Let me start by saying that if you like to tell your friends that you have a 'big' amp with XXX watts of power, then this amp is not for you. I suggest getting a Sunfire Amp since they tend to throw around numbers.

If you are interested in getting an AMP that accurately drives speakers of different loads and can drive all channels at the full rated power, then keep on reading.

The same team that put together the incredible Mark Levinson 300 series amps worked on making the Proceed AMP 5 the best multi-channel amp on the market. The Proceed uses 5 different power supplies (one for each channel) to insure that it can ALWAYS deliver 5 x 125W @ 8 ohms, 5 x 250W @ 4 ohms (rms, all channels driven). The AMP5 weighs in at 110lbs. It has circuitry designed to make sure that all the power is 'clean' and no noise is introduced by the amplification process. It also has balanced inputs for all 5 channels helping prevent noise from being introduced by the trip to the Pre-amp to the amp. The AMP5 protects itself (and your speakers) with circuitry that will detect shorts and shutdown the amp if necesarry without putting relays or fuses (components that can degrade sound) in the sound path. The AMP5 is THX-certified (which quite honestly is not that big a deal with amps, but I thought I would mention it).

The AMP5 sounds great!! I have it paired with the Proceed AVP pre-amp and B&W Nautilus 800 series speakers up front, and B&W THX SCM8 surrounds. I can drive my speakers well above 110db with no clipping or distortion (although you would have to be insane to generally listen at this level!)

My listening level for 'theater-reference' volume is 85 dB. At this (and every other level I have tried) sound level the AMP5 delivers a better than theater experience in my home. I compared the AMP5 to a few monoblock designs, and preferred the sound quality of the AMP5.

If you want the best sound quality in a multi-channel amp, the AMP5 is for you. If you want to throw around big numbers (which your amp may or may not actually be able to deliver) and are not as interested in quality sound reproduction, I would suggest a different route.



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