Urgent Help: Anthem MCA-5 or Sunfire Cinema Grand (1 Viewer)

[Kudret]

I am in a position to buy a slightly used Sunfire Cinema Grand or a new Anthem MCA-5 for the same price. I am having difficult time deciding which one to get and I was wondering if anybody who has listened to both of these amps could compare and comment on them. Thank you for your help.

 

[Miles_W]

Kudret,
is it an MCA mark II or mark I, If It is a mark I then I would be inclined to go with the sunfire, if it is a mark II then it is much closer... I think that the Sunfire can probably handle more difficult loads...
Miles
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Miles
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DarkSide Member since(93)

 

[Kudret]

Thanks miles. Anthem is series II. I had already decided on Anthem, but when I found the Sunfire (which is usually more expensive) for the same price as Anthem, I hesitated.
Is there different series for Sunfire as well?

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Go for the Anthem. There is another thread (that you'd have to search for) where I included some review verbage about the Sunfire from the Audio Critic publication.
There were some unusual things they spotted performance-wise, and "under the hood" when the opened it and looked at the components inside.
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[Miles_W]

Kevin,
have you actually listened to a sunfire? I mean I have listened to both the Anthem and the Sunfire and my inclination leans towards the sunfire... or are you basing your recommendations totally on what the audio critic found under the hood?
thanks
Miles
ps. I am not trolling but I have a thing about people recommending components they have not had an opportunity to audition

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Miles
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DarkSide Member since(93)

 

[John Morris]

Trolling is NOW a PC Computer Term for "those who disagree with me", and I hate it.
Bait Mongering is another term for the same thing and is usually used when you throw out an opinion like... why is the bmg amp so well supported on this forum... I think it is a piece of junk.?
So, don't let some self agrandizing piece of online PC bullsh*tology make you NOT voice your opinion. In your case, you like the Sunfire and am asking the guy, on what does he PERSONALLY base his opinion. I'd bet that none of the term throwers really has had ANY personal usage with the Sunfire in His/Her own system...
Go and listen to both yourself and decide. You ARE the ultimate REVIEWER, not some guy living in a penthouse listening to gifted or loaned gear....
Take Care, and God Bless America!
merc
[Edited last by John Morris on September 13, 2001 at 08:05 PM]

 

[Kudret]

Thank you all who provided their opinions.
I have one last question. I have read the reviews on audioreview and many people reported humming problem with this amp (Sunfire Cinema Grand). I would like to know how common and serious is this problem. Do all units have it or does it depend on the power source at home. Thanks again.
[Edited last by Kudret on September 14, 2001 at 10:35 AM]

 

[AjayM]

As to the Anthem and loads, I have a 2-channel MCA2 Series 2 and it is stable to 2Ohms, not many lower-priced can say that.
As to the sunfire vs Anthem, the sunfire is a little higher up the food chain than the Anthem, but almost everybody agrees that the Anthem is one of the best values in this segment of the amp market. Listen to both and see which you like better. Then take into consideration of buying a new piece versus a used piece, will you still get the warranty and such?
Andrew
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[Kevin C Brown]

As soon as the search function is working again I will cut and paste what I had posted before about the Sunfire.
Because of that review, I would not listen to or buy the that amp, in spite of it "being higher up on the food chain" than the Anthem. (Being more expensive doesn't make it "better.")
And, the article goes in detail, why in spite of the problems they found, that it "appears" to sound better.
(There are anomalies in the freq response curve that people tend to prefer the sound of. But me? I want an amp that doesn't "add" anything to the sound.)
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[Kevin C Brown]

And here, direct from the printed page of what a lot of people believe is the most objective audio/home theater publication in existence today...
Audio Critic (issue 27):
"... The frequency response isn't totally flat; it has a step in it centering on approx 1 kHz, so that the 10 kHz level is 0.5 dB below the lower freqs, which begins to be marginally audible. ..."
And,
"The low signal-swing section of the analog power amp is made up of low, low-end TL072 and TL081 op-amps, yet this amp has been very well received by the subjective community. Why? Maybe the not-so-flat freq response is why. This lumpy response comes from a second-order allpass filter that delays the signal into the input of the analog power amp."
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[Derek Lauzon]

I have owned a MCA-5 since May and it has been rock solid.