I would apprreciate some help on selection of an amp for my existing system. I have a pair of Martin Logan Aerius i's, Sony 444ES receiver, NAD C542 CD player and a Pioneer Elite DVD player. I want to use the Sony receiver as a pre-amp for now and upgrade later.
I was looking for a 200W x 5 amp and narrowed it down to :
Outlaw 7500
Sunfire Cinema Grand
Anthem MCA50 (only 180w)

Has anyone compared these amps and have a recommendation? I figure the Sunfire and Anthem will run around $400 more than Outlaw and am not sure if there is any difference in either build quality or sound.
Thanks

Franche, I have an Outlaw 7500 and a pair of ML reQuests. I previously had a top of the line Yamaha receiver--which, like you with your Sony, I used as a pre-amp--and a Classe CAV-75 amp (6x75w) which I used to passively bi-amp my reQuests. While I can't provide any insight on the Cinema Grand or the MCA50, I can attest that the Martin Logans sound great with the Outlaw 7500 and that it was a significant step-up from my previous Classe amp. The 7500 is rock solid and I'm very happy with its sound and build quality.

btw, I replaced the Yamaha receiver with the Outlaw 990 and have enjoyed that upgrade as well.

Rob

Franche,
fyi: the Outlaw amps are in the family w/ ATI. ATI amps have a very solid reputation from comsumers and pro installers. Not to mention there history in the industry.

just thought i would help create some more chaos...

Franche, for what its worth, I to have ML (Aeon i) running with the 990/7700 combo. Whichever amp you chose, keep in mind the inefficiency of the ML's. At 4ohms, they crave power and frankly sound terrible without enough of it.

Over the years, I've listened to most of ML lines through a plethora of amps & pre/pros, including Anthem; which for the price, I wasn't overly impressed. I've had my 990/7700 combo for roughly 6mos and its top notch stuff. The audio/video performance is superb.

It essentially boils down to two basic things; your ears and your budget. Good luck finding an amp &/or pre/pro to perform as well as the 990 - 7500/7700 at this price point.

ej wrote about craving power. My old Crown electrostatics crave power. They are fed by an outlaw 755. In earlier posts I pointed out how the transition from the Crown DC300 series, which I had been using for years, to the 755 made an enormous difference. The 7700/7500 amps are as good or better.