Time for an upgrade and I need some "professional help," please

[davwaymoore]

So currently I have a home theater (5.1) in a room that is about 18' x 20'. It consists of an Onkyo AV Receiver which is about 8 years old and the front speakers are all Definitive Technology Speakers which are rated to 200 watts and do not include any powered sub, ie, they are large bookshelves with fantastic sound. The rears are Paradigm in-walls. My sub is a small under-powered Yamaha.

The sub I am replacing with the large Outlaw sub................

The front speakers I am going to keep at least for the near future......Not sure about the rears........

I am going to replace the Onkyo. I have never had an amp and pre-amp setup for home theater but think i want to and have been gearing my research in that direction. My budget is $2000 to $2500 not counting the amount I will spend on the Outlaw sub. I think that gives the background.

I have two setups I have been researching and simply am at a loss as to which way to go and thought I would ask opinions:

Pre-amp / amp setup:

Marantz AV 7702
Emotiva XPA-5
​

Even though I think I want a pre-amp / amp setup I have been reading some really good things about this AV Receiver and wanted to know what the thoughts were:

Anthem MRX 710
​

I appreciate any opinions and suggestions...thanks!....Wayne

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The surround speakers are in-wall, so I would just leave them alone. Later, get Paradigm front speakers if you want to match everything.

If you ask 1,000 people, 500 people may say Anthem/ARC sounds better than Marantz/Denon/Audyssey, and 500 people (myself included) may say M/D/Audyssey sounds better.

I would recommend something like the Denon X4100 AVR for $800 new (MSRP $1500) on Amazon. It has the flagship Audyssey XT32 and pre-outs if you ever feel the need to add an external amp, which I don't think you need.

 

[davwaymoore]

This upgrading stuff is a lot tougher than it used to be....AcuDefTechGuy, thanks for your suggestion!

 

[tmurnin]

I actually have both the Anthem and the Denon in different rooms. I love both units for different reasons. I use my Anthem in the family room which is a typical modern family room in a house with an open floor plan - wood floors, only enclosed on 3 sides, lots of windows. I love the ARC setup in a complex room like that, my wife likes the simpler look of the Anthem and in that room I don't miss any of the features that the more mainstream units have. We do about 25/25/50 usage in that room between TV/movies/music.

I have the Denon in my basement - which is used 40/40/20 for TV/movies/gaming. The room is a large box with acoustic treatments on the walls and I plan on adding a second sub soon so I wanted the XT32 that Audyssey offers. I don't see myself running to 4K anytime soon, but if I ever do, it will be in that room first. The kids spend a lot of time down there as well, so it's nice that the receiver has a phone control app and built in Pandora/Spotify.

I agree that you won't need an external amp with either of these units. The Denon is a steal at $800. The Anthem is still a lot higher priced (although the 5100 is pretty reasonable) but I've been very happy with mine as well.