Anthem mrx740 or Yamaha A6A recommendation?

[PENG]

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

You misunderstood, the $3999 I had in my post was based on the AUD liste price AUD5695 converted to USD, and I used a rough number at that moment ended up USD 3999.

Then I checked the actual US list price for the 740 and found that it was USD 3099.99, and then based on the actual exch rate I found Googling, 0.65 at that moment, USD 3099.99 = AUD 4769, that's a lot less than the list price in Australia, based on Selby.com.au.

Even based on you 0.64 rate, USD 3099.99 = AUD 4844, still a lot less than Selby's.

Anyway, my point wasn't much about US price vs Australia price, for the Anthem, be more about the difference in list price between Denon, Yamaha and Anthem's models that offer similar specs and features. Again, based on that, the Yamaha seems to have the best value, followed closely by Denon. Of course, "value" is more about the features and specs based on list price in this case. So I feel that in Australia, I would have to pay a higher premium if I happen to prefer the MRX740 whereas in the US and Canada, it would be a much smaller premium.

 

[PENG]

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....

I have compared ARCG, Dirac, Audyssey based on actual responses measured by REW/Umik-1 mic, and found that Anthem ARCG is just as good except for the range between 15 and 40 Hz, so in reality, it really not much of an issue, but more about disappointment as based on forum member reviews as well as a few professional reviewer's, I expect a lot from ARCG.

Here's just one example of what I have measured, and posted a few times before:

Anthem is ARCG as is, no tweaking, Black is ARCG tweaked, and Red Audyssey XT32 SubEQ HT. I did not have DLBC on this one, but if I did, it would look very similar to Audyssey's.

You can see that with tweaks (a few hours of work), ARCG is just as good, even in the low range, but if I listen to it with the default results, it would sound great listening to most contents, but anything that involves deep bass, it would be so obvious that something was not right.

The vast majority of posts on AVSF did not report the bass issue, but quite a few did. There is also at least one or two Y-tubers who made similar observations.

 

[PENG]

If I remember right, Gene measured the A6A but not the A8A.

ASR did, the I am impressed with the results, that's once the guy got the ground loop sorted out:

Yamaha RX-A8A Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

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?

Sale? I thought the A8A has always been $2999.

 

[mono-bloc]

Then I checked the actual US list price for the 740 and found that it was USD 3099.99, and then based on the actual exch rate I found Googling, 0.65 at that moment, USD 3099.99 = AUD 4769, that's a lot less than the list price in Australia, based on Selby.com.au.

Unfortunately these are the higher prices we are forced to pay, What you have to consider is the high costs of freight, The reduced number of sales compared to the US \Dealer mark-up's, etc.

 

[Cos]

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.

You have to use an external fan? I do not have heat issues

 

[stinga]

Thanks Peng, yes I am aware of your previous posts as you are one of the few people I stalk

 

[Horze21]

Sorry guys. snowed under with work

So quietly. i can get the MRX740 for $3150 AUD as he gets it at staff price.
The Yamaha A6A is about 3700 AUD for online sellers... i havnt seen if they can do better on the price or not.

As a few guys mentioned In Australia we always pay much higher for pretty much everything, espicially electronics. We dont have the buying power because of the low population

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).

Does A6a have this aswell?
PENG, doesnt sound like your too happy with your MRX,
I need to measure this damn cabinet.. on my must do list tonight

 

[stinga]

Damn bro, I want to get an AVM 70 off em!
Thats a helluva price for the 740

The Peng actually has an AVM 70, what you'll find with him is balanced opinions not just fan boi comments about what he bought which I find refreshing. Its the same with all av gear lots of peeps have a bit of bias to what they have bought and hence it makes it a bit more difficult to sort the chaff. Hell what would this dumb Kiwi know, I still have no idea on upgrade path, heart wants AVM 70, brain says its not required so go figure.

I'm pretty sure he is happy enough with Anthem.... no doubt he'll chime in for ya.

Peace cuzzy

 

[PENG]

Does A6a have this aswell?
PENG, doesnt sound like your too happy with your MRX,

That is not true, I don't even have a MRX receiver, so it is not possible for me to be happy or not happy with one lol.. So far, I have been trying to help you by sharing the information I have on the MRX AVRs, from my extensive reading on forums, dealer, customer support related sources, plus my understanding of published specs (as an EE) as well as related bench measurements.

If you have read my posts (such as posts#10 and #14) in full, you will have enough information to decide on whether the MRX740 that you are considering are your best option, among the other ones mentioned so far. And I have tried my best to be objective, my comments are all based on specs, measurements (some of my own) and have not commented on the silly subjective remarks such as which AVR has the best sound. Lastly, if you can get the MRX for that price you mentioned, and it is brand new in a sealed box, complete with full original warranty, then it is a good price, so good that we can't even get that in Canada.

 

[PENG]

You have to use an external fan? I do not have heat issues

No, I don't have any issue with heat, based on the temperature measured on the enclosure, top, side back etc.

My first unit, like many others reported on various forums, would turn on within 10-20 minutes of powering up, even if just idling, and worse, it is audible from about 11 ft. The second unit has been better, as when it is on it is only audible from a few feet; and would only turn on if used for about 30 minutes. I have the fan anyway, so I keep it on to stop the fan from activating. So, it is not about heat issues, but noise issues.

In my opinion, Anthem needs to update the FW to stop the fan from activating prematurely, and should offer to replace the noisy fans and let the dealers to do the swap to avoid any potential warranty disputes.

 

[PENG]

Damn bro, I want to get an AVM 70 off em!
Thats a helluva price for the 740

The Peng actually has an AVM 70, what you'll find with him is balanced opinions not just fan boi comments about what he bought which I find refreshing. Its the same with all av gear lots of peeps have a bit of bias to what they have bought and hence it makes it a bit more difficult to sort the chaff. Hell what would this dumb Kiwi know, I still have no idea on upgrade path, heart wants AVM 70, brain says its not required so go figure.

I'm pretty sure he is happy enough with Anthem.... no doubt he'll chime in for ya.

Peace cuzzy

Thanks, I actually didn't notice your post, so I posted mine to clarify things. Yes I am quite happy with my second AVM70. I was happy with the first one too, but was too lazy to send it back for the fan issues so I traded it in, lost $400, only money right. The only thing I missed so far is Audyssey, mainly just the DEQ though, as I am good with ARCG as well after some tweaking.

If he could get the AVM70 from his friend for the same discount he's getting for the MRX740, then I would say it is a no brainer. For below USD4,000, I think the AVM70 is probably the best value at the moment, unless someone must have 4 independent subwoofer outputs, then I would think the Denon AVR-X4800H (in NA), or the Marantz Cinema 40 (in Europe and Asia) used as preamp processor, should take the crown, because of that feature, and the option to use DLBC.

 

[Mikado463]

In agreement on the fan 'noise' issues, IMO any piece of gear that has a fan and can be heard from the listeners position is one poorly designed unit.

 

[PENG]

Sale? I thought the A8A has always been $2999.

As I said, I was aware of the launch price, but I thought price went up like all everything else. I got that impression because where I am, the RX-A8A has never dropped below C$4799, about US$3,400-3,600 (exchange rate dependent). You probably remember I was waiting for the CX-A5300 for consideration along with Anthem's AVM70. The CX-A5300 never came, and the RX-A8A is an AVR that cost much more than the Anthem AVP in Canada. If I could have gotten it at the same price as the Anthem AVM70, I would have to think much harder, before making my final decision.

Knowing what I know now, I would say in the US, the RX-A8A is the most underrated, and under estimated AVR that can be used as an excellent AVP, much better than the Marantz AV7706, at least for those who don't like Audyssey.

 

[PENG]

In agreement on the fan 'noise' issues, IMO any piece of gear that has a fan and can be heard from the listeners position is one poorly designed unit.

The part that I don't understand is, why would they pick such a fan:
I did a search and found no good reasons:
a) It's not cheap, unless Anthem got a special deal on those. Note: seems much cheaper in Europe
b) Apparently discontinued, according the Radwell.ca
c) The specs clearly indicate this thing is noisy, from the spec 38 DB(A),

Base on forum feedback, many reported no issues, so I wonder if they used different types in different units. That's why I caution the OP that he may or may not (those who may, could be the minority) end up with one that has the noise issue.

For the OP, here are some samples of posts related to the fan noise (if you care, some people don't..):

New Anthem Receivers MRX 540 / 740 / 1140 | Page 57 | AVForums
Anthem MRX 1140 fan noise | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Anthem MRX 740 fan noise | Steve Hoffman Music Forums
Owners Thread for MRX 540, 740 & 1140 Receivers | Page 291 | AVS Forum
Anthem Owners - do you have fan noise ? | AVS Forum

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

As I said, I was aware of the launch price, but I thought price went up like all everything else. I got that impression because where I am, the RX-A8A has never dropped below C$4799, about US$3,400-3,600 (exchange rate dependent). You probably remember I was waiting for the CX-A5300 for consideration along with Anthem's AVM70. The CX-A5300 never came, and the RX-A8A is an AVR that cost much more than the Anthem AVP in Canada. If I could have gotten it at the same price as the Anthem AVM70, I would have to think much harder, before making my final decision.

Knowing what I know now, I would say in the US, the RX-A8A is the most underrated, and under estimated AVR that can be used as an excellent AVP, much better than the Marantz AV7706, at least for those who don't like Audyssey.

Yeah, if I were to upgrade my CX-A5100/MX-A5000 AVP/AMP combo, I would just get a Yamaha RX-A8A AVR and not even need any amps (except for the ATI amp to power all my passive subs).

 

[Cos]

No, I don't have any issue with heat, based on the temperature measured on the enclosure, top, side back etc.

My first unit, like many others reported on various forums, would turn on within 10-20 minutes of powering up, even if just idling, and worse, it is audible from about 11 ft. The second unit has been better, as when it is on it is only audible from a few feet; and would only turn on if used for about 30 minutes. I have the fan anyway, so I keep it on to stop the fan from activating. So, it is not about heat issues, but noise issues.

In my opinion, Anthem needs to update the FW to stop the fan from activating prematurely, and should offer to replace the noisy fans and let the dealers to do the swap to avoid any potential warranty disputes.

Interesting, I either can't hear or don't notice the fan turning on on my pre/pro have had zero issues in that regard.

 

[PENG]

Interesting, I either can't hear or don't notice the fan turning on on my pre/pro have had zero issues in that regard.

Of course, yours must be like my 2nd one, the one I have now. You can only hear it if your room is near silent and even then, only during the quiet passages. For those who happens to have the noisy ones, that is a very different story. Anthem knows about it, but it seems that sone people are still getting units with the noisy fan, and the updated fw did not fix the fan activated prematuring issue, as they seem to say the fan acting this way is for longevity.

 

[Mikado463]

Thankfully I don't have fans on any of my gear in any of my systems............

 

[Cos]

Of course, yours must be like my 2nd one, the one I have now. You can only hear it if your room is near silent and even then, only during the quiet passages. For those who happens to have the noisy ones, that is a very different story. Anthem knows about it, but it seems that sone people are still getting units with the noisy fan, and the updated fw did not fix the fan activated prematuring issue, as they seem to say the fan acting this way is for longevity.

Curious if the fan is user replaceable. I didn't even know I had one. I apparently wasn't looking. I did take the top off the unit to air compress clean it due to my cat liking to lay on my AV Gear. I have since put in one shelf lower lol.

I am that anal when it comes to noise in my system. It's part of the reason why I went ATI for my front 3. The Parasond halo had tweeter buzz on my personas. I could only hear it less than 2ft away, but it annoyed me.