.
I own a Anthem I225 Integrated amp. I love it. It's a beast and will drive any speaker I throw at it. Huge power supply. Nichicon caps. The amp your considering has even greater power. Bass, power and control. Never gets warm. I bought mine
from Chris of Parts Connexion (in Canada) through Audiogon and never looked back. 1 year warranty. However Alamo Electronics carries them locally in my area. (Cincinnati). 

It likes beefy speaker copper cable. 12 AWG or bigger. Straightwire Octave II sounds pretty good. And Double Shotguns of AQ Gibraltar.

I have a Ayre cx-7emp CD player, Ayre kx-5emp, Mark Levinson no 334 combo. 
I slide the Anthem in for fun every now and again. While the Levinson is much more transparent and natural sounding, especially with the Ayre preamp, the Anthem is a sledge hammer! Very fun amp. Very good equipment. Top notch for A/V. 1000 watt  monoblocks! Good luck, I like there stuff. 

N
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