Need your recommendation on a 5 or 7 channel amp

The Monolith amps at Monoprice are manufactured by ATI, and IMO are a good value. They test well, and I like mine powering KEF LS50 Metas. Heavy as all git out, though.

Yeah, I never said that Parasound rolls off the high frequencies.  If you read carefully, my quote was "but they have a dry type of sound and they do not have the highest resolution in high frequencies".  I have tested Parasound JC1 and A21 amps in my system.  I have an extremely high resolution system using rhodium plated connectors everywhere and B&W Diamond tweeter speakres.  I have tested several different amplifiers in my system and my description of Parasound stands.  I'm not saying this isn't a good amp, but combining Parasound with Sonus Faber may not be the right answer, especially for home theater (and other reasons such as gold-plated connectors being very common in systems).

I use a Parasound amp and I don't think that it rolls of either.  Marantz is notorious for that.

Saying Parasound is rolled off may be system dependent, I've been using the Halo series on my mains in my combined setup for years. They have air , nuance and gut wherenching current in reserves ,which goes hand in hand for the dynamic peaks Hometheater can demand.

Auxinput-

The McIntosh was a bit too laid back for my tastes.  With the BHK, I have rolled the tubes and can still get it brighter if I want to change the tubes again to a better Amperex tube.  I am curious how the ATI will work with the BHKs for movies.  I'm willing to test the combo and see how it sounds.  I'm also curious how the Kefs will sound with the ATI, not that I plan to run my mains off this amp.  

Like most people on here I like to play around with different combos and see how they sound.  

 

@wheelndeal1099 - interesting.  I would like to hear your thought once you get the 3300 burned in.  I'm wondering if you might feel somewhat of a mismatch here.  The PS Audio BHK is a nice amp, but it's somewhat on the mild side (unless you replaced the input stage tubes).  The McIntosh is also laid back.  The ATI, on the other hand, is very likely to be fast responding and very forward in comparison to the BHK/McIntosh.  It could get a little bright, especially with those Kef metal dome tweeters.

I've also been in the market for a new center and surround amp.  I was set on buying a used Theta Dreadnaught II or III.  After talking with my shop for a while today, I was convinced that the new ATI AT-3300 series that was released today.  Supposedly it is the better option.  It's half the price of a new Theta, and supposedly a better sounding amp.  When I asked if I am giving up anything from the AT-6000 I was told no, the new 3000 series is everything the 6000 is and more. So I ordered a 5 channel version and will have it possibly by the end of next week.   There is zero info on these as only a handful of people have them, so I am going strictly on the word of my dealer.  As of today, they are not even on ATI's website yet.   

I'm currently running PS Audio BHK 300's for my fronts and was running a McIntosh MC-207 for surrounds and center.   I'm only going to be using the ATI for HT as all my music I listen to in 2 channel.  Once I receive it and burn it in, I'll report my opinion of it.  I'm very curious how it will compare to my BHKs on my Kef Reference 3's.  I have a feeling it may be a touch bright, but I will soon find out. 

 

For comparison my system consists of:

Lyngdorf MP-60 2.1, BHK 300 monos, Kef Reference 3, Kef Reference 2c, Kef R di-poles, Kef R5, JL Audio F 113 V2 (2).  

Bryston 9BST

Ordered ATI 4007 amp. Will let you know when I receive and how it works in my home theater. Still waiting on the Marantz AV 7706 processor - think it comes in end of November. Thanks again for your input !!

I can get a pretty good deal on the ATI4027 @ $3960 and the ATI1827 @ $2400, but with out previewing either one which would you prefer? Sonically will I really hear the difference between these and with a $1,560 price difference do you really think it's worth it, or should I entertain an ATI 4023 for the front 3 speakers and an ATI 1824 for the rears and Atmos speakers predicated the cost is the same as the above configuration as the ATI 4027? Buying with out previewing is my biggest concern. Thanks!!

Likely current capability.  The AT182x series uses smaller power supply capacitor banks and I don't think it's a fully balanced/differential amp (it's a single-ended amp board instead).

AT1820: 22,400uf power supply capacitance per channel, 4 output transistors per channel

AT4000: 46,200uf power supply capacitance per channel, 12 output transistors per channel

AT6000: 59,400uf power supply capacitance per channel, 16 output transistors per channel

In laymens terms, the transistors are what generate the output voltage/current required to drive the speaker.

The AT4000, being a fully balanced/differential design, will have a stronger control over the speaker drivers and likely have more punch/drive when compared to AT1820.  The bigger power supply of AT4000 will result in stronger bass/midbass and also smoother audio through the rest of the frequency range.  That being said, the AT1820 series is likely still better than the Savoy G4.

Thoughts on the 1827 versus 4000 series?

What about Anthem?  I have their AVR, just curious what the opinions are on the stand alone amp

Thanks for the detail information - very eye opening. I will look at the ATI amps.

I think the Sonus Faber are excellent speakers to listen to.  However, they do use their silk dome (soft dome) tweeter which is not as fast and high resolution as the metal/beryllium/diamond tweeters out there.

You also chose the Marantz AV7706 processor, which is an excellent choice as it has really nice power supply and discrete audio stage.  However, it is voiced very slightly on the soft/warm side because it softens and rolls off the high frequencies.

For this reason, I would probably avoid the Parasound and Marantz amps.  The Parasound are extremely clean in the midrange, but they have a dry type of sound and they do not have the highest resolution in high frequencies.  The Marantz typical voice is on the warm side, so I would be cautious about that amp as well.  You may end up with a HT system that is not exciting enough.

I would lean towards the Audio Control amp because I'm assuming it is going to be a faster responding and more transparent / exciting amplifier.  Another amp you can look into are the ATI AT4000 or AT6000 series amps (ranging from 2 channel to 7 channel models).  They are excellent quality and have a lot of current capability and fast response.

The Audio Control Savoy G4 is likely a very good amp, but it is very light at only 43 lbs.  For a 5 channel amp, this means the transformer and power supplies are not that large and are not going to push as much current.  The smaller size ATI AT4000 range from 77 lbs (2-channel model) up to 119 lbs.  The larger AT6000 range from 107 lbs to 165 lbs.  This weight tells you that it contains very large transformers and power supplies that can give you enormous amounts of current.  The ATI amps are also fully differential/balanced amps.  The Savoy is sort of balance for 2 of the channels since you can "bridge" them for double power.