rotel vs. anthem (1 Viewer)

[Kevin T]

i got a line on some decent deals as far as these two amps go. the first is the rotel rmb-1095 which i can buy used / mint (around 1.5 years old, less than 200 hours) for $1350 + shipping. the second is the anthem mca-50 which i can purchase new and shipped for $1450. the anthem is supposed to have 25 more watts than the rotel but i seriously doubt i'd ever notice a huge difference. alternately i can get the mca-5 mkII for $1100 shipped. just wanting to know your opinions on the matter. i'm days away from pulling the trigger on the 1095 even though it is totally too massive in my opinion (9.5" high!).

kevin t

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

I know nothing about the 1095, but can attest that the MCA-2 MKII is a great amp.

 

[Evan S]

Well I have an Anthem MCA5, but haven't been able to unchain it's full potential due to the lack of a pre-pro right now. However, in a one-week trial run a while back hooked directly up to my CD player, the Anthem shined. Very low noise floor, incredible dynamics, extreme detail. Paired up with Paradigm Ref 40's, the sound was slightly forward, but take that with a grain of salt. My 40's may not quite be 100% broken in yet (only 40-50 hours on them so far) and I was using stock cables at the time which have since been upgraded.

I'm sure Legairre can chime in on his experience with the 1095, which is very positive.

One of the things that you may have going for you if you go the Anthem route is that if you opt for the MCA5 over the MCA50 (the new model), you can now get the 5 for just over a grand, which is a significant price discount from even a few months ago.

I think Legairre paid $1700 for his 1095 and it lists for $2000, so the Anthem is about 70% of the price. Whether it provides only 70% of the performance is a question I cannot answer as I haven't compared them side by side.

 

[Legairre]

I haven't demoed any of the Anthem amps. As much as I love the Rotel 1095, and everyone here knows I love it. Getting a used 1095 with no warrenty(the Rotel warrenty isn't transferable) vs a new Anthem with a full warrenty. I'd have to go with the Anthem amp. $1300.00 - $1400.00 is a lot of money and if anything goes wrong your stuck. As for the 25 wpc differenc. I did demo the Parasound 2205(great amp 220x5). The Parasound and the Rotel sounded the same to me even when cranked. I tried lots of music and even bass heavy movies like the Haunting DTS and U571. Both had the same punch to me(I tried them without a sub, I wanted to hear the amps sound not the sub's amp). So IHMO the 25 extra watts won't make a difference. Other's may disagree, but I'm just going by what I heard. I did have a chance to get a used 1095 for $1400.00. To me it was worth the extra dollars to get a new amp vs a used one. Heck I figured in for a penny in for a pound. If it was me I'd go Anthem.

 

[Dzung Pham]

According to this review the power rating for the Anthem MCA 5 is for only one channel driven. For all channels driven, it's more like 170-190 watts. I'm not sure how the Rotel is rated but this is just another reason to ignore the difference in the power ratings.

 

[Kevin T]

thanks for all the opinions guys. i think i'll go with the anthem. i'm gonna wait and check the specs on the mca-50 vs. the mca-5 mkII. i've listened to the pva-7 at my local dealers and it sounded sweet but i would expect it to since it was connected to an avm-20 and b&w nautilus 804 (mmmm 804's). hopefully he'll have a 50 hooked up soon. i have no way of hearing the rotel but i trust most people's opinions hear. that said, the full warranty coverage on the anthem will basically cover any difference. thanks again.

kevin t

 

[Derrick G]

Kevin T,

The MCA 50 has a beefed up power supply, and its output is up to 225w into one ch. at 8 ohms and 200w/ch with all channels driven IIRC. There is a tread from a few days ago talking about the MCA 50. Do a search on it and you should find it.

Derrick