Emotiva BasX A5

Part of Emotiva's BasX range of affordable AV, the A5 amplifier gives Mark Craven five potent power channels to play with

- Mark Craven

BACK IN THE day, a five-channel power amplifier might have been all you needed to hookup with an AV processor for home cinema separates heaven. Now, audio systems can reach 11 channels and beyond, so are they still needed? Emotiva certainly thinks so.

Its BasX A5, rated at a solid 95W per channel into 8ohms, sells for the bargain price of £749. The BasX range is the American company's entry-level, below the higher-spec, more muscular-looking X series, and its mission is to provide the capabilities you need without the frills you'd rather not pay for.' It consists of no fewer than 13 models, including stereo integrated and preamp units, the MC1 Dolby Atmos/DTS:X processor, and a multitude of power amps from monoblock to seven-channel. All BasX amps are Class A/B, and the A5's custom toroidal linear power supply accounts for much of its 12kg weight.

Steel yourself

The amp's styling verges on 'industrial', but it's rather smart all the same. The black steel chassis, with ventilated top panel (there are cooling fans and an internal heat sink), is fronted by a brushed aluminium plate with central power button and slim black display. The former has an amber ring light for standby, the latter five LEDs that represent the operational status of the amp's five channels. These status LEDs can be switched off if you wish via a control on the rear panel, adjacent to the BasX A5's 12V trigger in/outputs.