Yamaha or Anthem?

[Automaton25]

Hello Everyone,

I have a one year old Denon AVR x3600h. I wasn't terribly impressed with it from day one, but it was significantly better than what I had. Over the months, it has started developing some issues and Denon support has been all but useless. The receiver randomly switches inputs (usually to Spotify, but sometimes to unused inputs). The other day it randomly increased the volume. On a separate occasion, it played video with no sound until the quick select was pressed a second time. Denon pretty much told me someone hacked my wi-fi and made the unit do it because it is impossible otherwise.

So, the real purpose of this post is what is the better bang for the buck? Yamaha RX-A2080 (or 1080) or the Anthem MRX540? I know the MRX 540 hasn't been released yet so we can compare it to the 530. The 2080 is the same price with more features that I don't foresee using in the near future (I don't use any of the bells and whistles on the Denon). I know Yamaha has a long history of reliability and excellent sound quality. Anthem came highly recommended from the local audio shop and seems to be highly rated amongst reviewers. Does anyone have first hand experience with both/either?

My current setup is a large room 20'x25'x with vaulted ceilings to about 18' high. I have a 5.1 system consisting of ELAC uni-fi B5 (front, center, and rears) and a Rhythmik Fv15HP. I will be moving in the next couple years to a larger home which hopefully has a better setup and will allow me to expand to Atmos, but who knows at this point.

I use the system for music, movies, and TV. I listen to all genres of music with no preference for any one genre overall. Movies are listened to relatively loud, though probably not quite reference volume (my circuit can't handle all of the audio equipment with the sub that loud)

 

[stalag2005]

I have the MRX-740. I love the device, but there are some teething issues. Anthem is working on the bug fixes for the software but as far as audio playback it is great with no problems there.

 

[Cos]

I am a big a fan of Paradigm/Anthem, as I used to have the AVM50 Pre/Pro years back. It was built like a tank, sounded great and felt I had very good support from Anthem/Paradigm if I had questions. I used Yamaha receivers back in the day and have a lower end Costo Yamaha TSR-7850 model in the bedroom now.

That being said, if AcuDefTechGuy member on this site has another 2080 for sale in the future, I would jump on it in a heartbeat. He gets a price lower than the Anthem considerably. Sonically, I don't think you would be able to tell the difference between the two and the Yamaha has slightly more power than the Anthem MRX 540 w more channels of amplification.

I do give the Anthem points in "Sexy looking AVR" catagory, but all things considered at that price point, you do get a lot more value from the Yamaha.

 

[Automaton25]

I have the MRX-740. I love the device, but there are some teething issues. Anthem is working on the bug fixes for the software but as far as audio playback it is great with no problems there.

Are you in the U.S.? I didn't think they were available until the end of February. I've heard Anthem is top notch for music lovers and slightly lackluster for movies but still very good.

 

[Dmk]

If room correction is important, ARC is one of the best.

 

[Automaton25]

I am a big a fan of Paradigm/Anthem, as I used to have the AVM50 Pre/Pro years back. It was built like a tank, sounded great and felt I had very good support from Anthem/Paradigm if I had questions. I used Yamaha receivers back in the day and have a lower end Costo Yamaha TSR-7850 model in the bedroom now.

That being said, if AcuDefTechGuy member on this site has another 2080 for sale in the future, I would jump on it in a heartbeat. He gets a price lower than the Anthem considerably. Sonically, I don't think you would be able to tell the difference between the two and the Yamaha has slightly more power than the Anthem MRX 540 w more channels of amplification.

I do give the Anthem points in "Sexy looking AVR" catagory, but all things considered at that price point, you do get a lot more value from the Yamaha.

The new x40 series looks fantastic! I've not listened to either of them but have heard nothing but great things from users of both. I grew up on Yamaha, but that was all old stuff. I didn't realize Anthem was paired with Paradigm. I'll reach out to AcuDeTechGuy and see what he has going on!

 

[stalag2005]

Are you in the U.S.? I didn't think they were available until the end of February. I've heard Anthem is top notch for music lovers and slightly lackluster for movies but still very good.

I am in the USA and because of when I spoke to my dealer I was their first install. Honestly I am loving my new system and to say this is not so good for movies is a bad old wives tale. IMHO I have been playing with both and it is excellent.

 

[lovinthehd]

Well that is definitely a wack answer from Denon customer service. I had a Denon refurbed 4520 that went south, including severe volume fluctuation, think it also cycled among inputs at that point too, before I powered it off and made arrangements for a return. That was a refurb and went with new after that and no issues. Did you do microprocessor resets to no avail?

That said, I'd probably still get another Denon myself (and have an older 3808 in service too) as am used to the layout. There's always some risk involved with consumer electronics. Anthem doesn't seem to have anything special going for the $ IMO, but Yamaha does have that rep for reliability so if I changed brands away from Denon/Marantz I'd probably try Yamaha....

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

if I changed brands away from Denon/Marantz I'd probably try Yamaha....

Luke....Feel the power of the Dark side.

 

[lovinthehd]

Luke....Feel the power of the Dark side.

OTOH don't see that happening any time soon.....just don't really see any value in the boutique brands for such.

 

[Cos]

I was seriously considering the AVM-70 Pre/Pro and selling my Marantz A8802A until I found out that they did a firmware update so it will pass through Dolby Vision. Can't justify the extra expense as much now and since I don't plan on upgrading to 8K until their is actually 8K content to enjoy. will stick with it a little longer.

Will add a second JL Audio sub next I think. Planning on doing in wall surrounds in the basement now, so will also be looking at Triad and Paradigm for those as well.

 

[Automaton25]

I am in the USA and because of when I spoke to my dealer I was their first install. Honestly I am loving my new system and to say this is not so good for movies is a bad old wives tale. IMHO I have been playing with both and it is excellent.

Good to hear! I can't imagine anything is of our quality on either unit. In an honesty, my ears aren't that good to hear really subtle details

 

[Automaton25]

Well that is definitely a wack answer from Denon customer service. I had a Denon refurbed 4520 that went south, including severe volume fluctuation, think it also cycled among inputs at that point too, before I powered it off and made arrangements for a return. That was a refurb and went with new after that and no issues. Did you do microprocessor resets to no avail?

That said, I'd probably still get another Denon myself (and have an older 3808 in service too) as am used to the layout. There's always some risk involved with consumer electronics. Anthem doesn't seem to have anything special going for the $ IMO, but Yamaha does have that rep for reliability so if I changed brands away from Denon/Marantz I'd probably try Yamaha....

i did the micropricessor reset...so far it has been okay, but time will tell.

 

[lovinthehd]

i did the micropricessor reset...so far it has been okay, but time will tell.

So it works fine now after the reset? Mine wouldn't stay still long enuf for a reset, so I had no choice but to return. Talking to a rep often yields nothing more useful than sugggesting a reset, too. The reset solving issues is not particularly unusual in avr world....they're somewhat just limited computers. Even a soft reset (just unplugging it for a bit) is often effective, too (and you don't lose your various settings that way either).

 

[Automaton25]

So it works fine now after the reset? Mine wouldn't stay still long enuf for a reset, so I had no choice but to return. Talking to a rep often yields nothing more useful than sugggesting a reset, too. The reset solving issues is not particularly unusual in avr world....they're somewhat just limited computers. Even a soft reset (just unplugging it for a bit) is often effective, too (and you don't lose your various settings that way either).

So far it's been okay, but it's only been a day and it hasn't been used much. It was only acting up a couple times a week so we shall see. I should have just bought the Yamaha initially but it wasn't really available.

 

[lovinthehd]

So far it's been okay, but it's only been a day and it hasn't been used much. It was only acting up a couple times a week so we shall see. I should have just bought the Yamaha initially but it wasn't really available.

There are posts about Yamaha and Anthem issues, too. Nothing is perfect.

 

[PENG]

So far it's been okay, but it's only been a day and it hasn't been used much. It was only acting up a couple times a week so we shall see. I should have just bought the Yamaha initially but it wasn't really available.

The AVR-X3600H is a 2018/19 model so it should still be under warranty right?
Anyway I hope after a processor reset it will last for a long time.

If not, my vote would be for the Yamaha RX-A2080 for sure. It will be a shame going from the once best measured AVR that, believe or not, happen to be your AVR-X3600H. It actually beat out a few much more expensive separate AV preamp processors as well. Also believe it or not, the MRX520, that is the predecessor of the MRX540, while did reasonably well on the preamp/DAC side (the IMD looked a little high though for comfort imo), its power amp section did not do well, in fact right at the bottom, even worse than the NAD T758V3 on the bench.

So if you are going with Anthem, unless they have improved the amp section performance, it might actually be a downgrade from your AVR-X3600H. Anthem ARC is a good feature, but if you use the MultEQ Editor App, you can tweak your 3600 to your liking too, and I see no reasons why it wouldn't be as good or better than AARC's ability to smooth the 20 to 200 Hz range.

In addition to subjective reviews, if you are also interested in objective evaluations, you can take a look of the reviews/bench tests of the AVR-X3600H, one Yamaha and two Anthem AVRs performed by ASR in the links below.

Denon AVR-X3600H AV Receiver Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Anthem MRX1120 Home Theater AVR Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Review and Measurements of Anthem MRX 520 AVR | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Review and Measurements of Yamaha RX-A1080 AVR | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

Here's the comparison of the test results of THD+N, at 5 W output, while -65 dB THD+N at 5 W may still be below the threshold of audibility, it does indicate that there is a higher probability, depending on your listening habits (such as types of music and how loud you listen to etc..) and environment (such as noise floor in your room) that the distortions and noise may become noticeable under some conditions.

 

[Automaton25]

The AVR-X3600H is a 2018/19 model so it should still be under warranty right?
Anyway I hope after a processor reset it will last for a long time.

If not, my vote would be for the Yamaha RX-A2080 for sure. It will be a shame going from the once best measured AVR that, believe or not, happen to be your AVR-X3600H. It actually beat out a few much more expensive separate AV preamp processors as well. Also believe it or not, the MRX520, that is the predecessor of the MRX540, while did reasonably well on the preamp/DAC side (the IMD looked a little high though for comfort imo), its power amp section did not do well, in fact right at the bottom, even worse than the NAD T758V3 on the bench.

So if you are going with Anthem, unless they have improved the amp section performance, it might actually be a downgrade from your AVR-X3600H. Anthem ARC is a good feature, but if you use the MultEQ Editor App, you can tweak your 3600 to your liking too, and I see no reasons why it wouldn't be as good or better than AARC's ability to smooth the 20 to 200 Hz range.

In addition to subjective reviews, if you are also interested in objective evaluations, you can take a look of the reviews/bench tests of the AVR-X3600H, one Yamaha and two Anthem AVRs performed by ASR in the links below.

Denon AVR-X3600H AV Receiver Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Anthem MRX1120 Home Theater AVR Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Review and Measurements of Anthem MRX 520 AVR | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Review and Measurements of Yamaha RX-A1080 AVR | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

Here's the comparison of the test results of THD+N, at 5 W output, while -65 dB THD+N at 5 W may still be below the threshold of audibility, it does indicate that there is a higher probability, depending on your listening habits (such as types of music and how loud you listen to etc..) and environment (such as noise floor in your room) that the distortions and noise may become noticeable under some conditions.

View attachment 44255

thank you for the information! I'll look through it shortly. The Denon is still under warranty, and Denon has always been willing to talk. They just keep blaming the issue on my phone, Spotify account, and Wi-Fi. Hopefully the issues go away with the microprocessor reset. The Denon definitely has no problem driving the 4 ohm ELACs. My old Sony STR-DH810 struggled and got ridiculously hot. To its credit, it was never designed to drive speakers like this and was a cheap receiver bout many years before the speakers.

When I was originally shopping for AVRs, I noticed the the amp power was pretty frequently over sold. My local shop assured me that Anthem was undersold, but they seem to succumb to the same advertising issues.

 

[PENG]

thank you for the information! I'll look through it shortly. The Denon is still under warranty, and Denon has always been willing to talk. They just keep blaming the issue on my phone, Spotify account, and Wi-Fi. Hopefully the issues go away with the microprocessor reset. The Denon definitely has no problem driving the 4 ohm ELACs. My old Sony STR-DH810 struggled and got ridiculously hot. To its credit, it was never designed to drive speakers like this and was a cheap receiver bout many years before the speakers.

When I was originally shopping for AVRs, I noticed the the amp power was pretty frequently over sold. My local shop assured me that Anthem was undersold, but they seem to succumb to the same advertising issues.

Good to know it is driving them okay. Aside from being 4 Ohm nominal, the UB5 also have relatively low sensitivity, that is, 85 dB/2.83V/1m.

You room is quite large so if you sit 10-15 ft from them, I hope you don't listen very loud as those speakers are clearly not designed to play loud except for near field listening. Even at moderate volume, you really should put a fan on top of the little light weight AVR-X3600H. If you don't go pass say -15 on the volume you should be fine but for longevity reason alone, a fan will go a long way.

 

[Automaton25]

Good to know it is driving them okay. Aside from being 4 Ohm nominal, the UB5 also have relatively low sensitivity, that is, 85 dB/2.83V/1m.

You room is quite large so if you sit 10-15 ft from them, I hope you don't listen very loud as those speakers are clearly not designed to play loud except for near field listening. Even at moderate volume, you really should put a fan on top of the little light weight AVR-X3600H. If you don't go pass say -15 on the volume you should be fine but for longevity reason alone, a fan will go a long way.

The listening stage is relatively small. Maybe 8 feet. Volume isn't terribly loud. I get about 100 degrees on the grill on top of the Denon. The speakers are crossed at 9hz so that helps a lot with power consumption.

Is there a fan you recommend? Do you just put something like a computer case fan in there?