Anthem AVM30

[mitch57]

I'm thinking about upgrading my Denon 3805 which is my pre/pro mated to my Parasound Halo A51. I've looked at the Rotels, Parasound, Arcam, Anthem, and others. I will also need a tuner with whatever processor I decide to go with.

I have been leaning toward the Anthem AVM30 due to it's price and feature set.

Anybody else have any input on this unit?

 

[tdeluce]

I'm thinking about upgrading my Denon 3805 which is my pre/pro mated to my Parasound Halo A51. I've looked at the Rotels, Parasound, Arcam, Anthem, and others. I will also need a tuner with whatever processor I decide to go with.

I have been leaning toward the Anthem AVM30 due to it's price and feature set.

Anybody else have any input on this unit?

I am also potentially interested in this processor. Seems like
one hell of a processor for the money. I want to also wait
to see what Denon comes out with. I am looking forward
to whatever responses you get to your post...

 

[Doug917]

I went out and listened to one a couple weeks ago. Very nice piece! All the connections a person should need minus HDMI (but that is available as an upgrade for $1500 or included on the AVM50 for MSRP $4500). Anthem also has phenomenal customer support and are well known for product upgrades so your processor isn't left behind in a year or two.

 

[tdeluce]

I went out and listened to one a couple weeks ago. Very nice piece! All the connections a person should need minus HDMI (but that is available as an upgrade for $1500 or included on the AVM50 for MSRP $4500). Anthem also has phenomenal customer support and are well known for product upgrades so your processor isn't left behind in a year or two.

The AVM50 sound very interesting - do you have some links for this info?

Looks like the Anthem D2 includes video processing - I am assumming
the Anthem AVM50 will be similiar but without video processing - which
is what I want so I can have more flexibility in the video processing
area...

 

[Doug917]

You could probably do a search on AVS Forum and come up with plenty. The AVM50 is a AVM30 that has the HDMI upgrade from the get go. I don't believe there is any difference between it and an AVM30 with the HDMI upgrade.

 

[tdeluce]

You could probably do a search on AVS Forum and come up with plenty. The AVM50 is a AVM30 that has the HDMI upgrade from the get go. I don't believe there is any difference between it and an AVM30 with the HDMI upgrade.

I believe the new Audio formats are going to need HDMI 1.3 anyway - is
this correct? Or else using analog inputs / outputs...

$1500 just for HDMI sounds like a rip...

 

[Doug917]

It will also sport video upconversion and I would think Anthem's video upconversion would be on par with that of DVDO and the like (much better than you would find in a run of the mill receiver).

 

[LEVESQUE]

You have a Gennum scaler for 1500$. Far from a rip-off. 480i to 1080p in and out. Better then the DVDO Sil504 solutions (IScan HD+ and VP30).

The Crystalio II and Optoma VX3300, both Gennum scalers, will go for 3000$ and up...

 

[tdeluce]

You have a Gennum scaler for 1500$. Far from a rip-off. 480i to 1080p in and out. Better then the DVDO Sil504 solutions (IScan HD+ and VP30).

The Crystalio II and Optoma VX3300, both Gennum scalers, will go for 3000$ and up...

The Gennum scaler is certainly worth $1500

Better for film based SD DVDs - not so sure - but definitely better for probably
everything else..

 

[jcPanny]

I'm thinking about upgrading my Denon 3805 which is my pre/pro mated to my Parasound Halo A51. I've looked at the Rotels, Parasound, Arcam, Anthem, and others. I will also need a tuner with whatever processor I decide to go with.

I have been leaning toward the Anthem AVM30 due to it's price and feature set.

Anybody else have any input on this unit?

For $3K, what does the Anthem pre/pro do that your Denon 3805 doesn't? Your money might be better spent on a speaker, sub, or room treatment upgrade.

 

[mitch57]

For $3K, what does the Anthem pre/pro do that your Denon 3805 doesn't? Your money might be better spent on a speaker, sub, or room treatment upgrade.

Several Things. Number 1 being sound. Also the ability to set individual speaker crossover settings, fixed power on volume/maximum volume settings, balanced outputs, upgradeable, etc. There are other extras that it does that the Denon doesn't but I can't remember what all of them are off the top of my head without looking at the manual.

 

[indcrimdefense]

i don't have any experience with anthem, but am contemplating buying a AVM20 which i found on sale. waiting on being able to demo it. however from prior demos, a cary audio cinema 6 pre-pro & cary audio cinema 5 amp (5x200) sounded substantially better than my denon 2805. better clarity, much better seperation between highs, mids, lows, great vocals (which in my opinion is the hardest thing to properly reporduce, particularly female vocals). the only reason i didnt buy the cary equip. was i wanted to hear the cinema 8 pre-pro before buying the 6, and the 8 is now impossible to find as its out of production. wiating on the cimena 9 to come out, but also looking at other options as the cinema 9 will be 4000-5000 or up. the 2805 does a nice job w/ movies, but in sound quality was no match for the cary pre-pro & amp combo.

 

[mitch57]

indcrimdefense,

Please post your findings here after you do your audition. I would like to hear what you think of it compared to the AVM 20/30.

 

[indcrimdefense]

mitch-

anthem avm 20 arrived home for 1 month demo last night. fronts are currently powered by demo krell kav-2250 & rears by B&K 125.2, with fronts being XLR connection & rears being RCA. i only have one set of XLR interconnects so need to pick up another set. at least with this particular set up, XLR connection made a difference as it significantly reduced a hum coming from the front speakers. initial impressions as follows; avm 20 is fairly easy to set up once you get used to what does what on the remote, good OSD, alot of set up options. still going thru set up, there is alot to configure. sound quality is very good, and has improved dramatically as i have progressed thru the set up (factory defaults set everything to small with crossover at 80 & is set for a sub). i don't have a sub, & its at the very end of my upgrade list. properly configured & properly powered, my rf-7 fronts produce more than enough bass to shake the house during action movies, and my rf-5 rears are no slouch in the bass dept either. i'm well aware that adding a sub i would get even more bass & could set a higher crossover for my speakers, but again that's at the end of the shopping list. klipsch is revamping the entire reference line, so waiting to hear if the new stuff is significantly better than the old, and if not then i will get the current model klipsch reference sub when they go on sale.

initial impressions on sound quality, clean, very detailed, excellant seperation between vocals & music, great vocals, which i find the most difficult to reproduce, particularly with my speakers. still alot of set up to complete & from there tweaking, but initial impressions are favorable. it's been months since i had the cary cinema 6 prepro & cinema 5 amp, so an accurate comparison is jaded by the passage of time. the avm20 has more set up options than the cary, but also has a $900 price hike over the cary pre-pro. any further comparison at this point is unfair as still dialing in the anthem. will post further review down the road.

 

[indcrimdefense]

still dialing in the avm 20, but getting closer to optimum set up. analog direct is fantastic for music, and digital sounds great as well. several surprises, first- sound when watching cable tv has improved, and i have never been impressed with sound quality from cable tv, regardless of which components i'm using. second, this is the first receiver or pre-pro in which i actually like the DSP options, and am willing to use them. third, the avm 20 lacks the hyper annoying click, click, click of the cary cinema 6 when channel surfing. the cary would click, click, click when changing channels due to the temporary loss of a digital signal between channels, the avm 20 does not. may sound minor, until you have to put it on mute when channel surfing. nice surprise.

as stated previously, has been months since the cary cinema 6 was in my system, so my review is jaded by the passage of time. the avm 20 has xlr connections which the cary lacked, which at least in my system has made a significant difference. however, in reviewing the krell kav-2250 manual, the amp was shipped w/ shorting pins for the xlr connections, which are to be used when making rca connections. hoping to get these at dealer tommorrow. however for now using xlr connections drops the noise floor & helps minimize the @#$%&% noise/hum which i have once i add an amp to my system.

still attempting to learn the myriad set up options & tinker w/ everything, but so far am fairly impressed. the avm 20 unit i have lacks hdmi, which makes zero difference to me but may make a difference to others. only complaints so far are having a manual which is out of date due to updates and so far my inability to switch from a digital source to analog source from the same component w/o having to enter the set up menu. i have avoided this by connecting the coax from my cary audio dvd6 to dvd/digital on the avm 20 & the analog outputs to the cd/rca on the avm 20, which solves the problem for music but not for watching dvd's. its possible that i have missed how to do this w/o having to enter the set up menu.

will post more after further listening/viewing. has anyone had opportunity to directly compare the avm 20 to the statement pre-pro? quite curious if the statement's higher pricetag is worth it.

 

[3db]

Gee a pre/pro with more features than a Denon

and with better sound? Who'd a thunk something like that.


I know I'm going to be flamed for this bit of sarcasm but I have seen so many posts stating the current recievers offer more flexability and sound as good as much higher priced seperates. I personally never believed this and never will.

 

[indcrimdefense]

the sound quality for music is superior to my receiver, but in my opinion its a bit of an unfair comparison to compare a $900 receiver at 100w/channel to the $3400 anthem avm 20 & the $4000 krell kav-2250. i love my 2805 receiver, alot of features, easy set up, very easy to operate & switch between sources on the fly. but i always felt that the sound quality was not as good as i can get w/ seperates. at least in this comparison, i was correct. while i have not watched a great deal of movies, this is where there is the least amount of difference. the 2805 is a great receiver for home theater, particularly at its price point. add an amp, even if just for the fronts, makes for a fantastic movie experience. but the music quality is not as clean, detailed as with the avm 20 & krell combo. where the 2805 really falls flat is the ext in, where you have to hook up multi-channel audio. no tone controls, which it desperately needs as it sounds sterile & lacking body. i got around this in part by listening to sacd by only using 2 channel & hooking my denon 2910 up to the cd analog inputs, which gave me tone controls but then i lost the rear channels for sacd/dvda. i was willing to do this for the improvement in sound quality, but this is a sacrifice which one does not have to make with the avm 20. i have not heard a "flagship" receiver, as the indianapolis receiver market tops out about 1500-2000, with exception of sunfire & perhaps lexicon. however so far i am very pleased with the anthem avm 20, and am buying the krell today, and may look at buying a 2nd kav-2250 if the price is right.

i have been able to get great music out of the denon by adding an amplifier & using my cary audio dvd 6, hooked to the 2805 using analog interconnects. however the sound quality of the avm 20 is superior when using the same components, particularly in analog direct which shuts off tone controls, etc.

still have till mid-jan to make a decision on the avm 20. deciding factor will probbaly be what price i can get it for, & doing additional research on other pre-processors & possibly demoing others if possible. however as each day passes it gets more difficult to consider having to box it up & return it.

 

[3db]

It is an unfair comparison, I agree with you

the sound quality for music is superior to my receiver, but in my opinion its a bit of an unfair comparison to compare a $900 receiver at 100w/channel to the $3400 anthem avm 20 & the $4000 krell kav-2250. i love my 2805 receiver, alot of features, easy set up, very easy to operate & switch between sources on the fly. but i always felt that the sound quality was not as good as i can get w/ seperates. at least in this comparison, i was correct. while i have not watched a great deal of movies, this is where there is the least amount of difference. the 2805 is a great receiver for home theater, particularly at its price point. add an amp, even if just for the fronts, makes for a fantastic movie experience. but the music quality is not as clean, detailed as with the avm 20 & krell combo. where the 2805 really falls flat is the ext in, where you have to hook up multi-channel audio. no tone controls, which it desperately needs as it sounds sterile & lacking body. i got around this in part by listening to sacd by only using 2 channel & hooking my denon 2910 up to the cd analog inputs, which gave me tone controls but then i lost the rear channels for sacd/dvda. i was willing to do this for the improvement in sound quality, but this is a sacrifice which one does not have to make with the avm 20. i have not heard a "flagship" receiver, as the indianapolis receiver market tops out about 1500-2000, with exception of sunfire & perhaps lexicon. however so far i am very pleased with the anthem avm 20, and am buying the krell today, and may look at buying a 2nd kav-2250 if the price is right.

i have been able to get great music out of the denon by adding an amplifier & using my cary audio dvd 6, hooked to the 2805 using analog interconnects. however the sound quality of the avm 20 is superior when using the same components, particularly in analog direct which shuts off tone controls, etc.

still have till mid-jan to make a decision on the avm 20. deciding factor will probbaly be what price i can get it for, & doing additional research on other pre-processors & possibly demoing others if possible. however as each day passes it gets more difficult to consider having to box it up & return it.

but comparisons have been made before in this forum and people actually thought the sound from the receivers were on par with seperates. I call that living in denial