Picking the right amp...


I am looking to get a new amp. Preferably a 5 channel to drive my N802's and Nautilus HTM1. 5 Channels so I can bi-amp my N802's and the remainder to drive my center. My system is 80% home theater, 20% music. Although when I listen to music, I want to to be amazing.

My processor is a Yamaha VX1 (will upgrade that but down the road). Currently I have a B&K 4420ex (I believe it is 200x2). I don't have balanced outputs but would like to have them on my amp so that when I am ready for the future.

Here is what I am looking at. Any opinions on these, please share.

New Earthquake Cinenova (300x5)
BStock/Used Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature (425x5)
Used - Krell KAV-1500 (300x5)

My budget is $2500 (I know I won't find the krell at that price point, but if poeple tell me I need to spend the extra money....I just might.

Also, should I be looking at getting 2 three channel amps and bi-amping everything? What works best with the N802?
jesseasi
The Aragon in mono blocks should be 400 WPC. I used to have an Aragon 8008st and sold it for a Krell FPB 200, but as I recall the Aragon 8008st is 200 WPC into 8 ohms. The mono blocks should be double that rating.
Power is more of an issue with inefficient speakers. How efficient are the B&W's?
Not being a B&W fan I cannot address that issue. I don't know anything about their sensitivity.
So it's quantity you want, well then your list looks complete. BTW, the B&W website has the 802's listed at 91 db sensitivity at 8 ohms, hardly power hungry. Unless you have a huge room or listen at extreme volumes 200 wpc should be plenty. Consider this a 200 wpc amp will drive those speakers to 114 decibels. A 400 wpc amp will drive those speakers to 117 decibels. So the extra 200 wpc will only get you 3 more db. How often do you listen at volumes exceeding 114 decibels?
The speakers can handle 500 wpc, so to answer your question, I don't think a 5X500 watt amp exists. You will need two amps to generate that kind of power. The 3 you have listed will give you the most power, along with the EAD PowerMaster 2000. There is one on Agon (EAD)now for $3200. I would take the EAD over the other 3 on your list.

BTW, make sure you have a dedicated 20A line for one of these amps. You wouldn't want to buy a Hummer and put watered down gas in it.
Jesseasi, you have some good suggestions from fellow A'goners in above posts. If 80% of your use is for home theater, as you have indicated, then I am not sure you will go wrong with the brands mentioned above.

I currently use a Krell KAV-1500 and a Krell KAV-250a/3 to drive my 5-speaker B&W Nautilus system. I bi-amp my Nautilus 801 front speakers and HTM-1 center speaker, with 2 remaining channels on 250a/3 for the Nautilus 805 speakers for surround.

I have bought and sold quite a few amps (including EAD) and have settled on the Krell because I found that I listen to music a lot more than I thought I would on my home theater system. I found Krell to be the best match for my B&Ws. While other amps were quite good, I just found the Krell to be the most transparent, dynamic and musical against my speakers.

Now the question is, are the Krells worth the price difference versus other amps? I thought so. But are the differences all that significant? Not really. But then again, that is the problem we all face with high-end audio... Often our choices are very subjective and personal.

So which ever amp you decide to settle with, make sure you bi-amp your 802s. It will make a lot more difference in sound quality than with which brand of amp you choose from the above mentioned list....
I'd look at a Bryston 9BST.
They can be had relatively new for around $2500 or so.

Not only do the Brystons sound pretty good, they are also bullet proof with the best warranty (20 years) in audio.

KF
I would go for the Krell (I did). At 300 watts into 8 ohms, you can drive anything with plenty of power left over. You can also bridge the amp and turn it into a 2 channel or by bridging 4 channels it can become a monster 1100 watts! In other words, it's a great sounding amp, it's compact 19" wide by 6 1/2" tall by 24" deep, it's flexible, and at $3500 it will maintain most of it's value at resale.

I'm using mine to drive a pair of B&W Nautilus 804s, the HTM2 and a pair of N805s.