Anthem MCA5 for $900....Good deal?

[Clinton McClure]

Today I was offered a deal on an MCA5 for $900. All I know about the MCA5 is it lists for about $1400 and boasts a 200W per channel rating. Is the MCA5 a good amp and worth the money? I want to add an external amp and use my Yamaha RX-V995 as a pre/pro. The floor is open for opinions. Thanks.

 

[Evan S]

Clinton, I got my Anthem MCA-5 about 4 months ago for $1,000 and I thought it was a great deal at the time, so $900 for a new one would be a tremendous value. It's a great amp for that price. You can find better amps, but be prepared to pay about $700 or more in addition to what you are paying. Plus, at that price, you can move it to surround duty if you ever plan to upgrade on your path to 7.1.

I'd say get it. What kind of speakers are you using this with. This is a great amp for any kind of laid back speaker and even works well with speakers of slightly forward nature (Paradigm's)..but I don't know if I would mate it with Klipsch.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Evan - My mains are Paradigm Monitor 9s, surrounds are Paradigm ADP-170s with a Paradigm CC-350 center channel. I'm not currently concerned with 7.1 capability since it is not yet an industry standard format. Thanks.

 

[Evan S]

I have Paradigm Reference speakers. The Monitor line is suppose to be a little more forward than the Reference line, but I still think the amp will be a good match. It's pretty neutral...not quite as warm as a Rotel or Parasound, but still is a great buy at $900. Great clarity and lots of headroom, even if all 5 channels are run simultaneously and the wattage dips down to 170 per channel.