2. amps-preamps
  3. 1086725029

$2500 amp and pre/pro

Ok, my receiver just died. The good news I can now move on to separates and finally hear the full(er) potential in the rest of my equipment. The bad news is I'm off to medschool and, for the next several years, will redefine poor. I will be buying used off A'gon--if at all possible, I'd really like to stay under $2500 for the pair. Here's the rest of my system.

4 Vienna Acoustic Bach's
Rel Storm III sub
Pioneer 47a player
some crappy cambridge soundworks center speaker

Multichannel amps that seem to be in my price range are sunfire cinema grand, B&K, Outlaw I guess--though I don't like that option much--not really sure what else. Vienna Acoustics are warm speakers and I'm concerned that warm sounding amps might make them sound dark.

I'm really stuck when it comes to a pre/pro. They all seem to break the bank. Video switching is not crucial, SACD + DVD-A input is however. I'm also leary of processors that disable the sub in two channel mode. The Bach's are only rated to 38Hz (which I think is a stretch) and I really like to be able to use the REL to fill out the sound while in stereo.

Although I'm looking for a multichannel setup, this system will be used 90%+ for music. I enjoy two channel and multichannel alike. Movies come a distant second.

Any ideas are welcome. Thanks
ultraviolet

Showing 7 responses by prpixel

prpixel
876 posts
 
Gunbei,

They are local. Looks like they are more interested in custom install work.
prpixel
876 posts
 
How about the Anthem AVM2 pro/pro. I owned one for 28 months and loved it. Made a lateral move to the AVM20. There's one on Agon now for $1299OBO.

Match it with an Anthem MCA5 (200x5) and you should have a sweet setup. Again, there's one here on Agon for $975OBO.

So, of you get the sellers to pay the freight, that leaves you with $225 for cables. Pick up some balanced(XLR) cables from signalcable.com and your right at the limit of your budget.

Good luck,
prpixel
876 posts
 
Yes, the AMV2 does have a 6 channel input, with bass management, for SACD and DVD-A input.

I purchased a Sunfire Theater Grand III while I was waiting for the AVM20. It had some operating quirks and the sound was flat. Also, the soundstage wasn't great. I only let it burn in for about 200 hours before boxing it up and selling it here on Agon. I ended up taking an $800 loose on it.

I've auditioned the B&K ref30 processor a few years ago and thought it was the most brittle and harsh processor I have ever heard. I have not heard the new ref50 processor.

As far as the MCA5 amp goes, it's 5 channels rated at 200 watts. It has both balanced(xlr) and single ended inputs. Inside there are 2 big toroidail transformers. I heard it at a local dealer, with an AVM2, and it sounded good; a lot of bang for the buck.

http://www.anthemav.com/OldSitev1/frames/mcafr.html

Good luck,
prpixel
876 posts
 
Yes, Anthem customer support can leave a little to be desired. Lately, in the high-end industry, customer service is a forgotten art. I've been trying for two weeks to buy speakers for a friend and nobody wants to take the money. I'm sitting here with $8K in cash and can not get any dealers to return my calls.

Good luck,
prpixel
876 posts
 
The Sherbourn and the Outlaw are the same processor. They are made by Eastek in china. I have a friend that has the outlaw. It can get a little bright and edgy at times. It's ok for movies but not a good choice for music. The good thing is it retails for $800. The bad thing is you get what you pay for.

Good luck,
prpixel
876 posts
 
Sufentanil,

So the sherbourn pre/pro and 5/1500A combo edges out your $999 NAD receiver. I would hope that it did. I'm not saying the Outlaw processor is a bad product. In fact, it's a bargain at $800. What I'm saying is that the Anthem AVM2 is in a differnt league. I've had both the Anthem and the Outlaw (borrowed from a friend) in my system and the Anthem is better. It should be at 4 times the price.

I called Sherbourn and ask them what the difference was between the outlaw and the sherbourn processor and the said that they used some different caps and other things but would not go into detail. The dealer were I purchased my Sherbourn 7/2100A let me pop the top on the Sherbourn processor. I sat the outlaw right beside it and the two of use could not find any differences. They even operate the same way.

I like my sherbourn 7/2100a a lot. I consolidated by HT rig, which consisted of a pair of Aragon Palladium 1K's, and aragon 8008BB(pre-klipsch), a sars MOS400 and a pair of NAD A1 mono's down to just the Sherbourn 7/2100A. Think of all the money I saved on powercords!
prpixel
876 posts
 
Yes, the AVM20 gives you more control over certain settings, but sonically they are real close. I don't use any of the soundfield modes.

Good luck,
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