Amp recommendations  

Hi Goi,

I would look at an ATI 1505 used. 150Watts of pure power.

bkwong73

I would vote for the Adcom GFA-7500, 150x5 THX, Retails for $1500 but there are deals to be had.

Oops, I forgot about the Marantz MM9000 and ATI 1505, those was also in my list. I've looked into the Anthem, and it seems to be pretty good too, but I don't know if there's a distributor/dealer in my area(Singapore).

As for the Adcom, I've heard that it can be harsh, is there any truth to that?

What about the EAD Powermaster 500 that has been reported here as being closed out from EAD at $795? I believe retail was $1600, and the Audioreview rating is a perfect 5 (with 7 reviews). Sounds like it's definitely worth checking, at the least.

I've never heard of EAD before. Are they reputable?

Also, I forgot to include the Acurus A125X5 in my list. How is this amp?

Hi,
I have about 1+K to burn on a 5 channel(100+W per channel) amp for HT and hifi usage. I'm considering the Harman Kardon Signature 2.1, Rotel DB-985THX, and perhaps the Parasound HCA-1205A(a bit pricey tho). How do they compare, and are there other decent amps in that price range? Thanks!

At $1385 here at AVScience, what about the Sherbourn 5/1500? I also have the ATI 1505 and the Anthem MCA-5 on my list but I haven't had a chance to listen to any - yet....

jidelite

Goi, I don't find the amp to be harsh at all, i am using THX speakers so if it were, i would surely know it.

I use the Parasond 1205 and like it very much with my M&K s-150s. An improvement over the Adcoms I used.

Unfortunately, the EAD deal has just expired.

Rob

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Migliore Theater

I would also look at the outlaw amp. It appears to be made for them by ATI, and the price is right.

Unfortunately, there isn't an Outlaw dealer over here, nor a Sherbourn. So, basically, my current choices are:

Acurus A125x5
Adcom GFA-7400
Anthem MCA-5
ATI 1505
B&K AV5125 (anybody know the price? I'm assuming its about the same as the 5000 series II)
Classe Audio CAV-75
EAD Powermaster 500
Harman Kardon Signature 2.1
Marantz MM9000
Parasound HCA-1205A
Rotel RB-985THX

Any opinions on these, and/or comparisons among them? Their prices are all about the same, except the HK and the Rotel which are cheaper.

Goi,

I would look at the Parasound 2205AT, it has good specs.

Nav

Outlaw sells their amps online, not in showrooms, so you won't be able to find a dealer. But they do have a money-back period, if I remember correctly. The Sherbourn 5/1500, which I own and love, is available right off of this website. Whether or not AV Science ships to Singapore, I don't know, but in my opinion the amp is good enough to at least check into it. I love mine.

[This message has been edited by Stacy Huff (edited 12-28-2000).]

Goi,

I'd recommend going on over to www.audioreview.com.

They have an extensive data base of reviews by people who have used the products. If you take a look at the ATI 1505 and Outlaw 750, you will see comparisons between the two and you'll learn about the little differences between the two amps.

BTW Outlaw is a direct dealer only. You won't find any dealers, this is part of their low cost formula.

You can also find good reviews at www.etown.com. The following link, multiple lines, should take you to the outlaw review.
http://www.etown.com/categories/prod...h=true&section =search&searchtype=products

Mike

I was out auditioning parts today(or at least checking them out), and yikes, what a reality check. Turns out a lot of my choices have to be crossed out because of price.

The ATI and Parasounds are definitely out due to price(ATI 1505 costs SG$2900 or about US$1700, the Parasound costs SG$2700+ or about US$1600+).
Fortunately, the Anthem MCA-5 and Rotel RB-985mk2 costs only SG$1700 and SG$1100 respectively(or about US$1000 and US$650 respectively) and the Adcom GFA7500 surprisingly costs more than the Anthem at SG$1800. The Acurus dealer was closed, so I'll check it out tomorrow, where I will also be auditioning the Anthem, Rotel together with a Paradigm set of speakers(monitor 9, adp/cc-350 with a ps1200 sub) and hopefully I'll like what I hear. I think I'll skip the Adcom, seeing as its inferior to the Anthem yet more expensive.

I also wanted to check out the EAD powermaster 500, but apparently they've been discontinued, so that's off the list as well. As for the B&K, HK, Classe Audio and Marantz, I couldn't find them around. The B&K was in another place, and I didn't have time to drive down there. The HK, Classe and Marantz were nowhere to be found.

I finally got to listen to the various components that I'm interested in, except the receiver. I got to listen to the Paradigm Monitor 9s, JM Labs Cobalt 815s(just for comparison), Anthem MCA-5, Rotel RB-985 mk2, Rotel RSP-976 as a surround preamp, and McCormack RLD-1 stereo preamp for comparison.

The first setup I listened to was The Paradigm Monitor 9s with the Anthem/Rotel amp/preamp setup. The CD player used was an Adcom GCD-750. I was immediately disappointed with the sound as it sounded very "closed" and grainy(I don't know how else to describe it). There just wasn't much atmosphere at all, and sound was pretty muddled. I thought it might be the Paradigms, but changing to the JM Labs did little to improve the sound. It was a tad clearer/cleaner, at the expense of a noticably weaker bass. The JM Labs are also about $1K more expensive.

I then changed the Rotel RSP976 to the McCormack as I suspected that the Rotel was causing the problem. I couldn't have been more right. Immediately the sound quality improved EXTREMELY significantly, and this is to my untrained ear and as well as my dad's ear. I never thought a preamp could cause such a big difference. I always thought it was the speakers and power amps that are more important.

I kept the McCormack and switched from the Anthem to the Rotel 985, and the sound quality didn't change significantly. However, I noticed that the Rotel had a slightly more boomy/muddled bass, while the Anthem, while not having as strong a bass, was clearer in the lower frequencies, and had a warmer sound overall.

Anyway, I think I've pretty much decided on the Anthem over the rest, because of its sound quality and price(SG$1700). The only other amp that comes close is the B&K Components 5125, which retails over here for SG$1900, but I haven't auditioned it. I'm not convinced that the extra $200 will improve the sound quality by much either, I think it will be better used for a better preamp stage.

Now I'm worried if my receiver choices(Denon AVR3801, Yamaha RX-V1000 or Sony STR-V555ES) will be able to keep up with the rest of my system...I'm pretty much limited to my budget