[consult]

Many post lately are asking "What is the best amp to buy?"


Many replys are of course throwing out many of the top rated manufactures i.e. Bryston, Anthem, B&K, Lexicon and Rotel.


I am purchasing an Anthem AVM-20, My question is of course the easy way to go is to by one of the 2 Anthem amps available for the 5 channel needs I have.


But what makes one amp better than the other. What are/is the items to focus on when looking at amps (price of course is a factor but not in the equation here.. amp features are)?

For examples why stick with an anthem amp and not go with a Bryston?

 

[Bigus]

(1) Power supply

(2) Amplfier design (class A, B, AB, D...)

(3) Power supply

(4) Price

(5) Specs (impedance capabilities, output power, frequency response, sensitivity, distortion...)

(6) Features (balanced connections, rumble filter, fan or no fan, etc...)



And if it comes down to two similar amplfiers... power supply. OK, maybe I'm being a bit simplistic, but isn't it nice to have simple rules to follow sometimes?

 

[nutt]

"For examples why stick with an anthem amp and not go with a Bryston?"


Either one of these will probably work great, and you probably will not be able to tell the difference in the sound. Bigus is correct, that the power supply is quite important, and I would also stress price. You can get a Bryston pretty cheap used, which is a great strategy since they have a 20 year warranty (full disclosure - that is exactly what I did).


Tim

 

[consult]

Bingus thanks, just to clear it up alittle


Anyone chime in


1. When you say Power supply - what do you mean? (weight, size, volts?)

2. Class? What is A B C....

 

[millwood]

I wholeheartedly agree with bigus. Another is weight: the bigger the power supply, the heavier the amp.

 

[dsmith901]

As a practical matter, one thing you will probably want in a HT amp is a turn-on trigger input, which most multichannel amps have these days, although the Bryston connector is a little tricky. Another feature of some value to you because of the Anthem is balanced inputs, which could come in handy, or not, depending on your setup.


Dsmith