FS: Earthquake Cinenova Grande 5

[Gaara]

"It's sick out of it's mind" that was the quote first used to describe this amp and I feel it still stands today.

NEW STAGGERED PRICING:
........................................Price for members with
$1600 + actual shipping
$1600 + 1/2 shipping ...........(250+ posts, 3 months)
$1600 shipped ....................(500+ posts, 6 months)
$1550 shipped ....................(1000+ posts, 12 months)
$1550 local pickup

Description:

Specs:
300wpc x 5 @ 8ohms ...........600wpc x 5 @ 4ohms........... 1000wpc x 5 @ 2ohms
9.25" H x 18" W x 21" D (w/handles) ...........Weight: 141lbs ............... 4Kva Transformer

This amp was purchased to power a full LSi setup and did so with ease. Sound quality wise this thing is amazing. It excels with both music and movies, dynamic and quite passages, and any impedance speaker. The Cinenova is one of the quietest amps I have owned as well as one of the coolest running. This amp is the epitome of a gentle giant.

If you like reviews there is one from Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_11_4/earthquake-cinenova-grande-power-amplifier-10-2004.html) or the review that made me decide to buy was from Home Theater Magazine (http://www.hometheatermag.com/poweramplifiers/12/index1.html) where the Cinenova received a 98 for performance and a 99 for value.

Condition:
I have had this amp for around 4 years. I added dynamat extreme to the caps of the L+R amp blocks, as well as the transformer. It has performed flawlessly except I did have of the monoblocks blow a fuse about 6 months ago. It was sent in for repair and it seems that I had let speaker wires touch. Everything has been fine since.

As for current condition I know there are some light scratches on the top from other components being there. Most of the scratches aren't that noticeable, but there are sum thin rub marks near the rear of the top that are. Currently the handles are off and the buyer has the choice of having them on or off.

Terms:
This unit will be shipped in the original crate insured with all of the original packaging. This comes with the unit, stock power cord, and manual (manual is damaged). Accepting Paypal (add 1.5%), money order, or personal check. I will only sell to a buyer with verifiable good feedback. I have feedback here (http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/itrader.php?u=65293) and on Audiogon (http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fb.pl?user=Gaara&&&&). For sale in the US only.

[Gaara]

Front:
http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/13298/2010141980069106632S600x600Q85.jpg (http://image64.webshots.com/564/1/41/98/2010141980069106632wTdjZc_fs.jpg)

Rear:
http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/6501/2153586770069106632S600x600Q85.jpg (http://image64.webshots.com/564/5/86/77/2153586770069106632ymRVCj_fs.jpg)

Top
http://inlinethumb60.webshots.com/30395/2094731210069106632S600x600Q85.jpg (http://image58.webshots.com/658/7/31/21/2094731210069106632yeZKzL_fs.jpg)

Internals
http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/14617/2324126940069106632S600x600Q85.jpg (http://image64.webshots.com/564/1/26/94/2324126940069106632cOcosX_fs.jpg)

[nikolas812]

IF I had 2k just laying around i would certainly pic this up and throw it in a closet untill it is time for a home theater build.

But.. I don't.

So good luck on your sale.:D

[Gaara]

Thanks. If I had 2k laying around I would keep it...but I don't so I had to downgrade to a 4ch gainclone.

[venomclan]

Bump,
Gaara is solid and this amp is the shiznit.
Venom

[wingnut4772]

Dammit! Wait to sell this until my life is back to normal.










(sigh) good luck.:o

[Sami]

Thanks. If I had 2k laying around I would keep it...but I don't so I had to downgrade.

Did you already get a replacement, or are you going to once funds clear on this one? The reason I ask is to find out if partial trade would be ok.

[Gaara]

Damn my little thread is popular.

V, thanks, the guys over at AVS love this amp with Gallos.

Darla, thats right you sold one of these monsters a while back didn't you? I worry sometimes I will regret the sale, I guess thats why I held onto it for the last 4 months unused. Just saw the thread, you apparently sold it for the same price as I did...and in 1 day, sweet.

Sami, I guess I should have mentioned I did find a replacement already, a custom made 4ch ~200wpc Rawsonte gainclone amp. The only amp I am looking for is a 4ch icepower amp. Out of curiosity what was the amp you are looking to upgrade from? I have tried a lot of amps and compared most of them to my Cinenova.

[Sami]

That's good, I don't need to spend anymore money. :)

Nice specs on the amp, it's a monster for sure. 4kVA...my amp has 5 individual 400VA transformers and it's quite massive, I can only imagine how the insides of this amp look. Any gut shots? I doubt I'll be buying but like 99% of this forum I'm tempted...

[dpowell]

Out of curiosity, what is the effect on your electric bill when running this as your primary amp?

[Gaara]

Sami, I'll snap a few pics later today. How do you like your Sherbourn? I was looking into getting one a while back, I was going to rock it w/ the Cinenova doing the mains and the Sherbourn doing the surrounds.

dpowell, probably not much. I did some measurements and at the time I was using 4/5 channels of the Cinenova, 2 were full range to my fronts and 2 were doing bass 60hz and below (4ohms). The result was the Cinenova consumed around 1.5amps at idle, 2-2.5amps during a movie, and 3-4amps max during loud demos. If this was a normal setup with speakers x-over at 60 or 80hz it would have drawn much less.

[G-2]

We bought our Earthquake 5 ch from Darla. It replaced a months old Outlaw-7500 and the outlaw is a great piece, however it is not in the same class with the Earthquake Grande. I see you've got the handles off, at close to 150 lbs one may want to consider a fork lift for moving this baby around. The sound difference in our home theater (LSi's all the way around) from our Sonance to the Outlaw was significant, the move from the Outlaw to the Earthquake was ear opening. We began to hear things that we hadn't heard before. If we didn't already have one (Thanks Darla) we'd buy this one, knowing what we know now. Again for clarification, we used this amp on LSi-FX x2, 9 x2 & Center x1, our Rotel-1090 runs the 15 x2. 2 Channel, Multi-channel SACD's, and Home Theater shines with this setup.

The Earthquake Grande is HIIIIIIIIIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

[DavGins]

I have Monitor 70 Fronts, a CS2 Center, FXi5 rears and an Onkyo TX-SR875 Receiver. Do you think this amp is overkill for those? Can these speakers handle the power? Just curious. Thanks.

[treitz3]

141 pounds!!!???!!! Holy smokes! :eek:

[dorokusai]

I have Monitor 70 Fronts, a CS2 Center, FXi5 rears and an Onkyo TX-SR875 Receiver. Do you think this amp is overkill for those? Can these speakers handle the power? Just curious. Thanks.

No. Yes.

[DavGins]

I'm in NYC .. where in CT are you? is a pick up ok? I'm getting tempted, but not there yet.

Thanks

[Gaara]

G-2, thanks for the input, I had it doing the same, except 9s in front, fxs on the side and the center. I know what you mean, I remember my first movie with my LSis and the Cinenova, the details was shocking. Moving it is not fun without the handles, I have injured my back moving this thing alone up and down stairs.

Davgins, I concur with Doro. I am located in northern CT on the MA border, if you know where Six Flags New England is I live 2 miles down the road from that. Local pickup is welcome and if this will fit in my car (small car) I am willing to drive 50 miles or so to make a deal happen.

[Gaara]

Updated with pic of top, finally got a sunny day to show issues. Some light scratching near the front, 3 noticeable marks near the rear, caused by other components. Sides and front are clean. Click to zoom.

[Gaara]

nm...

[G-2]

OMG is thing still here!?!? Somebody buy this thing! Remember folks, a new Earthquake Grande 5 is going to cost you $4k+...

[devani]

dagnabit...I wish I had money to buy:eek:

It would be sweet 2 hour drive for me:D

[demaples]

OK, bear with me as I'm new at this high end equipment. I have an Onkyo 805 with lsi25 fronts, low end Genesis sides, lsi15 rears, lsic center and psw650 sub. Would it be possible to run the fronts, rears and center through this amp and just power the sides throught the Onkyo or should I just wait for the right 7 channel amp? Have any idea what shipping would be to Leesburg Florida, 34788?

[MKZ]

I think this is one of the best amp you would ever heard, look no further.

[tcrossma]

OK, bear with me as I'm new at this high end equipment. I have an Onkyo 805 with lsi25 fronts, low end Genesis sides, lsi15 rears, lsic center and psw650 sub. Would it be possible to run the fronts, rears and center through this amp and just power the sides throught the Onkyo or should I just wait for the right 7 channel amp? Have any idea what shipping would be to Leesburg Florida, 34788?

Yes, that's a very common way to run a 7.1 (or even a 5.1). Use the amp to power the front stage and let the AVR handle the surrounds. This would be a great amp for your system.

Edit: I just saw in another thread of yours that you're thinking of upgrading the sides to LSi15's. If you do that -- and you buy a 5-channel amp -- you may want to add a 2-channel amp for them down the road. That's probably the route i'd take though, as you'd have more future flexibility in case you ever decide to go a different route with your system.

[Gaara]

I'm kinda surprised to, Darla's sold for the same price in 1 day.

demaples, you have 15s in the rear? That seems like such overkill, I have little speakers with 3in drivers in the rears...but to each his own. Yes, you would use the pre-outs of the onkyo for the FL/FR/C/BR/BL speakers and power the SL/SR with the 805. I personally ran this for my front 5 speakers and used a cheaper Parasound and later Rotel for the rear surrounds in a all LSi system (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2170483560069106632VKNZds).

The Earthquake is above and beyond most amps out there, it sounds better then Parasound, Rotel, B&K, Outlaw (going of reviews), and many others. That said if you found a good deal on a 7ch Earthquake you could jump on it, but anything else isn't going to sound as good. Shipping would be around $100 as it is ~145lbs w/crate.

[demaples]

Just made an offer on a 7 channel Outlaw. I'll let you know. Thanks.

[engtaz]

Outlaw is good but this is much much better.

engtaz

[venomclan]

Outlaw is good but this is much much better.

engtaz

Agreed

[wingnut4772]

Outlaw is good but this is much much better.

engtaz

I have owned both and the Earhquake smites the Outlaw with no mercy.

[G-2]

We have also owned both and couldn't be more pleased with our current rig. We changed amps 3 times in a year and haven't felt ANYTHING else needed to be changed. Again we're referring to our Home Theater which is all LSi's. The Outlaw is a good amp, we owned one of the new 7500's, but it is simply not in the same league as the Earthquake.

[Gaara]

deamples is taking a pass so this is still available.

I compared this amp using a full LSi setup to a B&K 125.5 and Parasound Halo A52 and preferred the Earthquake. I compared it using LSi9s listening to music to a Halo A23, B&K 200.2 and ~200wpc Adcom and preferred the Cinenova (as did the shop owner). I have also compared it to various amps powering my Gallo setup and always preferred the Earthquake. These include amps from brands like Rotel, Sunfire, PS Audio, Red Dragon, Nuforce, Rawsonte, etc.

[mhartman29]

I'm so tempted! I've been doing way too much upgrading lately, though. And, that sucker is 21" deep! My 19" emotiva barely fits in my cabinet.

[Face]

I'm surprised this amp is still here.

[tcrossma]

Me too. I'd have jumped on this when I was in the market for my 5 channel amp.

[Gaara]

I'm so tempted! I've been doing way too much upgrading lately, though. And, that sucker is 21" deep! My 19" emotiva barely fits in my cabinet.

Actually it is 19, just measured, the 21 is w/handles.

[bernardo]

What kind of furniture do you people have to hold this beast? The only thing keeping me from jumping in is that the shelves of my stuff hold only 65lb according to the user's guide. Short of leaving in on the floor... :(

[zeppage2]

Gaara,

Please provide a shipping quote to 94605.
I have no buyer rating here, but you can view my profile on ebay under the username zeppage2.

regards, Mark

p.s. pm me at zeppage2@yahoo.com

[G-2]

Our Earthquake 5 channel lives on an Ultrasonic single shelf

[Gaara]

I kept mine on a DIY Flexy stand. For about 6 months I had it on a 20-24in tv stand that cost me $30 at a local store.

If anyone needs a shipping quote it is shipping from 06078, the box is 22 x 26 x 16 and according the UPS label is 136 lbs, but is probably closer to 145. UPS is about 40% more then FedEx, and USPS won't ship it. DHL works to.

[Hiccups]

I'll take it!

Seriously. I'll PM you now

[Gaara]

Zep, I emailed you this morning, please let me know asap as hiccups is ready and willing

hiccups, back at ya

[Gaara]

Back on the market again. Please guys don't pm me saying you will take it and have the money ready unless you really do. Second time it has happened with this unit.

[cfrizz]

You may as well put it on Audiogon Gaara. These cheapo's don't know a good thing when it hits them upside their heads!

[tonyb]

Yeah Cathy...then you'll see a thread about recommending an amp to power a full LSI HT system.This is a steal here people.

[reeltrouble1]

buyers who do this I want it, oh, wait, no I don't, need to get a negative in the sales rating system.

This is a very nice amp, I really dont get the FM anymore seems like alot of quality stuff just sits. Looks like audiogon is going to have to be the way to go.

[cfrizz]

10000% agree Ted! If you don't have the check in hand to send out right then, don't post that you want it!

buyers who do this I want it, oh, wait, no I don't, need to get a negative in the sales rating system.

[Gaara]

I have one more polkie interested, if they back out then off to Agon.

[wingnut4772]

I wish I could get it. Good luck.

[Gaara]

I wish I could get it. Good luck.

I wish you could to, its still for sale. If you plan on purchasing anytime in the next couple months let me know, I can hold this for Polk Masters.

Guys, please check to make sure you can get this before pming me. I have had 2 members now say they will take it only to later renege. I have had a couple members say up front they are not sure if they have the funds, that is fine, just say upfront if you have to check first with your bank, wife, husband, dog, etc. before pulling the trigger.

That said I am initiating a new pricing structure, see the OP for info. I have one buyer who seems interested, but the first one with the $ gets it.

[Gaara]

One more thing, be ready to verify feedback if you pm me, I have had one member give me his 200+ Ebay account info then when asked to verify it he disappeared.

[NotaSuv]

You may as well put it on Audiogon Gaara. These cheapo's don't know a good thing when it hits them upside their heads!

well maye some of us cheapos have kids,families, and other more important uses for the $$$$,and do know about seein a good deal...see em everyday, as there are lots of other audio boards out there with as good or even better deals......i guess the cheapos at audiocircle are just as cheap and clueless huh :D

[Gaara]

well maye some of us cheapos have kids,families, and other more important uses for the $$$$,and do know about seein a good deal...see em everyday, as there are lots of other audio boards out there with as good or even better deals......i guess the cheapos at audiocircle are just as cheap and clueless huh :D

I believe Cfrizz was referring to either the members who said they would take it, then renegged. Perhaps she was referring to the 2-3 members who made threads requesting a good amp for LSis, and when told to buy this amp went out and bought lower quality ones for similar $ (deamples comes to mind).

What deal do you see that is better than mine? I see the broken one on AV123 that was selling for $1450. Of course the seller doesn't give out that info until you contact him, nor does he mention the scratches on the sides and top.

[demaples]

deleted by forum member

[Gaara]

Wow. Reread my post, you weren't one of the ones that said you would take it and changed their mind, you were one of the ones that was recommended a Cinenova by many different people and then bought something of lesser value. Sorry if you read it the wrong way it wasn't what I intended.

If you read through my past posts you will see I am a big fan of icepower which your amp utilizes. I replaced the Cinenova with icepower amps. I think the 1077 is a nice amp I just don't think the 1077 is worth the asking price of $2500, you can get much better for the $. For example a NHT Power5 and a Power2 will run you $2k for 200wpc x 7 and are icepower amps that use much nicer modules then the 1077. I guess if you need a really small compact amp it will fit the bill, hopefully you didn't pay to much though as there is on on Agon right now for $1300obo.

[demaples]

Hi Gaara,
thanks. Isn't that the way it always is, one comes up a bit cheaper. I got mine for $1600, free shipping, so I'll give it a try. Thanks for the other advice, I'll check them out.
D

[Gaara]

$1600 is a good price for it, not worth it imo for $2500 but for $1600 it is good deal. I take it you bought it from the Audio Pimp then, he is usually meticulous with his gear so you know your getting a piece that is good as new, worth a little extra IMO.

P.S. Thanks for the PMs guys it is appreciated. I am going to take your advice.

[hangon]

I purchased CineNova Grande (5) balanced XLR 3/30/2005. Plenty of power will not disappoint anyone. This amp is really powerful and will impress you and your friends. The Signal to noise at 105db is -116.7 to -117.3 with THD+ noise at .005 (every amp is tested from the factory before shipping). Runs very cool with no hiss or buzz at low sound levels. 12 volt switching and more.

[Gaara]

Thanks for the input hangon, I had the same findings. Plenty of power yet this thing is silent at low levels, it it runs surprisingly cool for its power output and size.

On a unrelated note this thread is a mess, a redux will be posted tomorrow with new pictures and some slightly lowerd/adjusted prices. Stay tunned.