Anthem Statement A2 Power Amp


I am contemplating the Anthem Statement A2 power amp. Reviews of the amp are scarce and dealers around me do not have it handy for audition. This model seems to be around for more than a decade without any refresh from Anthem.  Any views or feedback on the Anthem A2?

ct221933
What amplifier are you coming from?  What kind of sound are you trying to get?
Currently I have a 22 year old Hafler 9303 power amp, with a Rotel RC-1570 pre-amp and speakers are Paradigm Prestige 75F. My source is a Cambridge Audio CD player. As you can see, I upgraded all my equipment in the last 3 years except the power amp. Hard to describe what kind of sound I am after....I have a vast jazz CD collection (standards and fusion) and listen occassionally to Latin music.

The amp has to fit inside a cabinet that is 15 inches deep. (lots of room above and to the sides). That's why the Anthem A2 (13.7 inches depth) made my list of amps. 

I really asked so that others know what you are working with.  I don't have direct experience with Anthem, but I can give you my thoughts.

The Anthem products have been stated as being excellent products.  Reading a lot, the Anthem A2 tends to be towards very transparent and clean (as well as their other preamp style products). 

Your Cambridge is engineered to be very transparent/clean/revealing.  The Rotel is also more of a transparent/clean signature (to the point that several people do not like Rotel because it is too "bright").  When you combine these two with the Anthem A2 amp, you will have a lot of detail and transparency and attack.  However, I think there may be a slight possibility that it will be too bright/harsh.

Another amp you could look at that is in the same budget range is the Parasound A21.  I have seen it written that it is not as transparent as the Anthem, but I think it may "sing" better in your situation due to its high bias into Class A.  I think it will fill out the body of midrange and midbass better than the Anthem and the sound will be smoother / less harsh (not that I'm saying the Anthem is harsh at all).  The Parasound has a significantly beefier power supply (it's 60 lbs compared to the 32 lbs Anthem). The Anthem A2 looks to be just an A5 with only 2 amp boards and a trimmed down power supply.

Yeah, sorry. I totally missed your restricted space requirements.  The smaller Parasound A23 is 13-1/4" deep.  It's less power and less refined than A21, but keeps the Parasound sonic signature.

I was just thinking. This new idea may or may not work for you, but with your small space restrictions, you could look into the newer Class D ncore amps, such as ATI Technologies AT542NC.  It’s a two channel amp with fully balanced differential (bridged) amp modules. I’m not particularly a fan of Class D amps, but these seem to be better than the others and you do have severe space restrictions. The AT542NC would fit perfectly because it’s only 10-5/8" deep.

The Nord ncore amplifiers use a discrete Class A input stage (using either Sparkos or Sonic Imagery discrete op amps). These would be good for your situation. Their monoblocks are 9" deep, stereo models are 13" deep. Being Class D, you should be able to stack them no problem.

Paradigm is the parent company of Paradigm. They are a sonic match.
I own a Anthem I225 Integrated amp. I love it. It's a beast and will drive any speaker I throw at it. Huge power supply. Nichicon caps. The amp your considering has even greater power. Bass, power and control. Never gets warm. I bought mine
from Chris of Parts Connexion (in Canada) through Audiogon and never looked back. 1 year warranty. However Alamo Electronics carries them locally in my area. (Cincinnati). 

It likes beefy speaker copper cable. 12 AWG or bigger. Straightwire Octave II sounds pretty good. And Double Shotguns of AQ Gibraltar.

I have a Ayre cx-7emp CD player, Ayre kx-5emp, Mark Levinson no 334 combo. 
I slide the Anthem in for fun every now and again. While the Levinson is much more transparent and natural sounding, especially with the Ayre preamp, the Anthem is a sledge hammer! Very fun amp. Very good equipment. Top notch for A/V. 1000 watt  monoblocks! Good luck, I like there stuff. 

N
" Paradigm is the parent company of Paradigm. They are a sonic match. "

Wow! That is so profound! You are really sticking your neck out on this pronouncement! 
Whoa clearthink. I believe our friend nutty has only committed a "typo". "Paradigm is the sister company of Anthem". No need for sarcasm or rudeness. Most guests here are attempting to help each other. I'm sure his post was only to offer his experience with Anthem gear. Do you have any experience with Paradigm or Anthem gear you would like to share?

I've heard the I225 with Paradigm Reference studio 100v2 and v3's. These speakers like current. I can tell you that the Anthem drives them better than several other amps I've heard them paired with. NAD, Rotel, Denon, and the Anthem crushes them, hands down. 




Thanks to all your input. I went with the Job 225 power amp and Job Pre2 pre-amp in October last year. Love the sound of the Job, best kept secret in my opinion.