Anthem AVM50 or Cary Cinema 11

[tophedwards]

Help needed.

I am trying to figure out which of these two PRE is best for my setup.

I have a Anthem PVA 5 amp and a Cary 303/200 CD player. Paradigm Studio - front and center speakers. Rears are Paradigm monitors.

Based up my price point of $1500.00 for a used PRE, these two keep showing up as great used options for me. I'm told that sonically it's better to stick with your amp brand but is that true in my case.

Top priority is 2 channel, but must have 5.1 also.

I like having HDMI - not a absolute must - but would be good option.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

For mainly 2.0, I would go with the Cary Audio 11 because it has superb measurements on Home Theater Magazine.

I think it only has 2 HDMI Inputs/1 HDMI Output?

Not much for features.

 

[zildjian]

I've looked at both pieces, thought it's been a while (I ended up not buying either pre/pro and bought a piece of art glass instead, but I did put the art in the theater room! ). User interface and how you want things set up would be the deciding factor for me between these two pre/pro's, but both are very quality pieces!

If you want to use the balanced digital outputs of your Cary 303/200 CD player, then I'd go with the Cary Cinema 11, and that'd make an awesome 2 channel rig. I got to play with an original Cinema 11 briefly a few years ago, but that's been a while, and it was a completely different set up than what any of the Anthem's were hooked to, so I can't really judge sound performance better or worse based on personal experience since the set ups were so different and separated in time.

With the Anthem processors, I have gotten significant personal experience listening to them (AVM 30, AVM 50, D1 & D2), and I think it's awesome equipment and very versatile set up wise. If you are one who likes playing around with different settings and plan on having more equipment hooked up in the future, the Anthem has a more friendly user interface and more set up options than the Cary Cinema 11. If you need to run video through the pro/pro, the Anthem is the obvious choice since the Cary has no video inputs. The Anthem has a great scaler, but it's still HDMI 1.1, so if you go to watch blu-ray's on it, I'd have the player do the audio decoding and send it via PCM to the Anthem, so you can enjoy the lossless audio codecs.

In a nut shell, if you are going to use it for mostly 2 channels, I might go with the Cary in your set up, especially with your CD player. If you were going more 50/50 music/movies or had a lot of gear or tweeking needs, I'd go with the Anthem. $1500 would be a great deal on an AVM50. I haven't seen one that cheap yet, but I don't look too hard b/c I might buy one.

The hole idea that you need the pre/pro and the amp to match in name brand is not the case unless you have a specialized set up like if I wanted to use the current inputs on my Halcro amp, I'd need a pre/pro with current outputs, not common...so I'd probably be more inclined to go with a Halcro amp. I literally have had twenty something amplifiers over the last 10 years and only a handful of pre/amps, all of different manufacturers, and I've never had a problem mixing them.

Just my 0.02... Hope it helps. Let us know what you decide.
-Brad

 

[zildjian]

For mainly 2.0, I would go with the Cary Audio 11 because it has superb measurements on Home Theater Magazine.

I think it only has 2 HDMI Inputs/1 HDMI Output?

Not much for features.

The Cary Cinema 11 didn't have HDMI inputs at all on the original, not talking about the 11a or 11v. Cary offered an outboard HDMI device back then to use. That all changed with the 11a as it has 2 HDMI 1.3 inputs, the 11v has I think 5 or 6. tophedwards, you are talking about the original 11 correct? I assumed so since you didn't specify 11a or v and discussing that price, it wouldn't be the new versions unless they were stolen!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The Cary Cinema 11 didn't have HDMI inputs at all on the original, not talking about the 11a or 11v. Cary offered an outboard HDMI device back then to use. That all changed with the 11a as it has 2 HDMI 1.3 inputs, the 11v has I think 5 or 6. tophedwards, you are talking about the original 11 correct? I assumed so since you didn't specify 11a or v and discussing that price, it wouldn't be the new versions unless they were stolen!

I assumed he meant the 11a.

I almost picked up a demo unit Cary Audio 11a for $2K (retail $4K).

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Check out the B&K Ref 50 S2 pre-pro for $600:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homeproc&1302456004

Or ATP8700:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homeproc&1301083843

 

[tophedwards]

Anthem AVM50 and Cary Cinema 11 (not a or v)

Yes, I was talking about the Cary Cinema 11 not the 11a or 11v.
Thanks everyone for the input so far!

I don’t have a high end blu-ray – just a PS3 – still love it though, so will a Tosh connection suffice with the Cary? Or would the Anthem AVM50 be a better option?

I’ve been keeping an eye out on Ebay for AVM50’s and there have been several under $1500 (that I’ve missed), but it’s been a while for a decent one so I’ve been holding out.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yes, I was talking about the Cary Cinema 11 not the 11a or 11v.
Thanks everyone for the input so far!

I don’t have a high end blu-ray – just a PS3 – still love it though, so will a Tosh connection suffice with the Cary? Or would the Anthem AVM50 be a better option?

I’ve been keeping an eye out on Ebay for AVM50’s and there have been several under $1500 (that I’ve missed), but it’s been a while for a decent one so I’ve been holding out.

The Anthem AVM 50 has more features, so I think the decision depends on how you feel about measured specs.

Are measured specs the most important?

If not, then get the Anthem.

If measured specs are the number one priority, then get the Cary Audio.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The Anthem AVM 50 has more features, so I think the decision depends on how you feel about measured specs.

Are measured specs the most important?

If not, then get the Anthem.

If measured specs are the number one priority, then get the Cary Audio.

Actually, I take it back. Here are the measurements for the AVM 30 and they look great:

Response from the multichannel input to the main output in direct mode measures -0.06 dB at 10 Hz, -0.01 dB at 20 Hz, -0.09 dB at 20 kHz, and -0.56 dB at 50 kHz. The analog THD+N is less than 0.021% at 1 kHz with a 100-millivolt input and the volume control set to -3.5. Crosstalk with a 100-mV input was -90.80 dB left to right and -91.93 dB right to left. The signal-to-noise ratio with a 100-mV input from 10 Hz to 24 kHz with "A" weighting was -122.14 dBrA.—MJP

The AVM 40:

Response from the multichannel input to the main output measures –0.05 dB at 10 Hz, –0.01 dB at 20 Hz, –0.10 dB at 20 kHz, and –0.60 dB at 50 kHz. The analog THD+N is less than 0.015 percent at 1 kHz with a 100-millivolt input and the volume control set to 0. Crosstalk with a 100-mV input was –96.76 dB left to right and –95.89 dB right to left. The signal-to-noise ratio with a 100-mV input from 10 Hz to 24 kHz with "A" weighting was –121.40 dBrA.—MJP

I thought I read somewhere that the new Anthems did not measure as well, but perhaps I was wrong. Sorry.