Awesome low end performance. Never sound harsh nor fatigue at long listening. Solid build quality.

None.

A hybrid design that has the best of both tube and solid-state designs : airly and warm sound couple with speed and controlled timing.

Similar Products Used:

NAD, Audiolab

strong,deep soundstage,solid build

none

I have the amp for about 2 months,over all I am very impressed how good it ferformed in my system,the power is plenty,the body of music is bigger and soundstage is deeper than the Adcom 5803,it even run cooler than the Adcom I used before.It open up my JMlab speakers to a higher level of music.I heard somebody swapping the Tungsram 6922 make it even sound better but I don't known how difficult it is to do it,I just leave it stock.In the price range under$1000 for a used one I think this is the best for your money.

Similar Products Used:

adcom,b&k,harman kardon

powerful and high resolution. wide and clear soundstage.

They look ugly! There is nothing decorated on the faceplate of amp. Don't blame them,they just want to save money. High frequencies is too bright! Maybe it's my Kimber 4TC??

It's time for me to contribute this online community... What I have is this pre2L and amp2 combo. I used to have a Audiolab 8000A,but I hate its high frequences. Now,the highs is improved very much and much more dynamics. My Celestion A2 sounds more powerful now. The bass is simply...heart-beating and the highs is more pleasant. That's not enough. I demand more pleasant highs!! Amp2 is not smooth enough. I don't know how to describe that kind of sound. This combo sounds between tube and solid-state. Not warm as tubed one,but much more resolution than tubes. When I use headphone with preamp2L,it sounds so real as if you were in the concert... Especially in the midnights,if you turn off the lights and listen to the music in the complete darkness,the music appears not in your ears,but in your brain. I am fond of pre 2L...,but not the amp2...

Similar Products Used:

Some Sony stuff. A lot of NAD products... and Audiolab for the passed two years.

Looks, Sound, bass slam, power reserves, build, oh and did I say SOUND

none

This amp is GREAT!!!! I''ve owned the Pre2L for awhile now and have been wanting to upgrade my amp to something on the same level as the Anthem Pre-Amp. Well it seems like Anthem all the way around is the way to go. This amp is dynamic and does everything right. The bass is musical and mids and vocals are just right and smooth and the highs are perfect. My only problem is now for me to upgrade I have to spend thousands more in the amp and pre-amp department.

Similar Products Used:

classe, audio research, rotel, bryston,

Sound quality - smooth and full

None.

This is a great amp. The sound has no harshness whatsoever. It is effortless and fast. I am rediscovering some of my CD's with this amp.

I use my Yamaha 2095 as a preamp. JMLab Electra 915.1 as speakers. All the harhness that I had before with the Yamaha as the main amp has disappeared. All I have now is a lush and extraordinarily satisfying sound.

Absolutely great amp that feels built like a rock.

Wide soundstage and smooth and very detailed.

Runs a little on the hot side.

This is the Special Edition model. Much more musical than the non SE version. After a long break in period, this amp keeps getting better. It has brought me back to many CDs that I had forgotten about.

Has plenty of power to run in theatre mode also. Do yourself a favor and audition this amp if you get a chance.

System:
Marantz 780 Reciever
Cal Audio Alpha 24/96
Esoteric P-10
Toshiba 9100
Paradigm Reference 80s

Waiting on a Pre2L SE

Total top to bottom sound, Power

None that I could hear

The is the Best Hybred amp I have ever heard in this price catagory or even near this price range. Smooth, smooth, smooth and just right from top to bottom

Similar Products Used:

Audio Research and Conrad Johnson

tight bass, powerful but delicate

It goes along well with my Dynaudio 1.3MKII.
Its power can handle very well with the low-efficiency loud speakers, like Dynaudio. They perfectly can make a good sound.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz

The Anthem AMP 2 is a bit on a different animal in the world of power amps. It combines both the smoothness and liqudity of tube amplification with the control and dynamic impact of a solid state amp. It's dual 6922 input stage combined with a 200 watt/ch solid state output stage seems to give you the best of both worlds. All the plus's of each design approach seem to be embodied in this amplifier. I hear everything that I like about tubes and everything I like about solid state designs without any of the things that can make each of these singular approaches make one yearn for the sound of the other.If you read my review of the MCA 2 then you know I have previous experience with an amplifier from Anthem...it was the very positive impression imparted by that amp that caused me to purchase the AMP 2.
But as good as the MCA 2 is (and for $699 it's a veritable "steal"), the AMP 2 far surpasses it in all areas of sonic performance.
As recommended for both amplifiers an extensive 70 break-in was given to the amp before any critical evaluation was made, but I must say that the AMP 2 had very positive attributes right out of the box...much different than the MCA 2. It was noticeably more dimensional when compared to a Rotel RB991.
I gave the amp a "marathon" break-in, reaching the 70 hour point in 3 1/2 days, listening each night after work. As each evening came and went I became more and more impressed with the absolute "liquidity" of this amplifier. Mids and highs were just so so smooth and non-fatiguing. During the early stages of break-in I felt that it was somewhat less dynamic than the Rotel, but as it has now exceeded 100 hrs playing time I have to say that this amp lacks nothing in dynamic capability.
The soundstage is both wide and deep with extremely good image specificity, all better than the RB991. The image does seem to start at or slighly behind the speakers as compared to the Rotel's more "in your face" image. I don't see this as a plus or a minus as the specific speakers in your system combined with your personal tastes will dictact which you might prefer. As I listen to my system more and more I am leaning to the AMP 2's rendering of the soundfield.
I don't know if it's the tube input or just the total design of the amp, but there is an added "texture" or body to all the individual instruments/vocalists, as I listen to my favorite evaluation cuts. A greater sense of the performers being there in the room with you. I sometimes sit and just smile and shake my head in amazement as I hear something "new" in a song I've heard many times. before. It's ability to extract even the most subtle aspect of each song that I play is maybe it's most positive attribute. If tubes are sometimes thought to slighly mask detail, this amp surely does not. It is extremely detailed and it is so without being "bright" or overbearing in the highs. Smooth, smooth...smooth!
What really gets me excited about the AMP 2 is that I know that I'm really just beginning to hear what it can truely do...it's going to get nothing but better and better.
As Stereophile said in a comment in the September issue when reporting on the HiFi '99 show...."And it's worth reminding consumers anew that Anthem's highly praised 200w hybrid AMP 2 ($1799), packaged with the Anthem Pre 2 ($1299), is one of the great values in high-end electronics."

I couldn't agree more...

Associated Electronics:

Paradigm Studio 100 v2
Marantz CD63SE (as a transport)
Proceed DAP dac
Audiodyne Benchmark interconnects
Audiodyne Benchmark Datalink digital cable
Audiodyne Benchmark bi-wire speaker cables
Audiodyne Powertap power cord (dac)
Audioquest AC-12 power cord (AMP 2)
M & K V125 sub
Monster HT2000 power conditioner
Lovan Trisolator isolation platform (cd)
Vibrapods (cd, dac and AMP 2)

Rating: 10 stars....5 for sounding like a great solid state amp and 5 for sounding like a great tubed one. :-)

Addendum to my previous review of the AMP2. I have since started doing a bit of tube rolling and found that Mullards improve the sound of the amp over the stockSovteks, lending a sweeter high end and less hardness in the bass.
But the winner so far for best tubes is definitely the Tungsram 6922's, which I ordered from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio. Wow! This baby has really come to life now. Much more dimensional and detailed, with an even better low end quality than the Mullards.
These ain't leavin' the tube sockets for awhile...
5 1/2 stars now...