New Anthem MRX range

[gregvet]

Has anyone heard or even bought one of the new Anthem integrated AVR's yet?

I'm considering replacing my arcam av9 with the MRX310 as a processor only as the sound quality in our new living room is really poor, so I'm keen to get some room correction going. I am aware that the analogue stage in the arcam will be better, but as this system is now used for movies and tv 95% of the time and all of my non music sources are digital! I would rather concentrate on getting the surround sound and sub as good as possible.

any first hand experiences to be shared?

 

[ellisdj]

Just to throw an alternative in the mix - the Marantz processors look good, look to have good internals in terms of power supply etc.

They have Auddesey by my limited knowledge if you want eq- not hugely expensive either.

Plus you will have a dedicated processor rather than an av amp being used as one - more money spent on the right components in terms manufacturing you would expect

 

[Frank Harvey]

Has anyone heard or even bought one of the new Anthem integrated AVR's yet?

I'll be trying out a 710 at home next week to get to grips with the ARC room EQ - it'll be interesting to see how it stands up to my Rotel RMB1575 and Audiolab 8200AP...

 

[ellisdj]

Just to throw an alternative in the mix - the Marantz processors look good, look to have good internals in terms of power supply etc.

They have Auddesey by my limited knowledge if you want eq- not hugely expensive either.

Plus you will have a dedicated processor rather than an av amp being used as one - more money spent on the right components in terms manufacturing you would expect

 

[AlbaBrown]

I've heard the 310 and 710 at my local dealer, and they are really rather special!

If you have a dealer nearby, it'd be worth blagging one on a home dem. Don't assume that the 310s output stage is so far off your Arcam.....

Also forget the Audyessey brigade (Denon, Onkyo etc). They are not in the same class. They focus on cramming every feature under the sun into their amps and the room calibration software is crude compared to Anthem's ARC system. That's before you take into consideration the cheap, generic microphones that Audyessy systems employ!

 

[themovierooms]

I have been selling them for a few years and was one of the first dealers on board when they arrived in the UK. They really are phenomenal units and make systems deliver in spades, slightly lacking on the bells and whistles but if you are looking for amazing cinema and stereo performance then there really isn’t anything that can touch them at the price range.

The MRX310 will only do 5.1 however so if you have the possibly to go to 7.1 in the future you would need to look at the MRX510.

 

[gregvet]

Just to throw an alternative in the mix - the Marantz processors look good, look to have good internals in terms of power supply etc.

They have Auddesey by my limited knowledge if you want eq- not hugely expensive either.

they do look good, and i have considered them. I suspect audyssey isn't as good as arc tho, and I may well end up replacing my p7 with a good stereo amp with pass through and using the AVR for the other channels, so having an AVR may not be a bad thing in the end!

 

[ellisdj]

To say Auddessey will not compete with arc is selling it a bit short, Auddessey is very highly rated and used in professional environments

When it comes to digital several things are extremely important power supply quality is right up there and good components are expensive

If you have a power amp you like why do you need more amplification?

Consider if product costs £500 to manufacture

£500 for processor and power = less spent for each component

£500 for processor only = more spent for each component part. There is a good chance this solution will be better.

Also you have less internally to pollute the signal