[65Cobra427SC]

I'm certainly not the first to ask for help in choosing an amplifier, but I might be the first to attempt this in a rather unique way, so here goes...


My 5.1 setup includes the Paradigm Signature W5/W5C speakers as my LCR, powered by a Pioneer SC-27. All is located in a large family room (18x20) which is a work in progress and why I can't provide more details. No doubt these speakers deserve a separate amplifier which I narrowed down to one of these 5-channel amps...


Anthem A5

ATI AT2005

Emotiva XPA-5

Outlaw Audio 7500

Parasound NewClassic 5250v2

Wyred 4 Sound ICEPower MC5x250


The unique part is this... I'm only interested in narrowing down which of these amplifiers will give me the best quality sound with my particular speakers, so please disregard the price since I'm not interested in weighing the pros and cons of buying one over the other based on cost. Otherwise feel free to voice your opinion and thoughts, whether that means putting them in order, choosing one over another, or ruling something out. Obviously it would be particularly interesting to hear from anyone that knows these speakers and/or is personally familiar with two or more of the amplifiers on the list.


When I think of quality sound I think of two areas. One is low noise, which is why all but one of the amps has balanced inputs. The other is clarity, whether it's the vocals/instruments in music or the dialog/sound effects in movies. I'm 60% movies... action, science fiction, foreign films... and 40% music... alternative, classical, hard rock. Not sure what else to say but if there is anything I can add that might help, please let me know.


BTW, I didn't forget the specs... since it's a lot of data, the specs for my speakers, as well as each amplifier, are being listed in a separate post.


Thanks for reading and helping

 

[65Cobra427SC]

The Specifications

Anthem A5

ATI AT2005

Emotiva XPA-5

Outlaw Audio 7500

Parasound NewClassic 5250v2

Wyred 4 Sound ICEPower MC5x250



Anthem A5

ALL CHANNELS DRIVEN: 180W @ 8 Ohms; 265W @ 4 Ohms (1.5x)

THD+N: 0.001% at 1 k Hz, 0.03% at 20 k Hz (200 W into 8 Ohms)

POWER OUTPUT: Continuous RMS, 20 Hz to 20 k Hz,
IMD: 0.0005% (CCIF, 225 W into 8 Ohms)

POWER BANDWIDTH: 10 Hz to 100 k Hz (+0 -3 dB, 225 W into 8 Ohms)

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20 Hz to 20 k Hz (+0 -0.15 dB), 5 Hz to 100 k Hz (+0 -2 dB)

INPUT SENSITIVITY: 1.5 Vrms in for 225 W out into 8 Ohms

INPUT IMPEDANCE: 10k Ohms (RCA), 15k Ohms (XLR)

DAMPING FACTOR: 360 at 1 k Hz (ref. 8 Ohms)

S/N RATIO: 120 dB, A-weighted (ref. 225 W)

CROSSTALK: -78 dB at 1 k Hz

VOLTAGE GAIN: 29 dB

SLEW RATE: 30 V/us

BALANCED INPUTS: 5

WARRANTY: 5 YR Non-transferrable

WEIGHT: 57 lbs



ATI AT2005

FULL BANDWIDTH POWER: 200W @ 8 Ohms; 300W @ 4 Ohms (1.5x)

INPUT SENSITIVITY FOR FULL RATED POWER: 1.6 Volts

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: ±0.1dB from 20 Hz to 20 k Hz at 1 watt

PHASE RESPONSE: +5 to -15 degrees from 20 Hz to 20 k Hz at 1 watt

S/N RATIO: A-Weighted > 120dB below rated FTC full bandwidth power

THD: Less than 0.03% at full rated FTC power from 20 Hz to 20 k Hz

THD: Less than 0.005% at full EIA power at 1 k Hz

IMD: Less than 0.03% from 250 milliwatts to full rated FTC power

POWER BANDWIDTH FTC: +0-3db from 5 Hz to 100 k Hz

DAMPING FACTOR/CROSSTALK: > 400 from 10 Hz to 400 Hz

DAMPING FACTOR/CROSSTALK: > -100dB from 20 Hz to 20 k Hz

VOLTAGE GAIN BALANCED XLR: 28dB

SLEW RATE RCA: 50V/microsecond

SLEW RATE XLR: 70V/microsecond

INPUT IMPEDANCE: Nominally 28k Ohms

BALANCED INPUTS: 5

WARRANTY: 7 YR Transferrable

WEIGHT: 76 lbs



EMOTIVA XPA-5

FULL BANDWIDTH POWER: 200W RMS @ 8 Ohms; 300W RMS @ 4 Ohms (1.5x)

THD: 0.1%

S/N RATIO 1 WATT: > 97db

S/N RATION FULL POWER: > 111db

INPUT IMPEDANCE UNBALANCED: 23.5k Ohms

INPUT IMPEDANCE BALANCED: 33k Ohms

TRANSFORMER SIZE: 1,200VA

SECONDARY CAPACITANCE: 60,000uF

OUTPUT DEVICES: 6 per channel

POWER BAND RESPONSE: 20 Hz - 20 k Hz w/less than .05db deviation at rated power

BROADBAND FREQUENCY RESPONSE (-3db): 5 Hz to 150 k Hz

AMPLIFIER GAIN: 32db

BALANCED INPUTS: 5

WARRANTY: 5 YR Transferrable

WEIGHT: 66 lbs



OUTLAW AUDIO 7500

ALL CHANNELS DRIVEN: 200W @ 8 Ohms; 300W @ 4 Ohms (1.5x)

POWER OUTPUT: 5 x 200 watts @ 8 Ohms, FTC: 20 - 20 k Hz, 0.03% THD, All Channels Driven

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20 Hz -20 k Hz +/- 0.1dB at rated output

THD:
DAMPING FACTOR: > 400 from 10 Hz to 400 Hz

CROSSTALK: > -100dB from 20 Hz to 20 k Hz

VOLTAGE GAIN: 34dB (XLR), 28dB (RCA)

SLEW RATE: 50v/Microsecond

INPUT IMPEDANCE: Nominal 28k Ohms

INPUT SENSITIVITY: 1.43 Volts for Full Rated Output

REMOTE TRIGGER VOLTAGE: 3-32 VDC at 5+ milliamperes

POWER REQUIREMENTS: 115VAC, +/- 3%, 50 Hz - 60 Hz 1800 watts, maximum

BALANCED INPUTS: 5

WARRANTY: 5 YR

WEIGHT: 80 lbs



PARASOUND NEWCLASSIC 5250V2

ALL CHANNELS DRIVEN: 250W @ 8 Ohms; 385W @ 4 Ohms (1.5x)

CURRENT CAPACITY: 45 Amps Peak/Channel

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20 Hz-50 k Hz, +0/-3 dB, 1 watt

DYNAMIC HEADROOM: 1.6 dB

THD: 0.025% at full rated output

THD: 0.02% at average listening levels

IMD: 0.05 %

TRANSIENT IMD: Not measurable

S/N RATIO: 114 dB @ Rated Output, IHF A-weighted

S/N RATIO: 106 dB @ Rated Output, Unweighted

S/N RATIO: 93 dB @ 2.828 V output, IHF A-weighted

S/N RATIO: 84 dB @ 2.828 V output, Unweighted

INPUT IMPEDANCE: 33k Ohms

INPUT SENSITIVITY: 1 V in for 28.28 V out, THX Reference Level

INPUT SENSITIVITY: 1.6 V for full rated output, adjustable from 500mV to 5

INTER-CHANNEL CROSSTALK: 85 dB, 1 k Hz

INTER-CHANNEL CROSSTALK: 73 dB, 10 k Hz

INTER-CHANNEL CROSSTALK: 67 dB, 20 k Hz

DAMPING FACTOR: Over 150 at 20 Hz

AUTO TURN ON - DC: 9-12V, 15 mA

AUTO TURN ON - AUDIO: 1mV sensitivity, 15 minute turn off delay

POWER REQUIREMENT: 1 Watt Standby; 2500 Watts Full Output

BALANCED INPUTS: 0

WARRANTY: 3 YR

WEIGHT: 69 lbs



WYRED 4 SOUND ICEPOWER MC5X250

ALL CHANNELS DRIVEN: 250W @ 8 Ohms; 550W @ 4 Ohms (2x)

THD+N: 8 Ohms (10W out) 0.0027%

POWER OUTPUT: 8 Ohms @ 0.2% THD+N: 250W

IMD (CCIF): 0.0005%

TIM: 0.003%

OUTPUT IDLE NOISE: 80uV

EFFICIENCY 8 OHMS: 78% @ 200W

FREQUENCY RESPONSE 20 Hz-20 k Hz: ± 0.3db

LOWER BANDWIDTH: 3.3 Hz all loads

BALANCED INPUT IMPEDANCE: 60.4k Ohms

UNBALANCED INPUT IMPEDANCE: 60.4k Ohms

DYNAMIC RANGE: 115db

GAIN: 27db

SENSITIVITY: 2.1V

OUTPUT IMPEDANCE: 0.005 Ohm

MIN LOAD: 2 Ohms

DAMPING FACTOR: 2000 (100 Hz 8 Ohms)

MAX OUTPUT CURRENT: 35A

CHANNEL TRACKING:
CROSSTALK (20-20 k Hz): N/A

IDLE POWER CONSUMPTION: 10w

BALANCED INPUTS: 5

WARRANTY: 3 YR

WEIGHT: 42 lbs