Get an exclusive sneak peek into our new project. >>> Click Here
Our native mobile app has a new name: Fora Communities. Learn more.

Anthem MCA 325

6416 Views 22 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Darth Machu, Oct 16, 2021

socoa

Discussion Starter · Aug 15, 2019 (Edited)

I just realized that my initial post was not translated ... Please excuse me.
So I correct:

Hello,

Sorry for my English, I'm French and I use Google translation.

First of all my acoustic configuration:

Klipsch RF7 MK3 X2 (Frontal)
Klipsch RC64 MK3 X1 (central)
Klipsch RP-502S X4 (SR and SRB)
Klipsch RP-500SA X2 (Atmos)
SVS PB 2000 X2 (Hoods)

For electronics:

A Marantz SR 7010 which will be replaced by the Marantz 8805!
3 Halo A23 Parasound blocks that has power in the front, center and a pair of surrounds.

What I propose to change:

I will make sure that the 3 Parasound blocks only deal with effects (SR / SRB / Atmos)
I need a new block for the frontal scene
Later take me a preamp Marantz 8805

I would have liked Parasound Halo A31: But it is too expensive!

So,
I would like to have comments on the hymn MCA 325.It is difficult to find information about this amp ...
On paper, it looks pretty good. But in reality?
What is the current capacity? The Halo A31 is 60 Amperes per channel ... And the anthem?
I would like my speakers is no longer held at high volumes.

thank you for your opinion

See less See more

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

b curry

· #2 · Aug 15, 2019

socoa said:
Bonjour,

Désolé pour mon anglais, je suis français et j'utilise la traduction de Google.

Tout d'abord ma configuration acoustique :

Klipsch RF7 MK3 X2 (Frontal)
Klipsch RC64 MK3 X1 (centrale)
Klipsch RP-502S X4 (SR et SRB)
Klipsch RP-500SA X2 (Atmos)
SVS PB 2000 X2 (Capots)

Pour l' électronique :

A Marantz SR 7010 qui sera remplacé par le Marantz 8805 !
3 Halo A23 Parasound blocs qui a la puissance à l'avant, au centre et une paire de entoure.

Ce que je propose de changer :

je veillerai à ce que les 3 blocs Parasound ne traitent que des effets (SR / SRB / Atmos)
Je besoin d' un nouveau bloc pour la scène frontale
Plus tard me prendre un préampli Marantz 8805

je l' aurais aimé Parasound Halo A31: Mais il est trop cher!

Donc,
je voudrais avoir des commentaires sur l'hymne MCA 325.It est difficile de trouver des informations sur cet ampli ...
Sur le papier , il semble assez bon. Mais en réalité?
Quelle est la capacité actuelle? Le Halo A31 est de 60 Ampères par canal ... Et l'hymne?
Je voudrais que mes haut - parleurs est plus tenues à des volumes élevés.

Merci pour votre avis

Désolé pour ma capacité à ne pas parler Français donc je vais aussi utiliser un traducteur.

L'hymne MCA325 est un amplificateur excellent à mon avis. Il est stable en charges d'impédance de haut-parleur de 2 degrés. Il est évalué à 225 watts 8 ohm's, 400 watts 4 ohm', et 600 watts 2 ohm's tous les canaux entraînés RMS continious, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 1% THD. Le rapport signal/bruit est de 120dB, ils sont morts calmes.

Construire qualty est excellent. Ils utilisent de très bonnes pièces dans leur construction. J'ai des amplificateurs Anthem qui ont été en service pendant 20 ans avec absolulité aucun problème. Ici, aux États-Unis et au Canada, Anthem AV service à la clientèle est excellent.

Le MCA325 conduira vos haut-parleurs Klipsch sans effort et les fera chanter.

socoa

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 15, 2019

Thanks for your feedback

Does anyone know the current and channel capacity of this Anthem?
Do you think that I could settle with this amp the problem that I meet with the Halo A23 ... Namely that high volume sound is degraded?

Thank you

b curry

· #4 · Aug 15, 2019

socoa said:
Thanks for your feedback

Does anyone know the current and channel capacity of this Anthem?
Do you think that I could settle with this amp the problem that I meet with the Halo A23 ... Namely that high volume sound is degraded?

Thank you

The Anthem MCA 325 is a three channel amplifier. The Parasound Halo A23 is a two channel amplifier.

If you're looking for the two channel version of the Anthem, the model number is MCA225. The five channel version is the MCA 525.

The Parasound Halo A23 produces 125 watts at 8Ω's for each channel. The Anthem MCA 325 produces 225 watts at 8Ω's for each channel.

I don't understand your question regarding current capacity as power amplifiers are typically specified in watts of power for a given speaker impedance.

The difference between the Halo A23 and the Anthem MCA X25 series would be 2.6dB in additional power.

Your Klipsch speakers are fairly efficient speakers with a sensitivity rating of 100 dB @ 2.83V / 1 Meter. You would need 51 watts of power to reach a sound pressure level of 105dB with a seating distance of 4 meters. This is well within the power capacity of the Halo A23. This same amplifier is capable of reaching 108 dB sound pressure levels with these speakers at a 4 meter seating position.

How loud are you expecting from playback? Depending on you circumstances or setup, you may be over driving the speakers.

The Anthem MCA amplifier would in theory be able to drive the Klipsch RF-7 to 111 dBSPL. If you want to get to 115dBSPL you would need a power amplifier capable of 500 watts. A SPL of 120dBSPL would require 1600 watts. Keep in mind that normal listening levels are around 70-75 dBSPL and pain begins at 125 dBSPL.

https://www.anthemav.com/products-current/series=mca-series-gen2/model=mca-225/page=overview

See less See more

socoa

Discussion Starter · #5 · Aug 16, 2019

[Quote = curry b; 58427528] The Anthem MCA 325 est un amplificateur à trois canaux. Le Parasound Halo A23 est un amplificateur à deux canaux.

Si vous cherchez la version à deux canaux de l'hymne, le numéro de modèle est MCA225. La version cinq canaux est le MCA 525.

Le Parasound Halo A23 produit 125 watts à 8Ω est pour chaque canal. L'hymne MCA 325 produit 225 watts à 8Ω est pour chaque canal.

https://www.anthemav.com/products-current/series=mca-series-gen2/model=mca-225/page=overview[/ CITATION]

Bonjour ,

Merci pour vos commentaires

I know all that ... I did not specify about my Parasound A23 amp that I have two who take care of my front speakers ...
It's the 325 MCA I'm interested in ...

socoa

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 16, 2019

The ampere (A) is the unit of measurement of the intensity of an electric current, that is to say the flow of electrons in a conductor. ... We can compare the displacement of electrons in a circuit to that of water in a pipe: the intensity, expressed in amperes, is the flow of water.

The watt (W) is the unit of measurement for electrical power. That is the quantity of energy during a given time, In general 1 second. The term comes from the name of the Scottish engineer James Watt at the origin of the development of the steam engine.

One is the amount of current and the other the power to simplify. But for an amli it is very important.

bigguyca

· #7 · Aug 16, 2019

socoa said:
The ampere (A) is the unit of measurement of the intensity of an electric current, that is to say the flow of electrons in a conductor. ... We can compare the displacement of electrons in a circuit to that of water in a pipe: the intensity, expressed in amperes, is the flow of water.

The watt (W) is the unit of measurement for electrical power. That is the quantity of energy during a given time, In general 1 second. The term comes from the name of the Scottish engineer James Watt at the origin of the development of the steam engine.

One is the amount of current and the other the power to simplify. But for an amli it is very important.

It is best to avoid water analogies when discussing electrical concepts. Almost immediate you will arrive at very wrong answers. Electrical energy in a wire is transferred by electromagnetic waves, not the net flow of electrons.

The net velocity of electrons n a wire for an AC signal is zero. For DC the speed very low. See Electric drift the Wikipedia article below or do your own search on the subject:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_electricity

socoa

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 17, 2019

Hello ,

The analogy comes from my electricity supplier EDF itself which is also an international supplier ...
But no matter ... What matters is that the Watts alone are not enough to define an amp: "the power is nothing if it is not mastered".

But I prefer that we come back to the main subject because I am not sufficiently competent on the subject.

So if anyone knows the value of amperes / channel, I am taker.I wrote to Anthem ... in vain ...

Thank you all for all your explanations

pase22

· #9 · Aug 17, 2019

socoa said:
Hello ,

The analogy comes from my electricity supplier EDF itself which is also an international supplier ...
But no matter ... What matters is that the Watts alone are not enough to define an amp: "the power is nothing if it is not mastered".

But I prefer that we come back to the main subject because I am not sufficiently competent on the subject.

So if anyone knows the value of amperes / channel, I am taker.I wrote to Anthem ... in vain ...

Thank you all for all your explanations

Don't spend Anthem kind of money to drive surround and atmos channels, an inexpensive Emotiva amp or used amp from ebay would be more than enough to get the job done.

Reactions: 1

socoa

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 17, 2019

Hello Pase22 ,

We do not understand ... The Anthem will not be used to drive the surrounds or the atmos.

It's my 3 amps Parasound Halo A23 who will take care of it.

The Anthem will be used for the front speakers (Klipsch RF7 MK3 / RC64MK3).

socoa

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 19, 2019

Hello,

No other reviews about this beautiful amp?

iliasmd

· #12 · Aug 19, 2019

Hi

I have used both Parasound A23 and Anthem MCA 225. The A23 is good to drive surround but MCA 225 is best for LR. If you want to continue to use Parasound, u can try A21 which would be on par with MCA 225 and will be good for your Klipsch speakers.

socoa

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 20, 2019

Hello Iliasmd

Thank you for this very interesting return.
I intend to use the Parasound Halo A23 for Surround and other sound effects.
The Anthem MCA 325, only for front speakers (LRC).
This corresponds to what you proposed ...

By cons can you tell me on what points you found your Anthem MCA 225 superior Halo A23 on your LR?

Thank you

socoa

Discussion Starter · #14 · Aug 22, 2019

If someone goes through here ...Iliasmd ?

socoa

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 23, 2019

Well apparently even in the US the brand Anthem has no followers ... It's amazing.:frown:

socoa

Discussion Starter · #16 · Aug 24, 2019

Maybe you have reasoned opinions about the best amp, between an Anem MCA 525 and a Rotel 1585?

Jonas2

· #17 · Aug 25, 2019

socoa said:
Well apparently even in the US the brand Anthem has no followers ... It's amazing.:frown:

Well, I have an Anthem AVM60 and Paradigm speakers. I'm an Anthem follower.

I did audition the MCA525 - it's great! The MCA325 will be fine for your system. I also auditioned Parasound gear - also great. BUT - I chose something completely different for my system. Both Parasound and Anthem are good and will work for you. When I auditioned Parasound and MCA, there was no difference for me with my speakers. Not blind testing, but it was good enough for me.

bigguyca

· #18 · Aug 25, 2019

socoa said:
Hello Iliasmd

Thank you for this very interesting return.
I intend to use the Parasound Halo A23 for Surround and other sound effects.
The Anthem MCA 325, only for front speakers (LRC).
This corresponds to what you proposed ...

By cons can you tell me on what points you found your Anthem MCA 225 superior Halo A23 on your LR?

Thank you

A few data points and some opinions:

An MCA 50 that I bought used several years ago is on long term loan to a friend. It's a great amplifier. Will drive about anything. My friend over drove his AVR and it kept shutting down. Loaned him an AVR with preouts and an MCA 50. That's the last I heard of that problem. Used MCA 50 were a great deal, but seem to have gone up in price. The issue with the MCA 325 and the like is price. When a Monoprice 7 channel amp, which is a nice unit, is $1,600 or so, it makes it hard for the Anthem gear to compete. Look for a used P5 if you need to do some arc welding.

The MCA 225 is a lower distortion unit than the Halo A23 and likely drives lower impedances much better. The Parasound amps all appear to use JFET's in their input stage. JFET's have a lot lower transconductance than bi-polar transistors. This means less gain is available, thus less feedback, thus more distortion, perhaps 10dB to 20dB more. The MCA units are to be preferred, but they cost more. An A23 for surrounds or the like should be acceptable. The Parasound amps seem to put out more heat, if that is an issue.

See less See more

socoa

Discussion Starter · #19 · Aug 25, 2019 (Edited)

Hello everyone

@ Jonas2 and bigguica:

Thank you very much for your feedback! This is the kind of information that interests me.

It's very nice to have taken the time to explain all this to me.

I think you decided to take this Anthem MCA 325 ...

The only two things that still make me feel bad are:

- Some say that at low volume the Anthem will be less dynamic (class AB) compared to Parasound (class A / AB).
-Some tell me that at high volume the Anthem can generate breath (related to his gain more important)
-In France it is impossible to join the s.a.v or the technical service, it worries me a little ...

But this Anthem seems despite all an excellent choice ...

See less See more

erick granato

· #20 · Aug 25, 2019

I think the Anthem MCA is a great choice. When shopping for amps, I auditioned the Anthem MCA and PVA series and the Rotel RMB series (at the same shop, had both brands on hand).The MCA 525 and RMB 1585 were close to par but a little overkill for my room, with an ever so slight edge to the Anthem. I ended up choosing the Rotel RMB 1555, little brother to the RMB 1585, more than adequate power for my needs and nice sounding.

Reactions: 1

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.