Price Paid:  $1200.00 from private sales

Summary:
I was extremely impressed with the C-500 for for what I paid for this 5-channel amp
I auditioned (12) 5-channal amps from all the top manufactures and couldn't find anything that came even close for up to 4 times the price.

Strengths:
Tons of reserve, clean highs, tight bass, rich midrange. Kept pace with a Levinson 27 and 333 and midrange krell's for mids and highs.. thats saying something for an amp for less the $2000.00!!!

Weaknesses:
Doesnt have quite the same bass extension of a Levinson, but Levinsons cost over 5 times what I paid for this and the phenominal deep bass of the levinson isn't needed in a home theatre application as the powered sub woofer takes care of that.

Price Paid:  $1100.00 from The Sound Concept

Summary:
A very pleasant surprise! This amp is something special. Free from electronic glare or harshness, with no obvious sacrifices in clarity or resolution. It manages to have a very natural tone, without rolling off the highs the way warmer (more veiled) amps tend to. Highly recommended, if you can find a demo (or used); compares with 5-channel amps costing over $2500.

Strengths:
Great resolution and detail, with soothing, natural sound. 280W into 3.2Ohms; slew rate = 65.

Weaknesses:
Some transformer hum, esp. on the small relay transformer (which my dealer greatly reduced). Only 2x20=40 microfarads of capacitance for all 5 channels. No longer manufactured.

Similar Products Used:
Anthem PVA7 (similar value, though not quite as nice a sound), Audio Refinement Multi (warmer; pricier), NAD Silver (no better, but pricier), Rotel (far worse/harsher), B&K (worse humming & ground loo

Summary:
I have seen or read very little about Chiro, but after replacing a system based on the Lexicon decoder, I find the Chiro to be far superior sonically and much easier to set up and operate. Highly recommended

Strengths:
Ample power, ease of set up and operation, virtually bulletproof.

Weaknesses:
No turn on muting switch

Similar Products Used:
Chiro CA-800 pre-amp/tuner, Chiro 5.1 DTS decoder