Anthem MCA 225 GEN 2 versus Parasound A23+ Halo

[Kublai]

I'm new to the audiophile community and looking for a power amplifier for my Denon AVR X4700H front channels. Can anyone who has listened to or owned both power amplifiers provide information about the sound quality of both amplifiers? I got my AV receiver during COVID mainly for movies, but now I'm looking into Audiophile listening. I'm eyeing both amplifiers but can't decide which to go for.

 

[Gary_G]

I am a novice at this but really enjoy my A23+. I have Focal Aria 926 speakers and hear no hiss at all. The amp never seems "hot" when listening for extended periods. I have the gain turned all the way up and still have not had any issues driving the speakers.

I paired the amp with the Parasound P6 preamp. And listen to spotify, radio paradise and cd's.

I listen at moderate levels and have never had an issue driving the speakers. My listening room is not the best, 15' x 15' so lots of room modes to deal with.

 

[JSmith]

Hello and welcome to ASR.

Level matched, I doubt one would hear any difference in sound between these amps based on the manufacturer specs only.

Between the 2, the Anthem has more power and slight better specs;

Anthem® | MCA 225 GEN 2 | Specifications

www.anthemav.com

Model Halo A 23+ « Parasound

However why restrict yourself to these two (rather expensive) choices, when you could get the same power and similar specs for much less?

Have you considered a Purifi or Hypex based amp?


JSmith

 

[Slayer]

While I love my Anthems, I'll have to agree with @JSmith . Purify or hypex is going to cost about half of the Anthem or Parasound and sound damn good. Both of which seem to have good track records.

If you're stuck on getting either Anthem or Parasound, I'll just say I have the Parasound preamp and Not the parasound amp. Nothing wrong with Parasound amps, I just found them to be somewhat colored (not so neutral) in the lower midrange bass area (purely my subjective opinion of course). The Anthem also seems to have a lower noise floor and runs cooler. Honestly you'll most likely be happy with either one, odds are you wont notice (hear) a difference.

 

[Beave]

I'm new to the audiophile community and looking for a power amplifier for my Denon AVR X4700H front channels. Can anyone who has listened to or owned both power amplifiers provide information about the sound quality of both amplifiers? I got my AV receiver during COVID mainly for movies, but now I'm looking into Audiophile listening. I'm eyeing both amplifiers but can't decide which to go for.

Both amps are likely fine.

But do you even need a separate power amp for "audiophile listening?" What speakers do you have? How big is your room? How far do you sit from the speakers? How loud do you play them?

A separate amp may be beneficial, but it may also be an unnecessary expense that provides no real use benefits for you.

 

[Kublai]

Both amps are likely fine.

But do you even need a separate power amp for "audiophile listening?" What speakers do you have? How big is your room? How far do you sit from the speakers? How loud do you play them?

A separate amp may be beneficial, but it may also be an unnecessary expense that provides no real use benefits for you.

That's a good question, I don't know. It is why I'm researching at the moment. The only way to know for sure if I need two channels amplifier is if I buy one and test it out. I won't know if I don't have nothing to compare to. Right now I have the Sony Sscs3 floor speakers 6ohm. I'm running a 7.1 on my Denon for movies. Two channels external amplifier will also reprieve my AVR and redirect some of the power to my center speakers. I understand every amplifer drive different speakers differently. It is also why I'm looking for the most compatible amp for my tower speakers. Right now my system is in the basement so I have a lot of room to work with. At the moment I'm sitting 8 feet from my center speakers.

 

[Beave]

Those speakers were reviewed and measured by Erin and were discussed in this thread: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...r-speaker-review-by-erins-audio-corner.51360/

Original measurements from Erin here: https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/sony_sscs3_tower/

The measurements show they are fairly neutral and can play pretty loud with low distortion and low compression, but they have significant cabinet resonances in the upper bass to low midrange.

Their sensitivity is fairly high and impedance doesn't drop below 4 Ohms (though phase angles get a little steep), meaning they don't need a lot of power to play fairly loud.

In my opinion, you would be much better off spending any money on upgrading the front towers before buying a separate amplifier.

Spending far more on your amplifier than on your speakers goes against conventional wisdom here.

 

[Kublai]

Those speakers were reviewed and measured by Erin and were discussed in this thread: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...r-speaker-review-by-erins-audio-corner.51360/

Original measurements from Erin here: https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/sony_sscs3_tower/

The measurements show they are fairly neutral and can play pretty loud with low distortion and low compression, but they have significant cabinet resonances in the upper bass to low midrange.

Their sensitivity is fairly high and impedance doesn't drop below 4 Ohms (though phase angles get a little steep), meaning they don't need a lot of power to play fairly loud.

In my opinion, you would be much better off spending any money on upgrading the front towers before buying a separate amplifier.

Spending far more on your amplifier than on your speakers goes against conventional wisdom here.

 

[Kublai]

Thanks for sharing the link. I'm going to get the amp and then upgrade the speaker towers. I have my eyes on the SVS speaker towers. I'm ready to move on from Sony.

 

[EJC]

Thanks for sharing the link. I'm going to get the amp and then upgrade the speaker towers. I have my eyes on the SVS speaker towers. I'm ready to move on from Sony.

Hi Kublai. I had the Denon X3700H and added a Parasound A52+, 5ch amp. The sound improvement was significant. That being said, I want to replace the Parasound because channels 1 and 2 create humming in any speaker connected to those terminals. Sometime after, I upgraded the Denon for the Anthem AVM 70, and again, another significant sound improvement.

What I found was, after adding the external amp, my B&W bookshelf speakers were now my limiting components. They were bright and harsh, and needed to go anyway.

I’ve owned SVS speakers and subs. They’re ok for the price, but you can probably do better for a comparable price. Revel, Elac, to name a couple brands.

I do agree with @Beave though, with your Denon receiver, your best “bang for the buck” upgrade is probably speakers, if your budget is limited to amp or speakers.

 

[Kublai]

Hi Kublai. I had the Denon X3700H and added a Parasound A52+, 5ch amp. The sound improvement was significant. That being said, I want to replace the Parasound because channels 1 and 2 create humming in any speaker connected to those terminals. Sometime after, I upgraded the Denon for the Anthem AVM 70, and again, another significant sound improvement.

What I found was, after adding the external amp, my B&W bookshelf speakers were now my limiting components. They were bright and harsh, and needed to go anyway.

I’ve owned SVS speakers and subs. They’re ok for the price, but you can probably do better for a comparable price. Revel, Elac, to name a couple brands.

I do agree with @Beave though, with your Denon receiver, your best “bang for the buck” upgrade is probably speakers, if your budget is limited to amp or speakers.

Thank you, I did try both. I got the Parasound A23+ and the Anthem MCA 225 Gen2. After listening to both for the past few days, I kept the Anthem and returned to the Parasound. I like the details and decay sound of the Parasound, but I have to turn the gain in order to get the same DB as the Anthem. The Anthem has a more neutral sound, but the detail is not as noticeable as the parasound.

 

[Kublai]

Hello and welcome to ASR.

Level matched, I doubt one would hear any difference in sound between these amps based on the manufacturer specs only.

Between the 2, the Anthem has more power and slight better specs;

Anthem® | MCA 225 GEN 2 | Specifications

www.anthemav.com

Model Halo A 23+ « Parasound

However why restrict yourself to these two (rather expensive) choices, when you could get the same power and similar specs for much less?

Have you considered a Purifi or Hypex based amp?


JSmith

Thank You JSmith, I appreciate your suggestion. I looked into Purifi and really liked their monoblock.