The modern home theatre with its five full-range channels places enormous strain on amplification and sometimes a receiver just isn't up to the task. It's time to take a step up and look at a power amplifier that can deliver the goods yet remain refined in a musical role. Alan L. Maier looks under the hood and wraps his ears around the new Anthem MCA 5 from Sonic Frontiers, could it be the answer?
Many thanks go to Mr. Mark Aling at Paradigm/Sonic Frontiers for his help and for providing the review sample.
Sonic Frontiers Anthem MCA 5 Five-channel Power Amplifier Specifications Power output – each channel driven: 200watts into 8 ohms, 350 watts into 4 ohms.
Power output – all channels driven: >170w/ch x 5 into 8 ohms
Dynamic headroom: 267w/ch @8 ohms, 479w/ch @ 4 ohms
THD: 0.002% @200 watt output
Frequency response: 0.5Hz – 80kHz -.25dB
Damping factor: 130 w/8 ohm load
S/N ratio: 122dB
Input impedance: Unbalanced/RCA input– 21Kohms, Balanced/XLR input – 15KohmsWeight: 56 pounds
Finish: Black or silver aluminum face with black metal case.
Country of origin: Canada
Price: MSRP $1,399
Power-on trigger feed: 5volts – 24 volts AC/DC via 3.5mm jacks – pass through.
IEC power cord/ 2 conductor detachable with chassis ground terminal
Power requirement: 120 VAC, 1800VA max. (US/Canada)
Dimensions: 17¼" W x 17" D x 5¼" H(All specifications as per manufacturer)
Anthem MCA 5, Five-channel Power Amplifier
One quick glance at the evolution of the home audio system reveals how the concept of home theater has dramatically changed the face of component buying forever. Even taking into account quadraphonic sound of the 1970s, today’s home theater installations are the most demanding and complicated since the dawn of stereophonic reproduction. Upgrading to stereophonic reproduction required doubling the number of matching loudspeakers, adding decoding equipment, updating source hardware and doubling amplification. Some 40 years after the dawn of stereophonic audio, Dolby Digital® as well as DTS® (with their five full-range channels and huge dynamic range) in addition to the established THX® standard have pressed the demands required from our home audio systems to a higher level. Unlike the transition to Dolby Pro-Logic® where additional components were the key, now we have to upgrade and replace… Do you feel a sense of Déjà vu?
At the heart of any home theater system is the power amplifier – and the current audio market has caught up with the consumer demand for high power and multiple channels of amplification as a single component. Sonic Frontier’s Anthem MCA series consists of 3 models including the 2 channel MCA-2, 3 channel MCA 3 and as reviewed here, the 5 channel MCA 5 which is one of the few true high output audiophile quality multi-channel power amplifiers on the market today.
The big brown truck arrives…
When the Anthem was delivered, I noticed the look on the UPS driver’s face as he struggled to manhandle the MCA 5 box. How heavy could this amplifier be I wondered… how about over 60 pounds! I am sure that the look on my face was equally priceless as I lugged the package to the car – then into my house that evening. What I found inside the MCA 5 box was, well another box – and in that is one hefty amplifier, which immediately struck me as a quality product with a good build quality as well as an attractive fit and finish. The MCA series amplifiers feature a solid aluminum face – my sample boasting the classic silver finish, which I personally much prefer over black. The front panel is void of all but a single round power button on the lower right corner and a two-color power LED indicator… all the real action is in the rear of this beast, where a few twists and tricks are to be found.
Input connections are made via either unbalanced gold plated RCA jacks or balanced XLR fittings – a major plus to accommodate long wire runs often associated with a home theater installation, provided you have a suitably equipped pre-amp. Loudspeaker fittings are traditional 5-way binding posts, which are located directly below the associated input and to assist installation the channels are labeled as left, center, right, left surround and right surround. For home theater installations there are two bonuses – a remote trigger in/out jack set as well as an operation mode switch which allows manual triggering as well as a signal sensing automatic power-on feature. Power from the AC mains is provided via a 2-conductor IEC-style power cord with a separate chassis ground. The MCA 5 powers-up quickly with only a slight "tick" being evident.
Gain adjustments are not provided and thus must be done at the processor.
Ventilation of heat can be a problem with a multi-channel power amplifier. The MCA 5 is strictly convection cooled with ample case openings on both the top and bottom chassis. In addition relatively tall feet are used on the bottom to allow sufficient airflow.
Power me up Scotty…
My first experience with the MCA 5 came using it to drive a pair of as full range loudspeakers with a TA-77ESD stereo preamplifier for the front end. Bass impact and weight immediately grabbed by attention. I also noted bass to be articulate and well controlled. I lived with this combination for some time as to allow the MCA 5 to "break-in" – an arguable aspect yet one I have experienced with electronic equipment over many years. A slight trace of harshness diminished quickly yet never completely vanished even with all the pre-amplifiers I subsequently used. Should I blame the MCA 5 as the culprit, or the equipment ahead of the MCA 5? I suspect combinations of both factors contribute, especially as the MCA 5 does not "sweeten" or "gloss-over" the signal and the Sony ES preamplifier leans toward a crisp, quick presentation. I noted an exceptionally low noise level even when pressing my ear to my loudspeakers’ tweeter.
The MCA 5 power management works well. From a cold start, audio output is almost instant and without speaker relays clicking closed or any objectionable offset "thump" – just the minor "tick" as mentioned above and a click from the internal power relay. This aspect is good, as if used in "automatic" mode the MCA 5 will power up quickly even with the slightest background level signal. Unlike many sub-woofer amplifiers I have dealt with, automatic power-up really works well here – with a minimum of cumbersome time delay. The LED power indicator changes from red to green when switching from standby to on. I elected to keep the MCA 5 on 24/7 much in part to the cool idle temperature.
Sonic Frontiers has incorporated a current sensing overload protection for each channel of the MCA series amplifiers. When a problem occurs such as a short or very low impedance load is present, the MCA 5 limits output instead of tripping a relay or worse yet, trying harder and harder to drive a dangerous load. I engaged this protection by accident due to a loose banana plug – at which point the problem channel simply cut back, allowing the other channels to continue.
Bring on the speakers…
During the long period I had the MCA 5, I worked with several combinations of loudspeakers and associated electronics. My decision to start out with the ACI Sapphire III is an easy one – they are quite revealing, can recreate an expansive soundstage and are a joy to listen to provided associated equipment is equally up to the task. The MCA 5 clearly is up to the task… not as "silky" as a typical tube amplifier or many MOSFET designs, yet very clean and revealing. Most of my listening other than background music from the radio is acoustic genre jazz and older rock. With a clean jazz CD or LP, the MCA 5 exhibited subtle "air" and "finesse" while delivering a rock solid punch on hard rock CDs. The limiting factor to volume was a combination of what I could stand and what I felt the Sapphires could - the MCA 5 seems to be an endless supply of sheer power!
For this review and results so far, I wanted a tougher load to drive, so I called upon my 507/407/Center 100i loudspeaker and AVR-75 receiver based home theater system. Being a nominal 4-ohm load, the Jamo 507 are a more demanding loudspeaker than many receivers would handle without complaint. However, the MCA 5 easily drove the Jamo 507s beyond loud and into the "let’s pray these don’t go poof" level with ease. Ditto while driving the nominal 6-ohm Jamo 407’s for the surround channels. I often wondered at what point this amplifier would run out of power. Not with low-level fighter fly-bys on '' to be sure - my ears would want to run for cover first!
I began to ask myself what did I have available with which I could press the MCA 5 to its limits without me going deaf in the process. At 85dB/w/m and 4 ohms nominal impedance, the AR-303a were the answer. They were boxed up for storage… but what a good reason to get them out again. Yes the MCA 5 can be overdriven to the point of clipping, at which point power runs out gracefully and gradually. Out of curiosity as to the effectiveness of the limiting protection circuitry, I placed both ARs in parallel on one channel and gradually brought up the volume. The result was simply a limited volume level before the onset of rather soft clipping, unlike the current limiting overload protection that was utilized in many 1980s era consumer products, which produced serious and sometimes damaging artifacts. I can live with this protection.
A look under the hood…(or 29 screws later)
Mass market home theater receivers are typically poorly assembled; one look inside many of them will leave you wanting to buy something better. Stated another way… "I am spending $1000 for that mess?" Looking inside the MCA 5 will confirm why you elected to spend more. Your eyes immediately turn to the pair of toroidal-core power supply transformers, separated on the chassis by a forest of 10, yes 10 10,000µf power supply filter capacitors – 2 for each channel. 5 identical power amplifier assemblies with full length extruded aluminum heat sinks, each hosting 8-output devices, are arranged in a row across the rear 2/3 of the chassis. The PC boards are assembled neatly with all components mounted tidy and overall very uncluttered. Further examination revealed the routing of the dual power supply design… one transformer covers the main left and right front channels with shared secondary windings, whilst the other covers the remaining center as well as left and right surrounds. Point to point wiring is neat and limited to power supply and system power-up sensing – a very short ribbon cable is used between each pre/driver PC board and the current gain stage board, with a small hard wired feed to the speaker output posts.
Summary…
The Anthem MCA 5 is a very competent performer and a desirable power amplifier. I can not imagine a reasonable home theater installation that would need more power. Sonically it is very clean and offers and exceptionally now noise floor. Furthermore, the build quality typifies what sets separates apart from the common receiver. If you have been considering a high-end home theater receiver, I urge you to take a hard look at the MCA 5 and a comparable processor/preamplifier as an alternative for the long haul. The MCA-5 does have some serious competition in the marketplace… but be sure to audition this one before making your final decision!
© 1999.
More information about Sonic Frontiers/Anthem products can be found upon the offical
Text © Alan L. Maier; HTML © SMR Home Theatre and Images © Alan L. Maier & SMR Home Theatre cannot be reproduced without permission. Dolby Digital is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation. The images on this page are digitally watermarked: Digimarc
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Last updated 21 December, 1999
