I bought the citation 7.1 + 5.1 + and 7.0 Processor as a combo deal about 2 years ago....it was not until I added (by good luck- got a great deal) a set of B&W 801 S3s and the new Sony DVP-S7700 that I found what I had been looking for....these two items brought everything out.....I can now watch movies/play music on the Citations and see what they are capable of....Unfortunately my Processor is now dated by newer digital processing...The great thing is that I am in the process of doing a trade in w/ Madrigal to update my processor to the Proceed AVP....I have to compliment the company for giving me a fair trade in for my older processor....back to the amps....I can not say that I have heard the Krell, Mark Levinson, or Proceed amps...but I have heard these 2 amps by Citation....they are rock solid.....I would like to audition these other amps in my system to see what they are all about...but for now....even w/ my older processor I can say that my system moves me.....that is something that makes all my $$$ spent an investment....you can buy some forms of happiness

Remote turn-on, solid as a tank, seperate power supplies for each channel for absolutely no bleedthrough, oh yeah, it's GEORGEOUS!

I too have hooked this up as a secondary power source with an K/K AVR-75 as the Pre/Pro & center & surrounds power source.
I am not a purist and I like my tone controls because, let's face it, some recordings NEED it!
I ended up bi-amping my Tannoy S10 fronts with this amp and ET VOILA! I have one SWEET system for not alot of bucks.
I actually purchased two of these intending to obtain a 5.0 controller but when that fell through, I decided to pick up a SH-5000C for DTS decoding and keep my AVR-75 for multi-purpose duty. After all, it is one of the finest AVR units ever made, (read my review).
First thing, I had to turn down the bass & treble controls, closer to flat.
This is one CLEAN amp. NO source, volume CRANKED all the way!.... Not a peep.
I can also run the system louder than before, (without the amp) and it seems not as loud. No more bass transients. In fact, the response is so un-colored that there is literally zero fatigue at what should be virtually intolerable volume levels. For instance, I sat with my friend after initially hooking this baby up and as I watched the volume level go from - to + we just kind of looked at each other in amazement, you could not do this before without cupping your hands over your ears. As I turned to say something about this I found that although my lips were moving, he could not here a word I was saying. A testament to the fact that this was indeed an extremely high volume level as he was only a foot from me. I could not believe it, the Tannoys were at last doing what they were made to do. The head room is out of this world! We were literally "inside" the music! It became our environment and although we could not here one another, the sound was incredibly pleasing. Full, rich, REAL!
This is not a technically worded review, I know. I figure you can get those below and at madrigal's web site. I just wanted to share, as best I could, the experience of owning one of these.
I have tried the above listed amps and found that the Brystons, purveyors of much hype, didn't MOVE me. The Adcoms are less expensive but again, EXPERINCE is what I'm after, not cost(within reason).
Through my discount as a dealer, I got what I consider to be an awesome deal on this unit. If I would have payed the full $2,800 list price, I would still be just as happy.
The fact that you can get them for considerably less makes the whole thing just that much sweeter.
Well deserved perfect 5's all the way around.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston, Adcom

Immense Power, Clarity, Low Distortion

NONE

WOW!!!!! I connected this to my HK AVR65 and "wow" is the only words that come to mind. My system consists of the following:
HK AVR65
Citation 7.1AMP
2 infinity reference series rear speakers
1 infinity sterling series center channel
2 Cerwin Vega 15" D9 speakers
Also using Cardas Microtwin interconnects and Tara labs 5

When I connected this amp up, I immediately played something with deep bass and the difference was amazing. The amp is rated to drive my 4ohm speakers and they have never sounded so rich and powerful. Not only is it loud, but the bass is smooth without distortion. The treble and mids have a very rich ring as well and clarity that is being brought out more than ever. The Krell Amps I think are the most overpriced Amps on earth. They sound great, but for 8-10k, they are not even worth it. The citation smacks it around hands down. One of the best investments that I have ever made and as one other reviewer noted..."You can buy some forms of happiness!!!"

If you can get a good deal on one, don't think, just buy it!!!!

Similar Products Used:

I have tested Krell KAV250, CLASSE, and Accurus Amps along with many other receivers from Yamaha, HK, ONKYO, etc,etc

Quiet, solid, POWERFUL.

HEAVY, (not a weakness)

I finally made the leap to separates when I saw these being blown out on Ubid. I had been using a Denon AVR-5700 (BIG dissapointment).
The only expensive part is the 5.0 controller, $3,700 if you can find it but worth every penny.
At first I was using the amps from the pre-outs of the AVR until I could get the controller.
I have to agree with the guy below, the transients come across accurately (if that's what he was saying), every nuance is proportionately correct. Something the 5700 just could not do on its' own.
I cannot praise this unit enough. I have many friends with seperates and have listened for over a year to everything the high end shop in my town sells. I have to say, I'm not impressed with their stuff. In fact, one friend has 4 $2,200
Brystons running some B&W 802's and he's got around $20,000 in his system and mine just blows his away in every category. Where his is seems harsh, the Madrigals are smoooooth, at high volume where the Brystons seem to become thin and the soundstage starts to collapse, the Madrigals just smile and say "how high do you want to go?".
If I was a little more audiophilologically literate I could expound on the unbelievable soundstage, the precise imaging, immeasurable depth of the noise floor or all the other technical perfections of this beautiful amp. But instead just let me say it sounds AWESOME!!!!!
The Citation 7.1 is hands down the finest of any of the dozen or so manufacturers offerings I have had the opportunity to listen to over the past year and like the gentlemen below, I would feel this way having paid the full $3,000, or even more.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston, Carver, EVERYTHING

Built like a tank,warm airy sound,so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Efforless power!

Binding post are capped off.

This amp is as close as you can get to the holy grail of music and movie entertainment. The Citation has an uncanny ability to reveal so much detail and clarity at extreme decibal levels. And to top it off,the sound stays warm and natural. You would think that this baby is a tube amp. And two channel music can actually sound like SACD with a decent DVD player and a high quality preamp. I consider myself the lucky few who bumped into this forgotten amplifier.

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Rotel 1095

Very clean sound. Powerful. Too heavy for a burglar to lift!!!

Too heavy for me to lift!!!

I have both the 7.1 amp and the 5.1 amp. The 7.1 sounds nicer in my opinion even against the 5.1 bridged for 300 watts per channel.

I agree with prior review that you can turn up the volume and experience no fatigue. This is the first time that I have experienced that. The music becomes richer as the volume goes up without unpleasant effect. Very enjoyable to listen to.

I bought this new in an unopened box via the internet. Oddly, the manual for this printed in 1995 indicates 130 watts per channel X 4 channels though the Citation site states 150 watt X 4 channels. I don't know if I got a really early model or not, the serial number is low. But regardless, this sounds truely wonderful.

I have not yet hooked this up for use in my home theater but the 5.1 sounded great (used a Luxman L580 for two of the six channels) and this will sound better.

I have been using two vintage Luxman M02 power amps rated at 150 watts per channel with better THD ratings for my stereo. Last two weeks used the Citation 5.1 bridged at 300 watts per channel and Luxman M02 mono at 320 watts for subwoofer but the Citation 7.1 blows those away hands down.

I have decided to sell my four Luxman vintage amps and other misc equipment just to get another one of these for use in another part of the house ... my wife will murder me!!!

If you can find it buy it!!! I have seen these go as cheap as $820 shipped recently. Also, the packing of this amp is excellent in a double weight outer box with inner box well spaced from outer box ... it even survived UPS shipping.

Similar Products Used:

Luxman M02, Luxman L580 R361 as power amps, Citation 5.1

Clean, warm but detailed, non-fatiguing, HIGH current, 4 channels makes it easy to biamp mains

Heavy, I didn't buy two

I have owned this amplifier for a little over a month, and it seems to be getting better every day. Ditto the comments regarding the non-fatiguing sound - but where this amp excels is it's ability to control difficult loads, as it should with such high current outputs. My mains are NHT 2.9s and I am using the 4 channels of the 7.1 to run them in a passive biamp configuration. Before the Citation, I had tried a variety of amplifiers in my system.

The Krell provided great resolution, but was somewhat sterile in its presentation. The Aragon was great at controlling bass, but lacked the slightest amount of warmth at the top. The McCormack was the most musical and was almost perfect with my speakers, but I felt that bass control was slightly lacking.

I bought the 7.1 based on reviews I had read and also after speaking with other NHT owners who were using this amplifier in their system. The first thing I noticed when I hooked it up was a smooth high end, lacking harshness, but with a great deal of detail - it was slightly (very slightly) grainy at first, but it has smoothed out. Mids were smooth and the bass was tight and controlled. Throughout it's break in period, coherence has improved (it was never a slouch to begin with), the soundtage is opening, and there is noticeably more air around voices than initially. I have had a difficult time matching an amplifier to my speakers, being that inadequate amplification has led to a very bright presentation, but I can honestly say that this amplifier is extremely musical and will be in my system for a long time.

Just an aside, I also dealt with Jeff, and when my first 7.1 was delivered it had a bad channel, so Jeff shipped out another one almost immediately. In the interim, I used the 5.1 (which I am using for center and surrounds) to power my mains, and I noticed slightly more grain and a bit more brightness with it - it is, however, an excellent amp also and brigded to 300 watts drives my Audio Center 2 with power and finesse.

Unbeatable at the current price, a great perofrmer at MSRP.

Similar Products Used:

McCormack DNA-1 dlx, Krell KAV-250a, Aragon 8008