HT amp for music- please help


The decorator is coming and my wife has asked me to pair things down. I need to buy a 5 channel amp that will take on both 2 channel and movies.

My musical tastes run across the entire spectrum except electronica. Vocals, jazz, blues, country, folk-
I mean Dylan to Puchini

My current and steady amp is a Muse 160 which I have had in my system since buying it new. What can slip in as a replacement that wont leave me flat. Movies are really secondary as it all sounds pretty good to me, but music is what I spend most of my time with.

I am not going to drop a ton on an amp as I don't think it's needed. The Muse has been great and I simply want something that I can enjoy at least as much.

Parasound, Theta, ATI all come to mind.

Would someone please throw their thoughts into the ring- As an avid AG participant, I will not get to listen before buying so I want to be able to make the best possible decision based on this limitation.

Emotiva keeps popping up and I know the haters abound but it looks like a well build product and for a grand...

My mains are AP Tempo 3 rated at 4ohm - not sure about their efficiency- I would guess around 89/90

Suffice to say that I simply want the amp to sound good. Not looking for a lot of flowery descriptions

Thanks in advance for everyones input
128x128famoej

Showing 1 response by elevick

Emotiva is great for theater. However, for audio only I have my preferences. My 6 channel Mac is awesome. Yes, it may be a little "soft" but I have never tired of it. A used Sunfire would please me too. For more neutral, an Anthem would be nice.
Personally, I had an Acurus 3 channel and thought it was a piece #$%#^%^$.
The advice on Krells is great but pricey. I have never heard a negative thing about ATI's either.