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Home Theater Power Amplifiers
Categories in section: Home Theater Power Amplifiers
Sunday, 01 July 2007
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Written by
Brian Kahn
Introduction
The
ever-present Monster Cable brand is expanding. Not a company to rest on
its laurels, Monster’s vast portfolio of products will now include
power amplifiers to go along with a robust offering of cables,
accessories, furniture, speakers and beyond. Monster power amplifiers,
like their recently reviewed loudspeakers, are not being prominently
promoted on their own, but rather as part of an entire Monster products
solution. One day you will be able to walk into a Monster Cable M
Design dealer and purchase an entire Monster system.
The Signature MPA 5150 five-channel reference power
amplifier ($3,500) is one of three amplifiers in the Monster Power
amplifier lineup. The MPA 5150 is a five-channel amplifier rated at 150
watts per channel into eight ohms and 250 watts per channel into four
ohms. The MPA 5150 chassis is anything but your ordinary black box
amplifier. The styling is consistent with Monster’s line of power
conditioners. The 75-pound, 17-inch-wide ...
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Friday, 01 June 2007
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Written by
Jerry Del Colliano
Introduction
I
have owned various Krell amplifiers in my reference systems over the
years, each providing hours upon hours of listening joy. Recently,
Krell has released a new top-of-the-line lineup of gear under the
Evolution moniker that speaks to those for a need for the best of the
best and a willingness to pay for it. The review system under
evaluation is comprised of a $10,000 Krell Evolution 505 SACD player
with 24-bit 192 DACs, a $15,000 Krell Evolution 202 two-chassis stereo
preamp and the monstrous Krell Evolution 900 monaural amplifiers at
$20,000 each, or $40,000 for the stereo pair as reviewed. My review
samples are done in Krell’s signature silver finish, which is
breathtakingly beautiful out of the rack and poised on a simple table
as it is installed in my reference system.
Set-up
To
start, it is important to note that the Krell Evolution 900 power amps
are nothing short of huge. With a travel ...
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Sunday, 01 April 2007
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Written by
Andrew Robinson
Introduction
There
are few high-end audio brand names that carry with them such universal
admiration as Mark Levinson. The mere mention of Mark Levinson
components conjures up feelings of quality, luxury and lust that I can
only equate with brands at the level of, say, Patek Philippe, the Four
Seasons resorts and perhaps even Lexus. Since the late 1970s, Mark
Levinson gear has been the subject of many audiophiles’ dreams and has
kept consumers and even modest editors wondering how they can spend
their tax returns to land such well-crafted audio reproduction gear.
When you find out a Mark Levinson amp is coming your way, even if you
are a jaded reviewer, you get excited.
The Mark Levinson No. 433 is a first for the brand, in
that it’s not only a true multi-channel amp, but it is also a
long-awaited solution for the company’s customers and dealers who have
moved into home theater and ...
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Thursday, 01 February 2007
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Written by
Ken Taraszka, MD
Introduction
Power.
Grown men have spent their entire lives fighting and even dying for it.
We often associate power with size and weight, but can be fooled by the
little guy whose abilities can drop the largest of men. Bob Carver is
known for packing amazing amounts of power into the smallest and
lightest of boxes with his amplifiers, and it seems Mr. Carver has
empowered yet another “little guy” with his new Theater Grand Amplifier
7400. As president of Sunfire, Bob Carver has been a major player in
the audio industry since 1970, when he founded Phase Linear, and he has
kept pace with the rapidly changing business throughout the years. His
advances in amplifier technology are legendary and his new top of the
line seven-channel amplifier, the Sunfire Theater Grand Amplifier 7400,
puts out a rated 400 watts per channel into eight ohms into all seven
channels, and doubles down to 1600 ...
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Monday, 01 January 2007
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Written by
Tim Hart
Introduction
Classé
has thrown the gauntlet down in the multi-channel amplification arena
by introducing the CA-5200, a five-channel, 200-watt-per-channel
amplifier whose sole intention is to raise the bar high enough in both
aesthetics and sound to make everyone swoon, from the design-oriented
to the hardcore audiophile. One look at the CA-5200, even unplugged or
without a preamp, and you’d be hard pressed to suggest Classé hasn’t
accomplished at least half of its mission. The CA-5200’s sleek lines
and nontraditional metal work beautifully matches the stealthy pose of
the lauded Classé CDP-300 DVD player and the SSP-600 AV preamp.
The size and stature of the CA-5200 is certainly a head
turner, with heat sinks on either side of what appears to be a solid
block of aluminum, refined to a blended front face with large rounded
corners asymmetrically bisected by a vertical black anodized aluminum
panel that is consistent with the rest of the Delta product ...
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