Anthem MRX 710 - Anybody heard it yet?

[bigboss]

How would you rate the sound quality as compared to Yamaha & Pioneer flagships, and Arcam? With movies? With stereo music?

Also, which 5.1 speaker packages would partner well? Kef R series? B&W CM series? Any other?

 

[bigboss]

Also, is it a significant step up over 510?

 

[skippy]

Just a couple of snippets for you

http://hometheaterreview.com/anthem-mrx-710-av-receiver/?page=2

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1497598/anthem-mrx-receivers-310-510-710-owners-thread-tweaking-guide

Sounds like the 510 might be worth the saving over the 710 when you see the differences.

 

[BenLaw]

How would you rate the sound quality as compared to Yamaha & Pioneer flagships, and Arcam? With movies? With stereo music?

Also, which 5.1 speaker packages would partner well? Kef R series? B&W CM series? Any other?

What happened to your plans to go with Ken Kreisel? Or has that come to an end after the dark lord lost the deal and has stopped banging on about them?

 

[bigboss]

I was never interested in KK, as I want floorstanders, & have been interested in the Kefs since I demoed them in May last year.

 

[bigboss]

Just a couple of snippets for you

http://hometheaterreview.com/anthem-mrx-710-av-receiver/?page=2

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1497598/anthem-mrx-receivers-310-510-710-owners-thread-tweaking-guide

Sounds like the 510 might be worth the saving over the 710 when you see the differences.

Hmmm......you have a point. Not much to differentiate between 510 & 710 except the watts per channel. :?

Anyone compared the two yet?

 

[ellisdj]

From my experience there will be more in it than just 20w on paper.

More to do with the power supply reading that review which is extrenely important - also i think 120w per channel is a minimum amount needed based on products i have owned.

 

[ellisdj]

From my experience there will be more in it than just 20w on paper.

More to do with the power supply reading that review which is extrenely important - also i think 120w per channel is a minimum amount needed based on products i have owned but dont trust me

 

[bigboss]

The quoted watts per channel did concern me a bit, but I checked a review which says this:

"We have always found that whilst Anthem's power numbers might not seem as big as some of the competition, they are actually based on some semblance of reality."

That's why I'm interested in people's experience of 510 vs 710. I will of course be demoing to compare. Even on the manufacturer's website, the only difference between the 2 is watts per channel.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The sound of the Anthem is quite similar to the Pioneer in some respects, but as good as MCACC is, the Anthem's ARC EQ is superior, mainly because it will EQ down to 16Hz, and you can also set a upper limit on the frequencies you want EQ'd - personally, I don't see the point in EQing higher frequencies as this can be detrimental, so this is a useful feature.

The main difference with the 710 over the 510 is its toroid transformer, which gives a little more 'on tap' power and improved quality.

And Ben. Oh Ben. You could always get in touch with me to find out some facts rather than making assumptions and posting them as sly digs

The deal was always that L Sound were European distributors (that includes the UK) - that hasn't changed. What has changed is their need to promote and sell other products they deal with in the UK - we were never interested in their other brands other than SVS which we also bought from them, but that all changed when Karma AV became UK distributor for the brand. It's just business, there's no ill feelings.

 

[theflyingwasp]

Steve withers has gave it a refrence award on the av forums,I was all set to get the pioneer lx87 now this comes along,airplay might be a deal breaker for me tho ,don't know if the anthem has it.

 

[bigboss]

No, the Anthem doesn't have AirPlay.

 

[ellisdj]

A Torodial Transfomer will do more than add on tap power - its a much better/ lower noise design than a switching power supply so the extra £500 for the 710 is more than just from 20 extra watts as I said before. It will benefit the whole receiver, digital sections as well not just the amplification section.

ARC is more complex than MCCAC - Pioneers sound better with all the eq etc turned off. I bet the Anthem does as well - but EQ vs non EQ is a different debate. All I will say is after adding some GIK bass traps to my room only yesterday - there is no substitution for proper room acoustic treatment

 

[bigboss]

The sound of the Anthem is quite similar to the Pioneer in some respects, but as good as MCACC is, the Anthem's ARC EQ is superior, mainly because it will EQ down to 16Hz, and you can also set a upper limit on the frequencies you want EQ'd - personally, I don't see the point in EQing higher frequencies as this can be detrimental, so this is a useful feature.

The main difference with the 710 over the 510 is its toroid transformer, which gives a little more 'on tap' power and improved quality.

Thanks for that. I'm interested in real difference in sound quality rather than theoretical. Need to demo both before deciding. Toroid transformer certainly sounds interesting, and perhaps worth the upgrade. Will it suit Kef R series / B&W CM series then?

 

[ellisdj]

Google Linear Power Supplies for Sound Quality...

Look at whats inside a top of the range power amp such as this - it has 5 torodial transformers - thats for a reason !!

Obviously demo though mate

 

[theflyingwasp]

No airplay.......either the pioneer lx87 or the yamaha a3030 for me then.

 

[ellisdj]

why would you want airplay on a high end sound device? Surely the quality is compromsied big time

 

[bigboss]

why would you want airplay on a high end sound device? Surely the quality is compromsied big time

Look at his signature. He's got everything that Apple has made.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

No airplay.......either the pioneer lx87 or the yamaha a3030 for me then.

You can airplay to your Apple TV presuming you connect it to your av amp and get a lot more besides. The Anthem Pioneer and Yamaha all present the sound in veyr different ways. There is more to it than just the facilities.

 

[BenLaw]

And Ben. Oh Ben. You could always get in touch with me to find out some facts rather than making assumptions and posting them as sly digs

The deal was always that L Sound were European distributors (that includes the UK) - that hasn't changed. What has changed is their need to promote and sell other products they deal with in the UK - we were never interested in their other brands other than SVS which we also bought from them, but that all changed when Karma AV became UK distributor for the brand. It's just business, there's no ill feelings.

Suggesting I contact you gives you a veneer of reasonableness, but given I've asked you several direct and straightforward questions on the forum before which you've entirely ignored it didn't occur to me as something with much mileage in it.

In any event, I didn't suggest there was any ill feeling, simply that at one time your employer was (due to be) selling KK products and now you are not. I don't see that you can argue that you were frequently lauding and recommending the products when you and your employer had a financial interest in sales, whereas you haven't mentioned them once since. You've even removed the historic reference to your 'kick ass' speaker system. The inevitable conclusion is that either you were recommending them when they weren't actually that good or that now, despite being good, you are refusing to recommend them due to the lack of commercial gain in doing so. Either way, it demonstrates you recommendations are motivated by financial self-interest and not a desire to help the recommendee.

 

[theflyingwasp]

Yeah the sound wont be as good but with audio im not so fussed as i am with video,im quite the apple fanboy its just a matter of time before i get an apple tattoo on my face.

it was just a nice bonus having the airplay.i cant complain about the sound quality when i use my ruark bluetooth speakers through my imac ,so i doubt i will bother about the quality of sound from either the anthem,pioneer or yamaha through the monitor audio apex.

the whole avforums awarding the anthem refrence status has got me thinking tho.

 

[theflyingwasp]

Hi nick

in your opinion what would sound the best .

monitor audio apex 7.1 with the pioneer lx87,yamaha a3030 or this new anthem mrx 710.

 

[ellisdj]

If your bothered about sound quality why buy a £2k receiver?? Thats just crazy.

Also sound is more important than picture when it comes to enjoying anything on screen - no matter what is is

Turn the sound off and what your watching becomes nothing - its the sound that shocks you, excites you, makes you cry, makes you smile - not the picture!

And the sound is the hardest thing to get good - people pay nowhere near enough attention to this aspect I feel yet its again the most important factor

 

[theflyingwasp]

Hey ellisdj sorry I ment audio as in music CDs etc not home cinema I should have explained myself better I've already done this tonight on another forum question.

when watching a film the sound is just as important if not more so than the picture.

its just me being a bit lazy with the airplay ,the 3 receivers I mentioned are all the roughly the same price ,airplay is just added bonus for an apple fan boy like me.

i would never spend as much on hifi equipment as I have on home cinema equipment as I'm not that bothered about the quality of the music as long as it sounds good to me.

 

[bigboss]

You can get the Yamaha & the Pioneer for roughly £1500 now.