Arcam P7 is also another amp worth considering. |
Have you considered just adding a 2 channel for the fronts or do you feel you need more power for all 5 channels. Since you have 5.1 and a 7 channel amp have you bi-amped?
If you are looking for more power consider a McIntosh 205 or a Ayre amp as well. |
Gemstone Blue Diamond... first as already mentioned revisit whether you even need another amp. |
You may wish to consider the Anthem Statement A5. Very transparent, good match for your processor. |
NuForce MCH3 or MCH3SE. These are the multi-channel equivalent to their award-winning Ref 9 and Ref 9SE V2 models. www.nuforce.com |
Just get a great 2 channel amp and runit from pre-outs if reciever has them and use its internal amp for center and surrounds to save money then see if you still feel the need to upgrade, there are even 3 channel amps so center will be optimized, surrounds can be driven by your reciever with no problem. On a final note I use a Rotel for center and surrounds and it works great (I run Aragon for mains) |
Emotiva...? Good enough for top reviewers to sell their Krell/Levinson amps, pocket some cash, and have a better sounding amp for less than a grand. No brainer. |
Emotiva? I checked them out. Nice prices and good looking amps. I just wonder how good they sound? |
Just got the TGA 5200 brand new in factory sealed box and A stock for $1,299.00 including shipping. Sunfire replaced the 5200, 5400 with the 5201 and 5401...you should have no problem to get he 5400 for less than $2,000.00 from an authorized dealer. |
Sorry if I'm highjacking the thread, but Andrewdoan can you post your initial impressions of the TGA 5200? I'm looking into upgrading to that amp. |
i am also considering that amp or tga 5400 |
Well, My previous set up consisted of the Parasound HCA1000As (3 amps) and the Parasound acv 2500U and all the speakers are NHT M5s and the NHT sub U2 driven by 2 NHT a1 amps. All cables are from Better Cables Silver serpents. The system was very powerful and punchy but kind of bright in two channel playback. So I oredered the Sunfire 5200. I did own a pair of Sunfire pre/ mutil-amp back in the 90s and the combo sounded very tube like. However, in my set up,the Parasound/ Sunfire combo does not improve much over the Parasound pre/ Parasound amp in home theater set up. The improvement is very subtle. The new Sunfire is kind of not quite tube like as the old one I once had. Smooth, clean, details but kind of thin on top end. The issue with the sibilant top end is better but still almost the same between the Parasound amps and the Sunfire amps. So my issue must be either the Parasound pre or the NHT M5s. Most of the movies, I have to use the THX equalization from the Parasound AVC 2500. I wonder the TGA 5 processor would be smoother than the Parasound Processor. I have decided to listed all my gear for sales to go back to a intergrated 2 channel audio since I cannot play too loud in my small 14X 16 room. Hope this will help. |
Thanks for the input Andredoan. I'm also using NHT's right now - the ST4 towers. They are powered by an Aragon 4004 MKII with an Outlaw 990 preamp. Very clean sound with a lot of power but I'm looking for a 5 channel amp as I move into my new apartment where space will be more limited.
It also doesn't hurt that the TGA 5200 is much lighter and would be easier to move! |
I would definately pick the Cary Cinema5 among the amps you have listed! Powerful and musical. |
I have always loved the Parasound 2205A, still a great amp. |
Docrobbi,
Not sure if you're still looking, but I recently heard the TGA 5400 (ended up buying a TGA 5200 for my system) and I think they are great amps for the money. I know they can be had for a lot less than retail if you look around.
It runs ice cold, and IMHO,I could hear the difference between voltage and current source (not a complete marketing gimmick). Currently I'm biamping my mains using one channel for current source and the other for voltage. |
Thanks all for your advise. I bought the Macintosh MC207. And, it a great sounding amp! |
Wow man, good for you. Thats a hell of an amp. Puts my TGA 5200 to shame! |
