Power Amplifier Reviews

With A/V receivers now approaching the size, weight, and complexity of small apartment buildings, separating the processing and control functions from the amplification is becoming an attractive alternative for growing numbers of home-theater enthusiasts. While this approach is usually more expensive in the short run, most serious videophiles find that the long-term flexibility and enhanced performance more than offset the added cost.

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Inexpensive
Fanless
RCA and balanced XLR inputs
Auto standby
12 volt and Signal power trigger
Minus
Needs six-inch clearance when rack mounted

THE VERDICT

A rock-solid, affordable and attractive amp for powering seven channels in a surround-sound AV or home theater system. It delivers audiophile-quality sound for about a buck a watt.

Audio amplifiers have but one task: take an electrical signal and make it more powerful without changing its character. A good amplifier is as transparent as possible, neither adding nor subtracting anything from what you hear. The OSD Nero XA7180 promises all that plus high efficiency at a very attractive price.

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Power amps get little respect in the home theater world. They're the heavy, black (or silver) boxes that sit somewhere in the dark, serving your speakers with a generous supply of power.

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Ample power for all channels
Dynamic sound
Affordable
Minus
Signal-sensing power-on mode can be fussy

THE VERDICT
Parasound’s new five-channel amplifier is a versatile performer, delivering clean power with ample headroom for both movies and music.

While attending the 2017 CEDIA Expo in San Diego, I happened upon a small European audio electronics manufacturer that was showing a prototype five-channel amplifier. When I asked why the company was planning to release a multichannel amp after many years of making stereo-only gear, I was told matter-of-factly that home theater was “making a comeback.” A comeback? To me, home theater had never gone anywhere, so I found the response surprising.

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Fault-free sound quality
Flexible, with bridged-mode, balanced options
As much as 740 watts on tap in bridged mode
High quality fit and finish, quiet Scandinavian looks
Minus
Expensive

THE VERDICT
Eight channels of unimpeachable Class D power in a fairly compact and very flexible package.

Let's face it, amplifiers are a necessary evil. Unless you're listening to a crystal radio through a flesh-colored earphone, you're not going to hear much of anything without at least one amplifier between the music and your ears.