Anthem MRX with Salk

gregcss · « **on:** 17 Dec 2011, 03:24 pm »

Has anyone used an Anthem MRX HT receiver with their Salk speakers? I'm debating whether to get an external amp and use with my marantz sr5005 or just sell the 5005 and get an MRX 500. I read the ARC room correction is excellent and the power output is decent compared to other receivers.

clearlight · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Dec 2011, 05:18 pm »

Athough not yet in possesion of planned Salk ST RT's, I use an MRX 300 with newest Paradigm Model 9 towers for movies and at the moment for 2 ch music. The Anthem ARC will be quite superior for correction compared to the Marantz's. Having set up multitudes of HT systems as an installer, finding a receiver that can do a proper job correcting the bass is magic. The better versions of Audyssey also are quite good.

Are you going to use the system for 2 ch with an external dac? If so be aware that the Anthem digitizes the analog inputs. The Anthem does have tremendous dynamic punch along with a clean transparent sound

.

David

coke · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Dec 2011, 06:05 pm »

Do you spend most of your time listening to 2 channel music or home theater?

I had an Anthem MCA-50 and an Integra DHC 40.1 (I think) preamp. I used this combo with Dynaudio contour S1.4 and later with Salk HT2-TL.

The sound was pretty good, and some of the best I had heard at the time. When I switched to AVA equipment though, the sound was taken to another level. I don't think I could go back to the anthem/integra sound for music, but it was an excellent combo for home theater.

For movies, I currently use a Marantz sr5004 receiver for processing and my AVA amps for power. I really enjoy it, and since I've added GIK panels, I prefer to not use Audyssey.

gregcss · « **Reply #3 on:** 17 Dec 2011, 06:09 pm »

I do 75% music (2ch) and 25% movies. I do not have an external DAC so the receiver will take care of that. I've looked at AVA but haven't strongly considered them.

ctviggen · « **Reply #4 on:** 17 Dec 2011, 08:07 pm »

Quote from: coke on 17 Dec 2011, 06:05 pm

For movies, I currently use a Marantz sr5004 receiver for processing and my AVA amps for power. I really enjoy it, and since I've added GIK panels, I prefer to not use Audyssey.

Why no use of Audyssey? I was thinking of not using it, as it doesn't sound quite right to me, but I haven't had the time to do a without and with comparison.

gregcss · « **Reply #5 on:** 17 Dec 2011, 11:54 pm »

Quote from: coke on 17 Dec 2011, 06:05 pm

When I switched to AVA equipment though, the sound was taken to another level.

For movies, I currently use a Marantz sr5004 receiver for processing and my AVA amps for power. I really enjoy it....

The Insight+ 240/3 should work well for the front three. I could sell the 5005 and get an MRX 300 for the improved processing and room correction. Down the road I would want to get a second external 2ch amp for the mains and put the 3ch amp on center and surrounds. The Insight+ amps are 100% solid state right?

srb · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Dec 2011, 12:24 am »

Quote from: clearlight on 17 Dec 2011, 05:18 pm

Are you going to use the system for 2 ch with an external dac? If so be aware that the Anthem digitizes the analog inputs.

Thanks for pointing that out. I was thinking about an MRX in the future, but was not aware of this. I assumed all high-end receivers had some type of analog bypass mode. I then checked the User Manual and indeed found no reference to pure, unprocessed or bypass analog modes.

Steve

Nuance · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 Dec 2011, 03:46 am »

Quote from: ctviggen on 17 Dec 2011, 08:07 pm

Why no use of Audyssey? I was thinking of not using it, as it doesn't sound quite right to me, but I haven't had the time to do a without and with comparison.

Audyssey does great things below the Schroeder Frequency (usually around 200 Hz), but above that it can ruin the midrange in my experience. I've tried it in a variety of rooms with a few different receivers, and it sounded bad for music every time. If you can, find alternative means to tame your low end, like using a parametric EQ that only EQ's the subs, or room treatments/bass traps. The less EQ above 200Hz the better.

Just my $0.02.

Saturn94 · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 Dec 2011, 08:09 pm »

Quote from: srb on 18 Dec 2011, 12:24 am

Thanks for pointing that out. I was thinking about an MRX in the future, but was not aware of this. I assumed all high-end receivers had some type of analog bypass mode. I then checked the User Manual and indeed found no reference to pure, unprocessed or bypass analog modes.

Steve

This surprises me. I have an older Anthem processor (AVM20) and it allows you set each analog input to analog direct (no processing) or analog DSP (digitizes the signal for processing). I would have thought their receivers would have offered the same. I guess they had to leave something out to encourage you to upgrade to one of their processors.

BTW, the Anthem AVM20 sounds great with my HT2-TLs (amp is Parasound 5250).

coke · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 Dec 2011, 08:47 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen on 17 Dec 2011, 08:07 pm

Why no use of Audyssey? I was thinking of not using it, as it doesn't sound quite right to me, but I haven't had the time to do a without and with comparison.

Don't like the sound. I just have one of the basic versions of it though.

clearlight · « **Reply #10 on:** 19 Dec 2011, 02:34 pm »

When setting up the Anthem room correction the maximum Eq frequency can be set independently for the music and movie config's anywhere between 200 and 5000 Hz. I am only using the receiver for 2 ch music for an interim but out of curiuosity should check out how the mid and upper freq's sound with the ARC switched in and out. I didn't like a previous Pioneer Elite receivers' MCACC eq switched in for music but the Anthem is more sophisticated, we shall see (hear).

coke · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Dec 2011, 03:37 pm »

I had a limited budget I was converting my 2.0 channel system into somewhat of a hybrid 2.0/5.1 system. My custom salk HT2C with veneer matching my HT2-TLs consumed most of my budget, so I wasn't left with much. I was trying to decide between a receiver with basic audyssey or one with XT32.

I ended up buying a marantz sr5004 receiver for around $350 shipped and invested the rest of my budget in sound treatment. I already had external amps and a DAC for 2.0 channel music, so I wasn't very concerned about the rest of the featuers.

Sound treatment works well for both 2.0 channel music and home theater, whereas I wouldn't want to use any of the current auto eqs for 2.0 listening.

I've been very happy with my decision.

gregcss · « **Reply #12 on:** 19 Dec 2011, 04:16 pm »

Quote from: coke on 19 Dec 2011, 03:37 pm

....I wouldn't want to use any of the current auto eqs for 2.0 listening....

As far as I know there is not a direct/pure direct mode. All sound must go through the processor. This is a concern to me only if the ARC Music mode is not great.

gregcss · « **Reply #13 on:** 22 Dec 2011, 03:20 pm »

hard to decide without testing in my own room (75% 2.0 music, 25% 5.1 movies).

Marantz SR5005 with AVA Insight+ 240/3
(Pros: AVA amp, already own SR5005. Cons: audyssey not as good as ARC, cost a little more)

OR

Anthem MRX-300
(Pros: ARC, good built in amp. Cons: does not have direct mode, lower cost after selling SR5005)

Dave Littel · « **Reply #14 on:** 22 Dec 2011, 05:36 pm »

I don't have Salks in my system at the moment but have heard many and am familiar with their quality. A couple of months ago I purchased an MRX-500 to replace a stereo preamp (Audio Refinement pre5) to become the hub of my system. This was a truamatic and risky move for a dyed-in the wool teo channel stereophile such as myself. In any event, I was pleaseantly surprised by the audio quality of the MRX-500. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to tell by ear that it digitizes the signal. I'm extremely impressed with Anthem's dedication to audio quality. Using its internet radio function there are jazz stations that come through so cleanly they sound better than some of my CDs.

Another treat was using the Anthem Music processing with 5.1 channels. The dealer told me that it was designed in-house for audiophiles from the ground up and is nothing like other processing. Holy cow he wasn't kidding. All it does is bring the stereo image out into the middle of the room. It does not otherwise mess with the recording. The sense of space can be scary. It IS addicitve.

Don't get me wrong--I'm still with anyone who prefers going with a high end DAC for the Nth degree of resolution in stereo (and I'm putting together a second system for that myself), but IMO this is a great product for someone who has to go the home theater route with their system.

Dave Littel · « **Reply #15 on:** 22 Dec 2011, 06:35 pm »

PS. I didn't mention the ARC room correction because my intial efforts to get it going have run into glitches. I'm told that my version of windows creates a problem with the firmware update, which is needed before running the program etc etc. You also need a special RS-232 adapter unless your computer still has that type of port (unlikely). So be warned that it is not hassle free. That said I'm hoping to get it ironed out next week and I'll post an update on my impressions.

gregcss · « **Reply #16 on:** 22 Dec 2011, 06:58 pm »

Thanks Dave, I appreciate the review. I do think my desktop PC has a serial port so I should be good there.

srb · « **Reply #17 on:** 22 Dec 2011, 07:06 pm »

Quote from: Dave Littel on 22 Dec 2011, 06:35 pm

You also need a special RS-232 adapter unless your computer still has that type of port (unlikely). So be warned that it is not hassle free

Thos who have a laptop will most likely need a USB to RS-232 adapter. However for those with desktop computers, many motherboards that do not have an integrated backplane serial port often do have an RS-232 serial port header to which can be connected a widely-available (~$5) serial port slot L-bracket and internal cable to connect to the motherboard header.

That's what I did for full-time computer remote control (as well as firmware updates) on my Rotel receiver. Although I don't know if there would be any problem with the Anthem MRX receivers, there have been instances of other AV receiver serial port connections that did not work properly with some serial port USB adapters and some versions of Windows.

Steve

gregcss · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Dec 2011, 12:49 pm »

Well, I sold the SR5005 and got an MRX-300. Initial impressions are that this is a very nice upgrade, though I still need to go through the ARC calibration process.

clearlight · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 Dec 2011, 02:59 pm »

If you need to use a serial to USB adapter to run the ARC, go for the Tripp-Lite Keyspan USA-19HS model Anthem has tested to work properly.

You may also want to check out the ARC setup/tweaking thread at AVS forum. The fact the arc requires a computers' processing power to calculate the IIR filters indicates it's accuracy and complexity. An Anthem training rep mentioned that even if they were producing a $20,000 processor, internal arc processing would still be cost prohibitive. There are some interesting adjustments, such as positioning the sub to have the response cutoff(not the crossover) begin at 120hz(which is upper freq for LFE signals I believe) and possibly setting the sub for a flat, rather than auto, response. These changes are system dependent/capable but can produce noticeable bass performance improvements.

I did some listening to my system, using digital input in Anthem, and didn't notice any SQ Degradation switching on the ARC. Some non bass freq improvements actually. My NOS Tranquility dac thru the anthems' analog inputs loUst 3 dimensionality and most importantly for me, the analog like musicality the Tranquility is noted for. A non NOS dac may not be so affected perhaps.

Merry Christmas and blessings to all in memory of the Grandmaster, David