|   What amp would be a good match for Paradigm Reference? | Crankit
Jan 18, 2002 6:56 AM | | I bought the complete Studio line yesterday and I was going to buy a Anthem MCA 5/X200 to go with it. The salesperson told me it was an excellent amp for the money $1400 dollars and it would be more than I would ever need.
Would buying this Amp add anything other than power to the speakers?
Would it enhance the sound quaility at all?
More detail, better sound stage?
I would use my current receiver as a pre-amp. |
| Will he let you have a home trial? | Mattheww
Jan 18, 2002 8:07 AM | | If he will, see for yourself how it sounds. It should have better bass control with the extra power and you may see an improvement in dynamics. |
| re: What amp would be a good match for Paradigm Reference? | Outlaw
Jan 18, 2002 9:17 AM | | I also have the Studio 100v.2's, Studio CC and Studio 40 for surrounds. I auditioned the Anthem, and while its a good amp, it's not a good match with Paradigms(at least for me). It's highs are a bit on the bright side and adding that the the already somewhat bright highs of the Studio 100's, it was very fatiguing. It would be a great amp for speakers like PSB that tend to be warmer sounding. I ordered the Outlaw Audio 750 amp due to the reviews and the 30 day return policy and was able to take home the Anthem MCA-5 when the Outlaw amp showed up. After listening to both over a 3 day period, I decided to keep the Outlaw. It's highs lean toward the warm side of neutral which balanced out the Studio 100's highs. It also seemed to have a little more control in the bass. I also read that the Anthem's 200w rating was with only 1 channel being used. I hate to be mislead, and was somewhat dismayed that Anthem would use the same tricks the mass market receiver manufactures us at the chain malls. It's output is actually around 170w with all 5 channels driven. The Outlaw is 165w with all 5 channels driven so the difference is nonexistant. Actually the Outlaw sounded more powerful. Maybe it has a higher current reserve.
Hope this helps.
http://www.outlawaudio.com |
| re: What amp would be a good match for Paradigm Reference? | s.solar
Jan 18, 2002 12:17 PM | | I have studio 40's and a mca 2 driving them for stereo(Its hooked up to a marantz sr-7000. I find the amp actually fairly neutral. I didn't find it warm sounding but it doesn't make the treble or voices sound overly bright. It did take a while for it to break in. think the manual says about 100hrs. It did sound shrill at first, but after about two weeks, it took on a whole new personality. Other amps I heard people using with the paradigms was rotel and parasound mostly. Sonic frontiers is a sister company of paradigm I believe, so they probably designed the amp with the reference line in mind. But don't let that sway you. |
| re: What amp would be a good match for Paradigm Reference? | RGA
Jan 18, 2002 11:24 PM | | I believe Sonic Frontiers recently went under...you might want to check that out if it's on your list of possiblities...I read this on Audio asylum a couple of days ago...not 100% sure though. |
| re: What amp would be a good match for Paradigm Reference? | Woochifer
Jan 18, 2002 12:24 PM | | Well, Anthem is owned by Paradigm, but I have no idea how they would mate. I've tried the Studio 20s and 40s with Classe, Parasound, and McIntosh amps, and they uniformly delivered excellent performance; can't comment on how those amps compare to each other since they were all in separate rooms. The sound is noticeably more open and full with with a separate amp, much more of a difference than you'll ever get by upgrading the receiver.
The bigger question is whether you think your current receiver is deficient. Try your new speakers out with your receiver in the meantime -- those h/k units are not exactly scrap heap material. You've already backed up the Brinks truck to your dealer to get the speakers, why not enjoy them (especially since you're still breaking them in) and let your wallet take a short break? The beauty of home theatre is that you don't need to buy everything at the same time.
In the meantime, I would focus on properly placing the speakers, get a SPL meter from Radio Shack, and buy a calibration disc like Avia, Video Essentials, or the new one from Sound and Vision. Those calibration discs provide test tones and instruct you on how to properly use the SPL meter to set all of the output levels on your surrounds. In many cases, proper setup and room treatment make more of a difference than component upgrades do. |
| re: What amp would be a good match for Paradigm Reference? | wp
Jan 18, 2002 10:30 PM | | Ihave used the MCA 5 for the past 1 1/2 yrs with the Studio 100 v2 and found it to be a good match. I had also used the pre-amp side of a receiver up until recently. Music reproduction was good and not fatiguing. Some previously enjoyed CD's were taken out of rotation however as the nature of the recording was too bright for my typical critical listening level of 70dB. For movies the combination was very good. I have now upgraded to the AVM 20 pre-amp with a huge improvement in both music and movies. I no longer consider the quality of the recording before the content. I enjoy this combination so much I will be buying the MCA 2 for the main front channels and using the MCA 5 for the remainder of the system. This amp speaker combination is accurate and natural in sound with the dynamic range to reproduce the impact of loud passages and also reveal the finesse the quiet elements.
Highly recommended. |
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