UltimateAVmag.com: Buyer's Guide: Amplifiers: Premier Choice

	UAV Recommends. These components offer outstanding performance that is just short of the Ultimate, but still worthy of consideration for your system.


	Anthem Statement P5 $5,000 Channels/Power: Five channels; 325-Watts per channel into 8 ohms/500-Watts into 4 ohms Inputs: Single-ended and balanced The Skinny: Anthem's big, brawny P5 five-channel amp is so powerful that it has inlets for two power cords and it's recommended that you wire two separate circuits to feed this power-hungry bad boy. In our review we used a single circuit with no deleterious effects, but that suggestions sounds too cool to leave out! Each channel has its own power supply, complete with its own toroidal transformer and 14 bipolar output devices. The sound is clean, powerful, and punchy with plenty of air and space with both music and movies. The P5's bass is controlled and tight without squeezing all the warmth out of the sound, and the soundfield sparkles with realistic detail. Along with Anthem's Statement pre/pro's this amplifier has all the refinements and nuance with movies and music that people expect from the best separates.
	Krell Theater Amplifier Standard $8,000 Channels/Power: Five channels; 200-Watts per channel into 8 ohms/400-Watts into 4 ohms Inputs: Single-ended and balanced The Skinny: Krell's Theater Amplifier Standard brings to mind a swarm of "b" words, like "big," "bulletproof," and even "beautiful." This amplifier delivered transients with more power than FM's Martin-Logan Prodigy speakers could handle without busting a mylar gut. The TAS' sound was clean and highly detailed, and it excelled at creating convincing soundscapes littered with the low-level information that the best soundtracks deliver. Accurate, detailed, powerful and well built, Krell's TAS is as high-end as its heritage suggests.
	Parasound Halo A 51 $4,000 Channels/Power: Five channels; 250-Watts per channel into 8 ohms/400-Watts into 4 ohms Inputs: Single-ended and balanced The Skinny: Parasound has a long and well-deserved reputation in the industry and with consumers for designing and manufacturing reliable components with performance that challenges the best available for less (often a lot less). The Halo series is a line that's bit more upmarket in looks than typical Parasound, and even more ambitious in terms of performance and capability. The Halo A51 is based on a design by audio legend John Curl. It has a massive power supply with separate windings for each of its five channels, and each of those channels boasts no fewer than 40 bipolar output devices. We heard tremendous bass power and dynamics, but also harmonic righteousness and terrific soundstaging whether played our favorite CDs or the most explosive movie soundtracks. Another rock solid amplifier from Parasound, and this one's got a prettier face!
	Primare A30.5 Mk.II $2,995 Channels/Power: Five channels; 120-Watts per channel into 8 ohms/200-Watts into 4 ohms Inputs: Single-ended The Skinny: Denmark's Primare is an audiophile company bent on designing graceful looking components that are easy to use and sound great. And we need more of all of the above in home theater! The A30.5 Mk.II is a "quintuple mono" design, with five channels onboard, each featuring its own individual power supply and dedicated toroidal transformer. In addition sounding very open and transparent with both music and cinema sources this amplifier has a remarkable sense of ease and dynamics that belies its relatively modest power rating.
	PS Audio GCA MC-250 $4,695 as reviewed (three channel version); $5595 for five channels, $7495 for seven channels Channels/Power: Three, five or seven channels; 250-Watts per channel into 8 ohms/500-Watts into 4 ohms Inputs: Single-ended and balanced The Skinny: PS Audio's GCA-MC250 bears all of the fruits of Class D switching amplification: it's a powerful amplifier in a modestly sized (and attractive, for an amp) box that's incredibly efficient and generates practically no heat. It can be configured in three, five, or seven channels and PS Audio claims each channel is 100% independent with its own regulated, switching power supply. Class D amps are known for tremendous bass authority and control due to high damping factor, which the GCA-MC250 has in spades. It's slightly cool in the lower midrange, but otherwise neutral as a judge, and highly resolved with natural warmth and air. Class D has come a long way, baby!