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Anthem STR Power Amp vs Parasound JC5

Hi. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or experiences with the Anthem STR Power amp and the Parasound JC5? Both amps seem like world class amps with similar power ratings (400W @8ohms). For context, I'm interested in them to power some Paradigm Persona towers in a 7.2.4 atmos system that is 70% games/movies and 30% music. I currently have a Parasound Halo A21 and I love it but was curious about the Anthem STR as it's gotten rave reviews (and is the sister company of Paradigm so should be a good match).

The only head to head comparison I know of so far ( HometheaterReview ) mentioned that the Anthem seemed to have deeper power reserves than the JC5 and I've gotten the impression so far that the JC5 is great for music but may not be better than the Anthem for movies. Any thoughts on that?
tistru
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 
How about another A21. You could put the A21+ on the top end. I don't normally suggest bi-amp set-ups but the A21 is such a sweet amp and would do the job without too much fuss. 
tistru OP
23 posts
 
Thanks for the response @russ69 . From what I heard, the JC5 is quite a step above the A21(+). The point here is to get a meaningful upgrade for the main 2ch part of my system. I do love the A21 amp but am just scoping to hit that next level of performance with the higher end Persona line.
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 
"...The point here is to get a meaningful upgrade for the main 2ch part of my system..."

I think that is my problem, changing a good amp to another good amp isn't going to be a big change in most cases. For the best 2 channel upgrade for you, it would be a new 2 channel pre-amp.     
tistru OP
23 posts
 
Point taken! Currently I have a Marantz AV8802a pre/amp but I also use an Oppo UDP-205 with it's dedicated 2ch output for quality 2ch listening. Not bad...

I do plan on upgrading to an AVM90 at some point (maybe next year) with has the AK4499EQ DAC. No reviews yet, but should be among the best DACs money can buy for the time being.
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