5 ch amp decision- opinions please

You may want to add the B&K 7250 or 7270 to your list.

If your budget allows, you should also add the Bryston 9B-ST to your short list. This amp has been rated in the "Class A" component list by Stereopiles. It's a great amp that should be seriously auditioned by anyone who wants a HT system that also does a great job reproducing music.

I use the Earthquake Cinenova Grande 5 Ch. amp. It has 300 watts per channel into 8 ohms and doubles to 600 at 4 ohms. The stats are great at .001% thd and 110 s/n ratio. These stats are comparable to the very high end stereo amps. It has five totally discrete mono block modules just like the Theta Dreadnaught. This is a good amp for very little money, especially on the used market.

I have been researching 5 channel amps to death myself...from what I have read, price & performance factors are steering me towards the ead powermaster 1000 myself. It seems to be getting great reviews all over...but then again...who knows. I just think that for $2000 it is a steal and that the other 5 channel amps that it is being compared to are krell and other ultra pricey amps. Another one that also gets favorable reviews is the simaudio line. Anyhow, happy shopping...also, I have noticed that when people put up a post with 4 or so choices that they have narrowed it down to...more often than not, people will add to your confusion by suggesting even more options...not to say that they arent recommending fine components themselves, but I am now realizing myself what an utterly exhausting thing it can be researching home audio equipment.
still...I would go with the EAD

I like my EAD PM1000. It is not as "quick" as my Citation 7.1 THX but has a warmer sound with more bass. I understand they have stopped making it in favor of the 8 channel version but you can usually find a used or demo unit on this site. See if you can demo them in your system, it's the only way to tell for sure. Good luck!