[richidoo]

Does that help?

Yes very much! Thanks Mike! I'm glad you still check this thread.

I try to avoid having a windows computer in my system, but I have a RPi and SOTA endpoint. One of them should work although it would be nice if it could stream from web.

You being a classical music listener can appreciate the tonal subtleties and harmonic complexity that's easily lost with old school upsampling and heavy handed negative feedback. Even Roon DSP engine has negative effect, IME, although I admit I am a bit picky.  Do you find that the most subtle aspects of tone and complex harmonic structure and overtones, etc. are preserved thru STR dsp?

I have Auralic Vega DAC. It's more than adequate but a decade old DAC so that's not a surprise that there's better DACs now, but how does the STR DAC compare with some of the better stand alone DACs available now? Have you compared it to any other DACs running external?
Thanks
Rich

[Mike-48]

Hi Rich,

I have been using DAC-preamps for a while, as I use subs in my room & want digital crossovers for that. Of the ones I've tried, I like the Anthem the best. Nothing is perfect, and will the STR compete with the dCS Rossini, say?  I don't know, but probably the Rossini will be better IF you don't need the DSP features. I can say that as a concertgoer, I find the STR is very worthwhile, and it got approval from at least one fellow audiophile with a far more costly system.

Before the Anthem, I had a Classe CP-800 with manual DSP. Even though it was more costly, its DSP was far less transparent than the Anthem. Also, it took me forever to set it up, and the Anthem did a better job of DSP automatically in way less time.

Before that, I used a TacT 2.2X. Again, I thought it hardened the sound. It did have a lot of flexibility in controlling the DSP, though; more than the Anthem or any other automated system.

The only DSP I've owned that was as transparent as the Anthem was an expensive Weiss EQ-1 MkII LP mastering equalizer. A nice unit, but limited to 96/24, no crossover, and everything manual (and limited to 7 PEQ bands).

I owned a Vega at one point. Nice DAC, which I traded only to get DSP. I tried a Benchmark 3 later on, but without the subs properly crossed over, the sound was worse.

Timbre is a tricky thing, and sometimes what a DSP system thinks is right does not please us. Often there is a work-around in the DSP software, but not always. Your best bet would be to get an STR on approval for at least 30 days, and put some effort into getting the sound the way you like it. Use the latest Genesis beta software in Professional Mode (with a laptop and all the options turned on). You could be delighted, or you could think it's not for you.

Mike

[richidoo]

Like you I prioritize good bass over pristine treble, and believe in optimizing room acoustics physically before applying RC.

My speaker's woofers cross at 120Hz with 6th order passive LP. It would be great to make that xo active. And with EQ I could seal the ports too.

Have you had any build quality issues or malfunctions? Some of the negative reviews on Crutchfield were related to technical problems, but that was a while ago. My dealer says Anthem support is excellent. He is premium dealer with Persona speaker line.
Thanks
Rich

[Mike-48]

Like you I prioritize good bass over pristine treble, and believe in optimizing room acoustics physically before applying RC.

Actually, I'm quite fussy about treble. I listen to string quartets a lot. I don't find anything to complain about in the STR's treble.

My speaker's woofers cross at 120Hz with 6th order passive LP. It would be great to make that xo active. And with EQ I could seal the ports too.

Interesting idea. I had not thought of using the STR for bi-amping, other than with subs.

Have you had any build quality issues or malfunctions? Some of the negative reviews on Crutchfield were related to technical problems, but that was a while ago. My dealer says Anthem support is excellent. He is premium dealer with Persona speaker line.

I have had no build-quality issues with the hardware. As I mentioned, I've run into bugs in the Genesis software, and most of them have been fixed by now. The remaining one is that with some settings, ARC in rare cases introduces a channel imbalance. It doesn't happen every time I run ARC, and it usually affects only 1 or 2 of the 4 profiles you can store in the STR. Running ARC again with a minor change remedies it. Anthem has confirmed they are looking into it; however, with most of their staff working from home now, changes are slower than usual.

Thanks
Rich

You're welcome! And let me add one thing. I had to twist my dealer's arm, but eventually they gave me about the same terms that Crutchfield offers. I really would have got it online if they had not. I like to support local businesses, but evaluating a DSP unit in 45-60 days is not trivial. No way I would have bought it as a non-returnable special order.

If you do go ahead, feel free to resurrect this thread if needed. There is also a long thread on Genesis in the AVSForum. It can be useful, though most of the members there are doing multichannel with video, so their perspective is different from ours.

[kbuzz3]

Funny i just saw this thread, as I've been looking into a Room correction solution myself.  I have an older Anthem AVR in my video room/den and the sound is excellent.   Since i also want a streamer I've been looking at the MiniDSP SHD and NAD C658...both which have pluses and minuses......

[richidoo]

I just grabbed a scratch&dent from Crutchfield to audition. Dealer wants 20% restocking fee.
Thanks for your advice Mike! I'll post after I get a listen.

[richidoo]

Update:
It arrived today, and after only an hour of listening I am very impressed.
No problem with tone or transparency... this is definitely a "high-end" audiophile component.

[Mike-48]

It arrived today, and after only an hour of listening I am very impressed.
No problem with tone or transparency... this is definitely a "high-end" audiophile component.

I'm glad you like it. I am not one to rave about things, and I like it, too.

I didn't make a big deal of it, but the preamp it replaced in my system, the Classé CP-800, was John Atkinson 's reference preamp when he was editor of Stereophile. It may still be. In my system, the STR sounds considerably better.

I'll be interested to hear how the bi-amping works for you. Try letting ARC set the crossover automatically and tell me what you think.

[Mike-48]

Funny i just saw this thread, as I've been looking into a Room correction solution myself.  I have an older Anthem AVR in my video room/den and the sound is excellent.   Since i also want a streamer I've been looking at the MiniDSP SHD and NAD C658...both which have pluses and minuses......

As you say, they all have pluses and minuses. I also have a miniDSP SHD, but I can't compare the sound to the Anthem STR, as the SHD is in a simple system with my TV, while the STR is in my best system in a dedicated room. I can say that the miniDSP offers streaming and costs less, while the Anthem offers a more elegant and unified user interface that is much simpler to use. The Anthem has excellent tone controls, which the miniDSP lacks.  Both ARC and Dirac work well. Good luck making your decision!

[jd3]

I've got one on order to try out as well.  I hope to get it sometime next week.   

[jd3]

I got my STR yesterday, and it appears I got a defective one.  I can't get the HT bypass to work via either xlr or rca.  I've re-set the HT bypass multiple times and my AVR doesn't recognize my front main speakers.  The manual says it makes a sound at turn off which is enabling the bypass but I don't hear anything other than the unit turning off.  I can't play DSD files via Roon to it either.  Only setting in Roon that allows DSD files to play is 'Convert to PCM', so the Anthem displays as PCM.  If I try using 'DSD over PCM v1.9 (DoP)' DSD (at whatever sampling rate it is) displays on the Anthem but all I get is static.  I've never had that issue with Roon in any other dac I've used. 

After I turn it on and start streaming to the USB input I get a loud pop from the right speaker as well.  This only happens when I first start a listening session, not every time a song starts.  Looks like I'll be sending it back, which is a shame as ARC really has made a big difference in the sound.

[Mike-48]

@jd3 - Sorry to hear the STR isn't working out for you. As to HT Bypass, I remember reading that the preamp has to be in standby mode for it to work. I guess you saw that, too?

I also get a thump in the R channel when I first start USB listening, and I've reported that to Anthem as a bug. The thump you get must be louder; in my system, it's soft and a minor annoyance.

I don't use DSD myself. My understanding is that the STR resamples everything internally to 192 kHz 32-bit PCM, as it's impossible to do DSP on DSD. So you might try letting Roon resample DSD to that frequency, which will mean at least that you are getting only one conversion. I doubt that you'll find any DSP preamp that can process DSD as DSD.

If you can live with the thump until it gets fixed (I'm guessing it can be fixed through firmware), maybe the vendor will swap yours for another one with working HT bypass.

Mike

[jd3]

Mike,

Thanks for responding.  Yeah, I knew that the STR had to be off (standby) to use HT Bypass.  Tried it again with xlr's to my AVR and still no go.  I pulled out the STR and put my Benchmark gear back in and HT bypass works fine with it.  I definitely think I've got a bad unit.

My right channel isn't a thump, it's a pretty loud pop.  I started muting volume when I started playing music and let it play for a couple seconds then unmute.  That solves that popping issue.  Glad to know that Anthem knows about it.

I've been using a Benchmark Dac3 L so DSD hasn't been an issue in the past.  I've read a couple posts on the Roon forum about the STR and I'm not sure I can get around the DSD problem.

I bought it from Crutchfield and I've contacted them about the HT bypass issue.  I'm just weighing whether I want to try another unit or just move on at this point.   ARC really does make a difference.

John

[richidoo]

I love the sound of it and ordered a new one from Anthem, returning the one from Crutchfield due to rocking on the feet and I prefer black. The firmware was old. Mine popped right channel when I first connected it to my amp, left channel didn't. I have not tried USB, ARC or bypass yet. I received the new one but can't install it for a few days.

[Mike-48]

I bought it from Crutchfield and I've contacted them about the HT bypass issue.  I'm just weighing whether I want to try another unit or just move on at this point. ARC really does make a difference.

I hope you'll excuse my taking your remarks as the impetus to a bit of musing.

You describe an interesting trade-off, one you're not alone in facing. Is having a pure DSD chain more important than having DSP; i.e., digital crossovers, tone controls, and room EQ? Many audiophiles won't give up DSD. On the other hand, some of us are quite happy with high-resolution PCM -- even many Redbook CDs sound great to me, good enough to be demo tracks. Something I think about is that most DSD releases were recorded as or converted to PCM at some point, so the DSD is something added. Obviously, that's not true of all.

Anyone who wants digital room correction will have to face this decision. At the consumer level, there is no DSP that works on DSD without conversion. Even the US$10,000 Trinnov Amethyst will not do it. My understanding is that there are few, if any, products even for professionals that can be used to process DSD. It's a difficult format to work with.

So, it's a decision about priorities. What does DSD add? Is it real, or is it sweetener? The same questions can be asked about MQA, which itself inhibits or forbids DSP. And how to balance DSD and/or MQA against the benefits of DSP (which to my ears has become essentially transparent)? I wish such decisions were as big a part of audiophilia as which $3000 interconnect sounds better.

[jd3]

Mike,

You're right about the trade off.  After taking the STR out of the system it's pretty apparent to me what I'm missing without ARC.   If I can get the HT bypass issue resolved I'm probably willing to sacrifice DSD playback.

[Mike-48]

@jd3:

Your STR does seem to be broken. Yet it might be worth emailing Anthem support.

They have been pretty quick to get back to me. But bear in mind, they are operating with reduced staff and efficiency during the pandemic.

[jd3]

Mike,

I emailed them vs calling (per instructions on their website) and I've never heard back from them.  Already did the return on this one.  I ordered the silver but am going to go with black on the next one (which I hope has the latest firmware and operates correctly!)

John

[Mike-48]

[...]Already did the return on this one.  I ordered the silver but am going to go with black on the next one (which I hope has the latest firmware and operates correctly!)

I would do this. Hook up the STR to the network. Uninstall old version of ARC. Install new version. Firmware updates seem to be included in ARC since Genesis was introduced, so after you install ARC, it should update the firmware on your unit if necessary. I can't remember if that's done by the installer or if it runs the first time you run ARC thereafter.

I can confirm that the R channel noise on first USB track played has not yet been fixed. I can also confirm that it has gone to the development team for their attention.

I hope it works out for you!

[kgturner]

Anybody have an experience with the phono section of this preamp? Seems like everything I read is about it's digital playback abilities.

Kevin T