Anthem mrx740 or Yamaha A6A recommendation?

[Horze21]

Hi Guys, just bought a new OLED TV... which has now made me have to update the Amp, to get 4K passthrough
Currently have an old Yamaha V863 which i have found to be great but i think its on edge of delivering full power to the fronts. It is a 7 channel amp (specs are great for this amp, but bench results were low at 50ish per channel)

My setup is nothing spectacular compared to some of you but it has served me well and quite happy with the speakers

My speakers
2 x Front Yamaha NS-777 which are biamped 100rms at 6ohm
Center Yamaha NS-c444 100rms at 6ohm
2 x Yamaha Surround NS-333 60rms at 6ohm

Speaker setup is going to remain the same, however i will add 2 atmos speakers with the new amp.
2 x atmos speakers im looking at is Yamaha NS-I600 40w rms at 8 ohm
It is not a large room... roughly 4m x 5m

With the new amp.. i dont believe i will have to biamp due to the stronger amplifiers, so looks like i will only need 5.1.2 (7 channel)
I will be using the inbuilt amplifier (no preouts)

Im looking at the Anthem MRX740 and also Yamaha A6A
I will be using it for both, home theatre movies and also i love listening to music on the system

Ive always thought Yamaha was great music wise, dont know too much about Anthem
Would love to hear your guys inputs on sound quality, and recommendation which i should choose. Build quality feedback would be great to hear aswell
Ive had a look at Audioholics bench testing (which i only understand a little of it).... it looks like the Anthem is better when using multi channel, and the Yamaha better at 2 channel
However maybe i wont need the extra power and extra channels? But i always thought having extra headroom would be better? I am a newb... still learning so if im incorrect, please correct me

Also i should mention... Here in Australia.. the Anthem is the more expensive product RRP but through a friend who has access to Anthem, i'm able to get it for the same price as the Yamaha

Look forward to your responses and TIA

 

[PENG]

Hi Guys, just bought a new OLED TV... which has now made me have to update the Amp, to get 4K passthrough
Currently have an old Yamaha V863 which i have found to be great but i think its on edge of delivering full power to the fronts. It is a 7 channel amp (specs are great for this amp, but bench results were low at 50ish per channel)

My setup is nothing spectacular compared to some of you but it has served me well and quite happy with the speakers

My speakers
2 x Front Yamaha NS-777 which are biamped 100rms at 6ohm
Center Yamaha NS-c444 100rms at 6ohm
2 x Yamaha Surround NS-333 60rms at 6ohm

Speaker setup is going to remain the same, however i will add 2 atmos speakers with the new amp.
2 x atmos speakers im looking at is Yamaha NS-I600 40w rms at 8 ohm
It is not a large room... roughly 4m x 5m

With the new amp.. i dont believe i will have to biamp due to the stronger amplifiers, so looks like i will only need 5.1.2 (7 channel)
I will be using the inbuilt amplifier (no preouts)

Im looking at the Anthem MRX740 and also Yamaha A6A
I will be using it for both, home theatre movies and also i love listening to music on the system

Ive always thought Yamaha was great music wise, dont know too much about Anthem
Would love to hear your guys inputs on sound quality, and recommendation which i should choose. Build quality feedback would be great to hear aswell
Ive had a look at Audioholics bench testing (which i only understand a little of it).... it looks like the Anthem is better when using multi channel, and the Yamaha better at 2 channel
However maybe i wont need the extra power and extra channels? But i always thought having extra headroom would be better? I am a newb... still learning so if im incorrect, please correct me

Also i should mention... Here in Australia.. the Anthem is the more expensive product RRP but through a friend who has access to Anthem, i'm able to get it for the same price as the Yamaha

Look forward to your responses and TIA

If you need room correction, neither one is as good as Denon and Marantz's. If you don't, then Yamaha's is probably the better choice as it will likely be more trouble free, but if you ever want to use room correction, Anthem's may be better, as long as you are willing to learn how to tweak the results because it doesn't do a very good job in the deep bass range so if you like bass, you may not like the results too much, though deep bass performance depends a lot on your room. The Anthem measures better on Audioholics, but while the better results are nicer to look at on paper/graphs, it won't make audible differences when DSP functions are not used, because Yamaha's measurements are very good too. The A6A may be more powerful, but practically speaking the differences are negligible, double the power output only gives you 3 dB more in sound pressure level, 1 dB difference is barely noticeable by humans. Note that the Anthem's two subwoofer outputs are not independent, if that matters to you.

 

[Trebdp83]

Going to the A6A will be familiar if already happy with your current Yamaha. Beside the 4K @60Hz/@120Hz capabilities, the new receivers are network connectable and feature web setup.

Both support Airplay 2 but only the Anthem supports Chromecast. Yamaha’s MusicCast app for music streaming services is second to none.

While both receivers can process 11 channels, the Yamaha can power 9 channels not just 7 like the Anthem for a 5.1.4 system out of the box.

If there are specific wants or needs in upgrading other than 4K, write them down and then consider the feature set of each to select the one that checks most of your boxes.

https://www.zkelectronics.com/compare/anthem-mrx-740-8k/yamaha-rx-a6a/

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If you are 100% happy with Yamaha, probably stick with Yamaha.

But as others have said, if you gotta have room correction (which you don’t seem to need since you are already using Yamaha), then Denon/Marantz is probably better.

 

[snakeeyes]

Think if you are going for Atmos then get something that supports 4 Atmos speakers if you can. So another vote for the A6A Yamaha.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Here in Australia..

I would call both Yamaha and Anthem (or whichever brand) customer service and see which brands can offer you the best service (if you should need it).

So pretend like you need service and contact them. See which is best for you. Who does the repairs where you live?

We’ve seen people who live somewhere in Europe and they couldn’t get any services from Anthem or whichever brands. Don’t know about Australia.

 

[PENG]

I would call both Yamaha and Anthem (or whichever brand) customer service and see which brands can offer you the best service (if you should need it).

So pretend like you need service and contact them. See which is best for you. Who does the repairs where you live?

We’ve seen people who live somewhere in Europe and they couldn’t get any services from Anthem or whichever brands. Don’t know about Australia.

Agreed with your assessment, I only went with Anthem because a) I am within driving distance to them, b) I know most of the bugs have been fixed, c) don't mind using ext. fan, and d) I know, and have the patience/time to make ARCg to work well enough. If I were in Australia, I would definitely enquire about the potential repair scenarios first.

 

[Horze21]

thanks heaps for the replys.

If you need room correction, neither one is as good as Denon and Marantz's. If you don't, then Yamaha's is probably the better choice as it will likely be more trouble free, but if you ever want to use room correction, Anthem's may be better, as long as you are willing to learn how to tweak the results because it doesn't do a very good job in the deep bass range so if you like bass, you may not like the results too much, though deep bass performance depends a lot on your room. The Anthem measures better on Audioholics, but while the better results are nicer to look at on paper/graphs, it won't make audible differences when DSP functions are not used, because Yamaha's measurements are very good too. The A6A may be more powerful, but practically speaking the differences are negligible, double the power output only gives you 3 dB more in sound pressure level, 1 dB difference is barely noticeable by humans. Note that the Anthem's two subwoofer outputs are not independent, if that matters to you.

Ok so looks like power wise i am good.... i believe i will need room correction this time because i have renovated and moved everything around... The speakers are not exactly how dolby recommend. (this is what room correction is right?)

Going to the A6A will be familiar if already happy with your current Yamaha. Beside the 4K @60Hz/@120Hz capabilities, the new receivers are network connectable and feature web setup.

Both support Airplay 2 but only the Anthem supports Chromecast. Yamaha’s MusicCast app for music streaming services is second to none.

While both receivers can process 11 channels, the Yamaha can power 9 channels not just 7 like the Anthem for a 5.1.4 system out of the box.

If there are specific wants or needs in upgrading other than 4K, write them down and then consider the feature set of each to select the one that checks most of your boxes.

https://www.zkelectronics.com/compare/anthem-mrx-740-8k/yamaha-rx-a6a/

You need to excuse my "outdateness" lol. its about 10 years out of date
When i play music... i do 1 of 2 things.. Go onto my htpc... go soundcloud and play from that, or play music straight from a long time collection of mp3's i have stored on the drive

Second, i play from my phone direct via bluetooth (i had the yamaha bluetooth add on to my existing amp).. again using soundcloud or mp3s on my phone
What is yamaha musiccast app.. just like spotify and soundcloud?
120hz is only needed for consoles? or would it be wise to have the htpc setup to 120hz aswell?

Think if you are going for Atmos then get something that supports 4 Atmos speakers if you can. So another vote for the A6A Yamaha.

Oh i dont think i could fit 4 atmos speakers in this room haha, it really isnt a big ceiling. I like your thinking though

I would call both Yamaha and Anthem (or whichever brand) customer service and see which brands can offer you the best service (if you should need it).

So pretend like you need service and contact them. See which is best for you. Who does the repairs where you live?

We’ve seen people who live somewhere in Europe and they couldn’t get any services from Anthem or whichever brands. Don’t know about Australia.

Thats a very good point. My friend who can get me the Anthem for the great price is actually the tech guy for the Distrubitor for Anthem here in Melbourne. Any issues with the amps would go back to him for evaluation and minor repairs.

I am a Yamaha fan and always loved their products... but i think im leaning towards the Anthem in this one and funny enough the larger physical size of the Yamaha might be the reason, just cause of the cabinetry ... hope the sound is as good as Yamaha.
Ill check out the feature comparesment and get back to you's.
My dad has the MRX1140 for his proper theatre setup. Im going there for fathers day today... i blow the cobwebs out for him today.. it wont be a fair comparsment though as he has Paradigm Premiers 800F speakers, but its better than nothing

 

[Trebdp83]

MusicCast - Yamaha USA

MusicCast by Yamaha is the easy way to stream your favorite music services throughout your entire house.

usa.yamaha.com

 

[PENG]

thanks heaps for the replys.

Ok so looks like power wise i am good.... i believe i will need room correction this time because i have renovated and moved everything around... The speakers are not exactly how dolby recommend. (this is what room correction is right?)

Thats a very good point. My friend who can get me the Anthem for the great price is actually the tech guy for the Distrubitor for Anthem here in Melbourne. Any issues with the amps would go back to him for evaluation and minor repairs.

No offence, many of the so called tech guy are not technically knowledgeable, but he works for the distributor, chance is good that he may actually have strong technical (EE) background.

Regardless, if support is not an issue, and don't prefer the A8A's foot print, then the MRX740 may be the better one for you. Should you want to go 7.1.4 later on, it is no big deal to grab a 4-5 channel external amps and you are good to go.

Just 3 points I would like to emphasize:

- Going by what I read on user forums and my own experience, you probably have a fair chance ending up with the well know fan noised issue. It would either turn on prematurely, or noisy, audible (or both) from say 10-12 ft even when watching movies (during the quiet scenes). So watch out for that, as soon as that happens, tell you friend you want him too replace it. If the second one does the same, then you have to decide on your next step.

- The subwoofer outs are internally paralleled, not independently driven, so if you use two or more subs, you have to use Y-splitters. That may be fine, depending on your room.

- Unlike Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, the MRX receivers don't have the so called direct, pure direct modes that allows analog input signals to bypass the internal ADC/DSP/DAC blocks so analog purist may not like it, but in my opinion, if you need room correction, then this becomes a moot point. Besides, I think Anthem uses an excellent ADC, whereas Y, D, M uses one that is very average in terms of specs.

- Anthem ARCG's room correction in the deep bass range is problematic, again depending on the room, many have no complaints (could also be they don't know better..) while others do.

The last point isn't too much of a big deal if you know what and how to tweak, and some forum members (me included) would be willing to help, and your tech support friend may be able to help too.

On thing I like about those Anthem AVRs and AVPs is that they have high enough preamp output voltage that can drive just about any power amps.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

My friend who can get me the Anthem for the great price is actually the tech guy for the Distrubitor for Anthem here in Melbourne. Any issues with the amps would go back to him for evaluation and minor repairs.

So the distributors also do all the repairs? Like the distributor for Yamaha also does warranty repairs for Yamaha and same with all brands there?

The “distributors” in the US mainly just sell the products to dealers. For repairs, you would have to call the customer service for the brands, not the distributors.

Perhaps it’s different in other countries.

And if your friend no longer works for the distributor in the near future, will you still be able to get warranty service?

 

[Horze21]

No offence, many of the so called tech guy are not technically knowledgeable, but he works for the distributor, chance is good that he may actually have strong technical (EE) background.

Regardless, if support is not an issue, and don't prefer the A8A's foot print, then the MRX740 may be the better one for you. Should you want to go 7.1.4 later on, it is no big deal to grab a 4-5 channel external amps and you are good to go.

Just 3 points I would like to emphasize:

- Going by what I read on user forums and my own experience, you probably have a fair chance ending up with the well know fan noised issue. It would either turn on prematurely, or noisy, audible (or both) from say 10-12 ft even when watching movies (during the quiet scenes). So watch out for that, as soon as that happens, tell you friend you want him too replace it. If the second one does the same, then you have to decide on your next step.

- The subwoofer outs are internally paralleled, not independently driven, so if you use two or more subs, you have to use Y-splitters. That may be fine, depending on your room.

- Unlike Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, the MRX receivers don't have the so called direct, pure direct modes that allows analog input signals to bypass the internal ADC/DSP/DAC blocks so analog purist may not like it, but in my opinion, if you need room correction, then this becomes a moot point. Besides, I think Anthem uses an excellent ADC, whereas Y, D, M uses one that is very average in terms of specs.

- Anthem ARCG's room correction in the deep bass range is problematic, again depending on the room, many have no complaints (could also be they don't know better..) while others do.

The last point isn't too much of a big deal if you know what and how to tweak, and some forum members (me included) would be willing to help, and your tech support friend may be able to help too.

On thing I like about those Anthem AVRs and AVPs is that they have high enough preamp output voltage that can drive just about any power amps.

awesome chunk of info, thanks heaps
I had a play with dads mrx1140.. i put some music on and was disgusted. It was dead... i then checked the subs and they were on -30. The subs he has are Paradigm defiance X12 x 2. I put them to about -6 and then i found it came alive. But i need to go over his settings on the amp (not that i understand them too much) Most of his crossover range was at about 80hz.

So the distributors also do all the repairs? Like the distributor for Yamaha also does warranty repairs for Yamaha and same with all brands there?

The “distributors” in the US mainly just sell the products to dealers. For repairs, you would have to call the customer service for the brands, not the distributors.

Perhaps it’s different in other countries.

And if your friend no longer works for the distributor in the near future, will you still be able to get warranty service?

I think the way it works here, if they are minor repairs they are allowed to do those repairs, anything major then goes back to Paradigm. Yes I will have full warranty service with it, regardless as its full with a reciept and so forth from the company.

Today im gonna play with the cabinet and so if i can get the Yamaha to work.. I actually sorta have my heart set on the Yamaha just cause i know musically it will sound great, but i also spoke to a friend of mine who likes my style of music and he has an older them (maybe a 710) and he said you can get it to sound great, just gotta tweak settings which is where im very newb with.

 

[stinga]

What price is the 740 off your cobba in Aust dollars if you don't mind me asking?

 

[PENG]

awesome chunk of info, thanks heaps
I had a play with dads mrx1140.. i put some music on and was disgusted. It was dead... i then checked the subs and they were on -30. The subs he has are Paradigm defiance X12 x 2. I put them to about -6 and then i found it came alive. But i need to go over his settings on the amp (not that i understand them too much) Most of his crossover range was at about 80hz.

When you receive the unit, do yourself a favor, leave it in the box until you read through some of the posts on AVSforum for the kind of bugs that people experienced, one being how the volume would jump to maximum if you touch it the wrong way lol.., other were shocked by the very high spl during the calibration chirps, to the point some were concerned about their small surround speakers being damaged. There were many more bugs, though most, if not all of them have been addressed. After you take note of the suggested precautionary measures (one important one is the set a limit on the maximum volume), first thing to do it is to update the firmware, as they always ship the units with the older FW version, with Build Date June 30 2021. They told me they did it encourage people to update to the latest version.

I think the way it works here, if they are minor repairs they are allowed to do those repairs, anything major then goes back to Paradigm. Yes I will have full warranty service with it, regardless as its full with a reciept and so forth from the company.

That is good news for you, because it isn't going to be fun shipping a near 40 lbs box all the way from Australia to Canada.

Today im gonna play with the cabinet and so if i can get the Yamaha to work.. I actually sorta have my heart set on the Yamaha just cause i know musically it will sound great, but i also spoke to a friend of mine who likes my style of music and he has an older them (maybe a 710) and he said you can get it to sound great, just gotta tweak settings which is where im very newb with.

I agreed with your friend, and I as I also said before, if you use ARC Genesis room correction, be prepared to learn how to tweak after calibration. But then again, as I also mentioned, lots of people reported ARCG is the best, though in my mind, most of them either have rooms that are just great, and/or they don't know better, therefore don't know what they missed (that would be fine too obviously). Either way, the MRX740 should be able to "sound" as good as any AV recievers including Yamaha's, when no dsp functions are in use, obviously. With DSP in use, such that all bets are off and whether one will sound better than the other will be highly subjective, as you and your friend may not have the same preference/taste.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

awesome chunk of info, thanks heaps
I had a play with dads mrx1140.. i put some music on and was disgusted. It was dead... i then checked the subs and they were on -30. The subs he has are Paradigm defiance X12 x 2. I put them to about -6 and then i found it came alive. But i need to go over his settings on the amp (not that i understand them too much) Most of his crossover range was at about 80hz.



I think the way it works here, if they are minor repairs they are allowed to do those repairs, anything major then goes back to Paradigm. Yes I will have full warranty service with it, regardless as its full with a reciept and so forth from the company.

Today im gonna play with the cabinet and so if i can get the Yamaha to work.. I actually sorta have my heart set on the Yamaha just cause i know musically it will sound great, but i also spoke to a friend of mine who likes my style of music and he has an older them (maybe a 710) and he said you can get it to sound great, just gotta tweak settings which is where im very newb with.

As PENG has said, there tend to be more bugs with the Anthem and other AVR/AVP from smaller companies - companies who are not as giant as Yamaha (like $3.6 billion net annual revenue) or as big as Masimo (Denon/Marantz). The reason is because smaller companies don’t have the same money to spend on research/development and continued R/D/Customer Support after release.

As always, your mileage may vary as everyone always says.

Everyone wants to make their case.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

…it isn't going to be fun shipping a near 40 lbs box all the way from Australia to Canada…

That was my biggest point. Assuming that the repair is major, what’s it going to be like for Anthem vs Yamaha vs Denon/Marantz in Australia.

I think if I were in Canada, I might see myself owning Anthem.

In the US, I think there are plenty of service centers for Yamaha/Denon/Marantz/Sony.

A friend of mine messed up his Marantz Cinema40 majorly by doing something stupid, and Masimo fixed it right as rain in 1 week by replacing internal parts (definitely MAJOR).

But I don’t know much about other countries.

 

[PENG]

What price is the 740 off your cobba in Aust dollars if you don't mind me asking?

That's a great question, and it promted my curiosity to Google it. Just from a few minutes Googling, I found that Anthem's price in Australia is much higher, take a look:

MRX740........ AUD 5695
MRX740........ USD 3999
Cinema 40.... AUD 5000 (wow!!)
AVR-X4800H..AUD 3999
Yamaha A8A..AUD 5999 (on sale for AUD 5490 now)

All of the above are from Selby.com.au, seems that they sell all brands, so probably something like Crutchfield in North America.

It looks like the Yamaha A8A is the best value based on Selby's prices.

For comparison, in the USA:
MRX740.......... USD 3099
Cinema 40...... USD 3500
AVR-X4800H.. USD 2499
Yamaha A8A.. USD 3549.95 (currently on sale, Crutchfield price: $2999.95)

Exch rate AUD to USD is about 0.65

Based on the above Googled info, if I were in Australia, I would 100% tried to find a best deal on the Yamaha RX-A8A, totally no brainer. The second best deal would be the Denon AVR-X4800H, as even after paying for all available Dirac Live license, including DLBC, the total price should be under AUD 4999.

With DLBC in use, the AVR-X4800H will likely sound audibly better than any Anthem or Yamaha AVRs under most conditions, especially for people who use 2 or more subwoofers. In pure direct mode, I am 100% sure no one can tell a difference, in double blind listening comparison tests. Anyone who claim hearing differences, especially the claims of night and day, warm versus cold, pucnhy vs forward vs layback, wide vs narrow sound stage, etc., are just claims based on sighted tests when people relied on their eyes and brains, and none has ever provided any evidence other than "I heard it, the difference is obvious (some would say subtle), it's so obvious that there is no need to do it blind, even my young daugter could hear it, my dogs heard it etc..

 

[PENG]

That was my biggest point. Assuming that the repair is major, what’s it going to be like for Anthem vs Yamaha vs Denon/Marantz in Australia.

I think if I were in Canada, I might see myself owning Anthem.

In the US, I think there are plenty of service centers for Yamaha/Denon/Marantz/Sony.

A friend of mine messed up his Marantz Cinema40 majorly by doing something stupid, and Masimo fixed it right as rain in 1 week by replacing internal parts (definitely MAJOR).

But I don’t know much about other countries.

What I said in my last post..

As for Yamaha, you guys in the USA should grab that A8A before the sales end, for $2,999, you get top notch dac chips, XLR ports, and the most powerful amp outputs (for real world use, not ACD bs ratings).

I think the $2,999 was the original launch price, the it jumped during the pandemic like every brands it, not sure if it has the HDMI2.1 at the time yet. No such break in Canada, still listed for CAD 4,799, that's about USD 3,600 equivalent.

I think YPAO can't be that bad, and for people who are willing to spend time doing their own PEQ, it can be at least as good as Anthem's ARCG. Dirac Live will be better on paper, even much better, but audibly better? I am not sure, but I highly doubt it.

The fact that Crutchfield and Amazon are offering such a good discount on the A8A, is that any indication that may be something like an A9A is on the horizon already?

 

[mono-bloc]

I found that Anthem's price in Australia is much higher, take a look:

The dollar exchange rates are terrible at the moment. One Australian dollar is worth 64 cents USA Exchange rates change all the time , for instance your quoted price for a MRX 740 $3999 usa converts to $6189 at the moment . Use this currency converter

https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=3999&From=USD&To=AUD

As for retail outlets for Antham, Selby are very completive, and have a retail outlet in Melbourne

https://www.selby.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?q=Anthem+MRX-740

Class A Audio also in Melbourne also stock the full range of Anthem and quote the following for the RMX 740

https://www.classaaudio.com.au/av-receiver/2556-anthem-mrx-740-av-receiver-809918002881.html

 

[stinga]

I was interested to see the margin his mate could shave off as I to are now living in Oz. I'm gonna hang fire till i see some testing on Integra 8.4 and how the 6800 performs v dollars.
I do like the idea of an Anthem but ArcG v Dirac makes me think otherwise, let alone 2 mates have had issues with earlier Anthems and my Denons have 10 and nearly 20 years on em....