My AV dealer also told me that Anthem reliability has been spotty although I don't think they sell a ton of them. Anthem is running their 20% off upgrade sale and I have been tempted, but the reliability question is a real issue.
I only have a 5.1 system so all of the extras that the more "mainstream" manufacturers throw in to get their better DACs, room correction, etc, mean nothing to me and make me feel like I would paying for things that are unnecessary -- although pricing is still lower than Anthem. I know there are manufacturing efficiencies that that larger manufacturers have over smaller outfits like Anthem, can they really provide all those extras at lower cost without cutting corners?
I think
@M Code is the local expert on this subject of manufacturing quality and quality control, etc.
Regarding pricing, it's economies of scale. Giant companies sell a lot more quantities and can offer lower pricing.
But the proof is in the pudding.
Most people would agree that some measurements might correlate with quality.
But I think the salient measurement of quality is Reliability and Compatibility. What good are a few insignificant differences in measurements when the brand has reliability issues?
Yamaha might be the most reliable brand.
For measurements, they all have fantastic measurements per S&V Magazine in the usual categories of SNR, Crosstalk, THD+N, and FR.
Yamaha CX-A5100: SNR = 130.92dBA, Crosstalk 93.82dB, THD+N 0.008%, FR 20Hz-20kHz +0.02dB/-0.01dB.
Marantz AV8802: SNR 130.38dBA, Crosstalk 92.21dB, THD+N 0.008%, FR 20Hz-20kHz +0.04dB/-0.01dB.
Anthem AVM60: SNR 127.91dB, Crosstalk 103.35dB, THD+N 0.003%, FR 20Hz-20kHz -0.01dB/-0.03dB.
Back to reliability. I'm curious to know over time, will something like an ATI ATP-16 and Monolith HTP-1 be a lot more reliable than Yamaha?