Marantz AV8003/Cary Cinema 11a/Anthem AVM50v

[greggp2]

Does anyone have any experience with one of these processors and if so, what has your experience been overall, including SQ in 2 channel and multi?

 

[jamie2112]

Have you checked www.audioreview.com they may have a few reviews

 

[greggp2]

I have, but the reviews are limited... I always prefer asking here, as the opinions seem more reliable and trust worthy...

 

[Lordoftherings]

Does anyone have any experience with one of these processors and if so, what has your experience been overall, including SQ in 2 channel and multi?

Personal experience with the sound at home, no.

But from my numerous readings, I'll say the Anthem AVM 50/ARC.
And I'm 100% convinced of that.
The Marantz AV8003, I heard way too many horror stories, many faults, incomplete implementations, buzzing sound, etc.
The Cary Cinema 11a is not even on the radar and with only 2 HDMI inputs...

The Anthem AVM 50/ARC is the winner by a very wide margin. It is also THX Ultra2 certified and includes the very sophisticated and amazing automatic Anthem Room Correction (ARC), and also has the excellent Custom Gennum-based Video Processor.
And the sound is all about High End. This a true Pro high end surround processor.

If you need more assertion, check the reviews of the Anthem AVM 50 at several places, like Home Theater Mag., Sound & Vision Mag., Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity and few other places. Just Google it.
And absolutly forget about the Marantz and the Cary.

Bob

Note: Oh, and check at AVS for the Anthem thread with my good body Bob Pariseau.
You'll be blown away by the amount of information and service you will receive. And more importantly by the numerous people satisfaction with Anthem products and their excellent customer service, plus the excellence of parts and sound quality.
I cannot give a more enthusiastic recommendation than that.

 

[CraigV]

Personal experience with the sound at home, no.

But from my numerous readings, I'll say the Anthem AVM 50/ARC.
And I'm 100% convinced of that.
The Marantz AV8003, I heard way too many horror stories, many faults, incomplete implementations, buzzing sound, etc.
The Cary Cinema 11a is not even on the radar and with only 2 HDMI inputs...

The Anthem AVM 50/ARC is the winner by a very wide margin. It is also THX Ultra2 certified and includes the very sophisticated and amazing automatic Anthem Room Correction (ARC), and also has the excellent Custom Gennum-based Video Processor.
And the sound is all about High End. This a true Pro high end surround processor.

If you need more assertion, check the reviews of the Anthem AVM 50 at several places, like Home Theater Mag., Sound & Vision Mag., Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity and few other places. Just Google it.
And absolutly forget about the Marantz and the Cary.

Bob

Note: Oh, and check at AVS for the Anthem thread with my good body Bob Pariseau.
You'll be blown away by the amount of information and service you will receive. And more importantly by the numerous people satisfaction with Anthem products and their excellent customer service, plus the excellence of parts and sound quality.
I cannot give a more enthusiastic recommendation than that.

Agreed. The anthem will mate nicely with your other gear.

 

[64met]

I am by no means an expert; but I owned the Marantz and wound up returning it within the thirty day window. For me; it was basic things:

1) No volume display on my screen (This drove me nuts)

2) No individual C/O for the speakers... I believe it was pre-set to 60hz.. meaning even if I wanted to I could not go lower than the processor allowed.

3) Switching HDMI inputs would take on average 10-15 seconds...

In the end; I can't comment on your other choices; but I wound up goin g with the Integra 9.8 and am very happy! (Even better; I saved a ton of $$).

 

[greggp2]

good info the C/O limitation would be an automatic deal killer for me Ive heard great things about the Anthem gear, so i'll likely save my pennies and eventually go this route

I am by no means an expert; but I owned the Marantz and wound up returning it within the thirty day window. For me; it was basic things:

1) No volume display on my screen (This drove me nuts)

2) No individual C/O for the speakers... I believe it was pre-set to 60hz.. meaning even if I wanted to I could not go lower than the processor allowed.

3) Switching HDMI inputs would take on average 10-15 seconds...

In the end; I can't comment on your other choices; but I wound up goin g with the Integra 9.8 and am very happy! (Even better; I saved a ton of $$).

 

[bandphan]

+1 for the Athem. Great video section, great room correction, solid build. Pre amp section as good as most anything on market for 2ch.

 

[greggp2]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I was leaning toward the Anthem for all the reasons you've mentioned. The only limiting factor is price. Unless the Emotiva UMC/xMC will perform closely, I'll likely go this route.

 

[Lordoftherings]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I was leaning toward the Anthem for all the reasons you've mentioned. The only limiting factor is price. Unless the Emotiva UMC/xMC will perform closely, I'll likely go this route.

Well if you want to save money, you just should asked that before.

Then get the Onkyo PR-SC885P, it is a first rate Surround Processor with Balanced outputs for all channels, Stereo Balanced inputs, THX Ultra2, Audyssey MultEQ XT, HQV Reon-VX50 video processor and a tons more useful features with a terrific sound with TI PCM-1796a Dacs, 3 DSPs 32-bit TI Aureus chips, and a terrific price too (I think it is only $699 or $799 right now). It competes with pre/pro much more expensives, believe me.
Check it out at accessories4less, or otther places of good reputation.
And if you want some additional features like THX Ultra2 Plus, THX Loudness Plus, Audyssey Dynamic EQ, Audyssey Dynamic Volume, separate video adjustments for each individual HDMI inputs, 4 HDMI inputs, 2 HDMI outputs, ISF calibration and few more over the 885, then the PR-SC886P is your ticket for a bit more money though.

These Onkyos are the deal of the century, they normally retail for more than $2,000, and they can competes with other pre/pros that cost up to $4,000 and perhaps even more!

The Anthem is very nice, but the Onkyo is a heck of a deal and with excellent audio performance to boot, top notch video processor, Audyssey Pro capability, professional parts all over; it just smell like pure gold if you ask me (actually all the jacks are gold plated).
Just a couple weeks ago, it was unbelievable tha the 885 was selling for only $529! It made a lot of people very happy, and very still happy.
Heck you can get the Integra DTC-9.8 for less than a thousand clams!

But I believe that the Onkyo 885 is the best value right now and still.
With the around $4,000 you save, get yourself a new SVS sub, the PB13-Ultra, plus a new high end pair of speakers or a few monoblocks amplifiers from Emotiva. With the Onkyo 885, you'll not only save tons of money, but you will improve your sound too by getting your room well treated with the extra money. This is the best Win Win situation.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[greggp2]

Thanks Bob... Seems like a really good feature set. How is the SQ compared to a product like the Anthem or Cary though, especially in 2 channel stereo?

 

[greggp2]

In checking some reviews on the Onkyo SC885, I've read:

First, there was a slight audio delay when changing sources—it takes a second or two for the audio to sync. This also happens frequently when changing from a stereo 2.0 channel to a Dolby Digital 5.1 channel. A second quirk is that the HDMI signal was a bit slow to establish a handshake, and there is an Improper color-space conversion of upconverted signals.

Do you know if these issues have been addressed with Firmware updates? Also, are the popping issues with DTS-HD sources still occurring or have those been resolved?

 

[Lordoftherings]

Thanks Bob... Seems like a really good feature set. How is the SQ compared to a product like the Anthem or Cary though, especially in 2 channel stereo?

Sorry I cannot personally tell you that. I never had them in my own house.

I only go by my readings on these. And from what I read, the Onkyo PR-SC885P at only $699 right now, is a no-brainer, compared to the Anthem AVM 50/ARC which retails at $5,499.
And from what I read, the 885 (and the 886) sounds excellent with it's TI PCM-1796a Dacs all around and Audyssey MultEQ XT (PRO ready), THX Ultra2...
And the picture is first rate with it's HQV Reon video processor.

I mean, this is obvious, it is a first rrate Surround Processor with top quality parts that sell only for less than one pair of my interconnects!

Bob

 

[Seth=L]

Sorry I cannot personally tell you that. I never had them in my own house.

I only go by my readings on these. And from what I read, the Onkyo PR-SC885P at only $699 right now, is a no-brainer, compared to the Anthem AVM 50/ARC which retails at $5,499.
And from what I read, the 886 sounds excellent with it's TI PCM-1796a Dacs all around and Audyssey MultEQ XT (PRO ready), THX Ultra2...
And the picture is first rate with it;s HQV Reon video processor.

I mean, this is obvious, it is a first rrate Surround Processor with top quality parts that sell only for less than one pair of my interconnects!

Bob

That's some twisted logic there, more money for cables than for the pre/pro.

J/K, I realize that the Onkyo probably isn't in your setup.

 

[Lordoftherings]

My definitive word on this subject.

In checking some reviews on the Onkyo SC885, I've read:

First, there was a slight audio delay when changing sources—it takes a second or two for the audio to sync. This also happens frequently when changing from a stereo 2.0 channel to a Dolby Digital 5.1 channel. A second quirk is that the HDMI signal was a bit slow to establish a handshake, and there is an Improper color-space conversion of upconverted signals.

Do you know if these issues have been addressed with Firmware updates? Also, are the popping issues with DTS-HD sources still occurring or have those been resolved?

Hi Greg,

The things that you are talking about are very minor and don't really affect the sound or audio quality. If you are searching for the perfect pre/pro, be my guess, you'll never find it.

Delays happen most of the time with many other pre/pro too. It is quite normal now with the new high res. audio codecs. You're talking here about a minutia detail.

HDMI handshake mostly depends of the other components in your system, another minutia detail.

With the latest firmware, the HQV Reon-VX50 is fine.

And the popping issues with DTS is only in the first units of 2 years ago, plus it is resolved now, and the DSP chips are easily upgradeable, no probem here either.

Finally, the newer 886 adds more features and is also problem free. But it cost a bit more money too.

Now, compare the 885 $699 price with the Anthem AVM 50/ARC $5,499, and I will say that there is no contest here as to which is the best value!
Maybe with the Anthem you'll gain 5% audio quality ( or 10% at the very best). So, is it worth the almost $5,000 price difference for you?
Only you can assess this question.
As for me, the 885 is an absolute steel, period!

Bob

Note: For better information and real feedbacks on the 885, just check the official 885 thread at AVS, and ask your questions directly to the owners.
That will illuminate you way more than just me telling you what I just read there for the last year or so on that particular unit. But When I say it is a no-brainer and the best deal of all pre/pros right now, I truly and absolutely mean it at 100%. There are expert blu-ray reviewers and audio component reviewers at major magazines and sites that own the Pro 885.
Even Kal Rubinson from Stereophile is personally owning the same equivalent on the Integra DTC-9.8.
All of this speaks volume.
All I can say is that my 876, which is somehow similar, sounds fantastic.
If you got money burning in your pocket, go ahead and buy the Anthem, you'll be very happy.
But if like me, you are looking for a great sounding pre/pro and at a good price, then welcome to the 885, which is not only at a great price, but it is a PURE STEAL. And if like me, you value your hard earned cash, you'll be way more happy, guaranteed.

 

[Lordoftherings]

The past & the present...

That's some twisted logic there, more money for cables than for the pre/pro.

J/K, I realize that the Onkyo probably isn't in your setup.

The year is 2009, and about two weeks ago or three, you could get the Onkyo PR-SC885P for only $529.

Now, go back in time for about 10 years or so, my pair of interconnects cost me almost $800. I was living in another planet 10 years ago. (Wireworld Silver Eclipse III.)

In two of my three setups, I use an Onkyo TX-SR876 and a TX-SR805.

The PR-SC885, I am quite familiar with, I've been reading about it for more than a year. The people that bought it at the very beginning for almost $2,000 were very happy, and the people that recently bought it for less than $550, were in exhilaration, totally overwhelmed by the deal they strike.
If I will need a pre/pro, this is the one that I'll buy in a heartbeat, or the 886.

Regards,

Bob