Price Paid:  $4500.00 from Audiostore

Summary:
Este equipo por ser de 5 canales, posee un sonido interesante, aunque los bajos se confunden con los sonidos medios, escuchandolo en estereo con música, como sistema de home theater con los cinco canales a pleno su rendimiento es estupendo

Strengths:
Muy buenos bajos, claridad y limpieza en el canal central, fortaleza en los canales de efectos traseros

Weaknesses:
El transformador toroidal posee un zumbido molesto en AC 230 v.

Similar Products Used:
Multiamplificadores Yamaha, Krell, Adcom y Luxman

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from local store

Summary:
This was a first power amp I purchased, after a long time sticked up with all kind different of receivers. I was glad to go for seperate components, everything changed from low to high, there was a big improvement. And for the sound of the Acurus , at first when I brought it home , the treble was struggling a bit. It was harsh ,bass was muffled and kind of slow but after a few weeks it opened up the sound ,bass was faster and more accurate, treble sounded nicer and smooth.And for the same period of time I upgraded the powercord came with the Acurus, I changed it to the LAT international cord ,it really helped the dynamics level and soundstage of the amp,or might be the break-in time period was reached for the Acurus probably both of them I think! Anyways the Acurus is a very good value amp to have, the sound might not be compared with some top of the line amp as Krell or Mark Levinson( I have listened to them at some of my friends''house) but you will have to spend thousand of dollars more to get them. Just change the powercord of the Acurus to some good quality powercords then you will have a nice looking , beautiful sound power amp to keep for a long time. My system used together with the Acurus : A/V pre-amp Anthem AVM20 (also have a review posted) Boston VRM-60 for front, Boston VR910 center, Mirage OM-R2 surround speakers Two Polk sub-woofers PSW140 Panasonic DVD RP91N, Marantz CC-3000 cd Sony Wega XBR400 TV,Bell Expressvu digital sattelite systems,Sony dual cassette deck.Powercord LAT international & Harmonic Tech AC-11 all hook-up to Panamax 1000 surge protector. Interconnect cables included Wireworld Equinox & Atlantis III, Straightwire Music cable II and Monster M-550i Speaker cables used Monster MCX-1 bi-wired S14-2 and DH Labs super sonic T-14. Room size Lx18'' Wx14'' Hx9''

Strengths:
Runs very cool , looks nice with all the heatshrinks on the side, super quality build and heavy.

Weaknesses:
No DC trigger or stand-by mode,manual is just like a piece of student paper.

Similar Products Used:
Denon 2801, Marantz SR-19 & SR-7000, Yamaha RX-800 & RX-1000.

Price Paid:  $600.00

Summary:
This is my first experience with separates and let me tell you that if you are wondering if separates makes a difference, it does! What a huge difference this amp made in my system. This amp gets used 70% for music and 30% for movies but regardless of use, the sound is much more dynamic in every sense of the word. Unbelievable highs and lows compared to my HK AVR70 receiver. I have compared the A125 amp to the Denon AVR4800 amp section and the Acurus blows away the Denon. There''s just no comparison. If you do any critical listening however, you will need to power this thing up at least 30 minutes before listening. Also it does take a few weeks to burn the amp in.

Strengths:
Dynamics, soundstage, clarity and build. Runs very cool. Quiet.

Weaknesses:
None other than this nitpicking...Binding posts will only accept 16g max bare wire. you''ll need spade lugs or banana plugs for thicker speaker wire.

Similar Products Used:
No separates before.

Price Paid:  $549.00

Summary:
Do you need this amp to replace your receivers power plant? Here's a good test for determining the need, if you are thinking of adding to a DD rig.

Get yourself a Radio Shack digital sound level meter $69. You'll need this anyway to accurately setup all the DD channels on any receiver. Better yet, convince your friend to buy one and mooch his!

Now play the DD test tone setup on your receiver and look at the bar graph meter reading:

IS THE BAR GRAPH/NUMERICAL READOUT SOLID AND UNWAVERING?

If yes, you got yourself a fine receiver power plant. An upgrade will not necessarily improve the amp quality, only the WPC output. So no need to upgrade to a separate amp unless you crave more power, but if its power you seek, don't stop at 125 watts, go for 200wpc.

IS THE BAR GRAPH WAVERING, or the NUMERICAL READOUT FLUCTUATING BETWEEN TWO DIGITS?

If yes to this question, then the Acurus is for you. I always thought that a wavering bar graph/fluctuating digit readout was due to reflected sound waves in the room, it did this with Sony, Sherwood, Kenwood, Technics and Pioneer (non THX certified) receivers, both DD and DPL. But when I hooked this Acurus up to a previously wavering test toned Pioneer D850s, that old sound level meter got as solid as a rock! But surprise? not! I only paid $309 for the Pioneer, and it is a perfect pre-amp.

Now for the weakness addressed above. The Pioneer 850 pumps out six channels of music (plus a sub woofer channel), and this Acurus only has five channels, so I have to use the Pioneer's back channel. Same is true for my primary setup, using two Acurus A200x3's, I still need the seventh channel (center) driven by my Pioneer elite 37, as it pumps out seven discrete channels. Lets hope the industry standardizes so the amp makers can finally make a unit with the right number of channels!

How does the Acurus sound? Like an amp. Flat as a midwestern prairie. It has a line graph measured frequency response at all listenable frequencies that makes a preadolescent girl look like Raquel Welch by comparison. Seriously, if you are hearing coloration in your system, look to the speakers. I've only been reading stereo mags since the seventies, when I bought my first requisite dorm-buster system, but i've yet to see a mag measure a "ski-slope" frequency reponse in any amplifier test. In fact, most don't even show a line graph anymore. Makes it easier to tell the reader how the amp "sounds", without having flat frequency response curves confuse the issue.

So if you need a better quality amp, this Acurus is for you. I love all three of mine!

Strengths:
Rock Solid full metal jacket power

Weaknesses:
not enough channels, need six, or seven to keep up with the joneses ex or es systems

Similar Products Used:
acurus a200x3, kenwood km-x1

Price Paid:  $615.00 from Ubid.com

Summary:
At the recent blowout price of about $500 to $600 new on ubid.com, the Acurus A125x5 is quite possibly the best deal in hifi right now. And this is a great opportunity for those of us who has been thinking about making the switch from receivers to separates.

This is my first amp and it has not disappoint me. Separates might be more complicated to work with then receivers but it is worth the trouble. The amp is well build and looking from the top you can see its toroidal transformer taking up most of it’s internal space sitting near the center of the amp. Large heat sinks on the left and right side of the amp but I don’t think they are necessary because this thing never gets hot. This is good because with it’s relative short depth at 14” it can fit almost anywhere and you won’t have to worry much about ventilation.

At a fairly conservative rating of 125 watts at 8 ohm, the A125x5 is powerful and authoritative when it comes to sound reproduction. The sound stage has more of a presence then the receivers I had before. The amp is mostly neutral sounding with some forwardness in the HF. The bass is well controlled and not bloated. The mid-range is very smooth if just a touch cool. It is easier to track where a particular instrument is on good recordings. Instead of just listening to music being reproduced from a CD, with the Acurus, now it feels more like I am part of the audience in a concert hall.

The only problem that I encountered since I got the amp is its tendency to pickup ground loop feedback. I am not sure if other amps are also prone to this type of problem but it was not a problem with the receivers I used in the past. This is by no means the fault of the amp because when you plug in just the amp it doesn’t cause any hum in the speakers. However, hooking it up to your preamp and if you have a cable connection, it seems that a lot of people have experienced ground loop feedback which then makes the speakers hum. You wouldn’t hear the hum once you turn on the music but when it is quiet, it is noticeable. To do more research on this topic, go to www.klipsch.com and look in the forum for Acurus. There are a number of discussion threads on this issue and solutions. And Mondial, the parent company of Acurus, which is now part of Klipsch, has exceptional customer service.

Bottom line, I would recommend this amp to anyone who's looking to buy their first amp. It’s a great value if you can still find it.

Strengths:
Strong bass and clear mid-range. Always runs cool.

Weaknesses:
Slightly forward high and sensitive to cable feedbacks and RF interferance.

Similar Products Used:
Receivers only. Integra 5.1 and Marantz SR-7200.