[rklein]

We are building a new house up in Maine.  I will have a dedicated music/HT room that I will be finishing out myself.

The room will not be completed until the end of 2019.

I have am opportunity to buy a new Anthem MRX 720 for $1,725(retail is $2,499).  The unit would have a full warranty.  The 720 will be driving 99db efficient speakers.

It seems a bit early to be purchasing gear for this room but the price is pretty darn enticing!

Thoughts would be mucho appreciado.

Regards

Randy

[jtwrace]

Deals like that come frequently; don't buy something now that will sit in a box for nearly a year unused.  The chance of an improved piece by the time you're ready is very likely.  Oh, and plans do change.   

[rklein]

Hi Jason

That was pretty much my thoughts as well. 

Thx for weighing in.

Regards

Randy

[RDavidson]

I would definitely wait. Most places only have a 30 day return policy. With that in mind, hold-off on purchases until you're within that window, so if you need to return/exchange something for whatever reason, there won't be complications.

[witchdoctor]

We are building a new house up in Maine.  I will have a dedicated music/HT room that I will be finishing out myself.

The room will not be completed until the end of 2019.

I have am opportunity to buy a new Anthem MRX 720 for $1,725(retail is $2,499).  The unit would have a full warranty.  The 720 will be driving 99db efficient speakers.

It seems a bit early to be purchasing gear for this room but the price is pretty darn enticing!

Thoughts would be mucho appreciado.

Regards

Randy

I would only buy a unit that includes Atmos, DTS-X AND Auro 3D. That means Anthem is a pass.

[RDavidson]

Some prefer quality to quantity, and it seems you don't really get all of both until you get into the upper echelon of receivers. Those get pretty $$$, but I think in the OP's case there are a few options worth considering for sure. The big names like Denon, Marantz, and Yamaha all make competitive receivers in that mid-high price range. I'd probably look at Marantz, personally. But I've had good experiences with Yamaha Aventage and Denon (though, many years ago) too.

[ctviggen]

I made the mistake of buying a refurbed receiver while I was redoing my HT room.  By the time the room was done, the receiver was out of date. Trying to keep up with receiver technology is like trying to keep up with the latest phone (or the latest projector/TV):  you're always behind.

I'd wait to see what happens.  For instance, how many speakers will you actually wire for? I'm sure the industry won't be happy until we're putting dozens of speakers in a single room. 

[nature boy]

I have one in a simple 5.1 channel HT system. While it doesn't have the latest and greatest Dolby stuff, here are my observations:

Setup is very straight forward. A set up with room correction is best done with a laptop.

Sound quality for movies and music is excellent.  I'm driving less efficient speakers, Vandersteen 2ce mains & VCC1 center.

This HT receiver has been bullet proof. It replaced an Onkyo receiver which had HDMI connections that crapped out after two years.

The technology is constantly changing. If you want the latest and greatest, you should probably wait. I am hoping my Anthem receiver lasts a long time.

NB

[ctviggen]

The trend is that processing is moving away from "channels" and toward "objects".  That is, a sound object is moving about, and the processor figures out which physical speakers (the channels) should be used and at what level.  Even my current HT processor doesn't do that, but that's the way things are going.  (Not sure how much media actually implements this, since Bluray seems to be dying and downloading taking off.  Yet one more thing to consider.) 

[witchdoctor]

I have an immersive media room in an auro-3d 15.1 setup and a man cave in a 5.1.4 atmos setup.
The media room is 50% music and 50% movies. The man cave is 30% gaming, 30% music and 40% movies. One of the things I wanted for the man cave was a receiver with DTS-Playfi so that meant Integra, Onkyo, or Pioneer. I heard Onkyo had bad HDMI boards but when I saw the RZ 630 on Amazon for less than $500 I took a shot. That is a 9.1 receiver and WOW, delivers nice crisp SQ!

https://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-RZ630-Channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B07CW3F37L

My point is even if you only want 5.1 for now why box yourself in? The Anthem is $$ even with the discount. For that money why wouldn't you want to include all the codecs? Atmos and DTS-X are object based, Auro 10.1 is channel based.

[rklein]

Thanks for all of your replies.

I will wait on buying gear until I actually am a couple of months from being able to use the room.  I will probably run a 7.2.4 configuration for my HT.

Regards,

Randy

[Saturn94]

I would only buy a unit that includes Atmos, DTS-X AND Auro 3D. That means Anthem is a pass.

It’s disappointing Anthem doesn’t include Auro 3D.  I emailed them recently asking if they considered adding this in the future, and the answer was “no”.

I’m still using an Anthem AVM 20v2 that I bought in 2003 and still love it.  My room and layout make it difficult to go beyond a 5.1 setup, hence why I haven’t been really motivated to replace the AVM 20.  Perhaps someday....

To the OP, like others said, I’d wait until you’re room is ready to purchase an AVR or pre/pro.  That way you can get what’s current and can test it properly during the return period.  And who knows, perhaps Anthem will change their mind.