[witchdoctor]

So (anyone can weigh in), would you recommend Anthem for Atmos and get the ARC? Or get a Denon for Atmos and Auro 3D? 

JD

I own an Anthem PW Amp with ARC in my office, a Marantz Processor with Auro 3D in my media room, and an Onkyo receiver with Atmos/DTS-X in the man cave. I use the Anthem for two channel, the Marantz for immersive music and movies, and the Onkyo for movies and gaming.

The Denon offers Audyssey which is good but I have not heard better sub/sat integration than the Paradigm Amp with ARC. In all fairness I have not auditioned an Anthem receiver in full surround mode but I think I would take the Denon with Auro 3D if you are 50/50 movies and music.

Did you read the review on the Storm Audio processor I posted? I feel the same way, once you get used to auromatic for music I prefer it over stereo. I still listen in stereo in my other rooms but auro 3d gets the nod for my taste.

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx6400h/denon-avr-x6400h-11.2-ch-x-140-watts-a/v-receiver-w/heos/1.html

[ajzepp]

So (anyone can weigh in), would you recommend Anthem for Atmos and get the ARC? Or get a Denon for Atmos and Auro 3D? 

JD

This won't be helpful at all because I can't really make a comparison, but I will say that I figured I had my Magnepan 5.2 system manually calibrated pretty well until I bought an Anthem receiver in 2016. It was shocking what it did with the cohesiveness of the sound. The non-ARC room correction may also be great, I have no idea. All I can say is that this is the main reason why Im upgrading to at Atmos Anthem receiver...I just don't want to give up ARC. You'll have to forego any thoughts of Auro-3D, however, as Anthem told me directly they have zero plans to ever add it. I've never heard Auro-3D, so if nothing else, ignorance is bliss lol.

[JDoyle]

Thanks witchdoctor and ajzepp for you replies.
Just so I understand, the Denon’s Audyssey doesn’t stack up to the Anthem’s ARC?

JD

[witchdoctor]

Thanks witchdoctor and ajzepp for you replies.
Just so I understand, the Denon’s Audyssey doesn’t stack up to the Anthem’s ARC?

JD

I think ARC does a better job integrating the subwoofer and the speakers.

[ajzepp]

So it's taken me a good while, but I finally have all 9 channels, plus two subwoofers, installed. I upgraded my receiver to the Anthem 720, and have been playing around with it since last night. Unfortunately, since - as discussed earlier in the thread - if the source doesn't see a 4k display, it won't give you access to Atmos. So thus far I have only been using Dolby Surround and DTS:Neural. Both are doing a far better job than I expected, and it's very clear that even if it takes me a while before I can access full on Atmos or DTS:X, the DS and DTS:N adds quite a lot over regular 5.2

But ten minutes ago I just did something that blew my mind. I put an HDMI adapter on my Macbook, downloaded the Atmos trailers "Leaf" and "Amaze" from the Dolby website, and WHOAAAAA...that was the single most impressive audio I've ever heard in my home, and there's no close second. It was my first legit Atmos demo, and it did not disappoint. I can't wait for my roommate to get home...she's going to be amazed by this.

So, long story short, Atmos is not a gimmick. It's the real deal, and even prior to running room correction, the most impressive home demo I've ever heard by far.

[witchdoctor]

Congratulations!! If you get a Sony 4K blue ray player with the two hdmi ports (one for video and one for audio) I think you will be able to stream atmos to your receiver and use the video out to your screen. I primarily rely on the upmixers in my media room and it works either way.

[ajzepp]

Congratulations!! If you get a Sony 4K blue ray player with the two hdmi ports (one for video and one for audio) I think you will be able to stream atmos to your receiver and use the video out to your screen. I primarily rely on the upmixers in my media room and it works either way.

Now that I see what you mean about how good the upmixers are, the main reason why Im leaning toward just holding off on a player is b/c I keep reading that downconverted HDR looks kinda bad vs the regular bluray version. I cannot understand why they dont just put the atmos tracks on the blurays and let UHD be a selling point on its own for the videophile crowd. Im more of an audio guy than video, so I find it very frustrating that it feels like Im being “forced” to go 4k when Im perfectly happy with my current projector. I cant believe what DTS Neural does for a stereo source like youtube, so Im really eager to get some lossless music fired up.

But since the DTS Master and DD HD tracks maintain that quality when the upmixers are applied, I think Im going to be quite happy just staying with regular bluray and streaming until I can upgrade to a 4k projector in the future. The heights are far more active that I expected, and having more of a 3D surround field is really fun. Im thankful for people like yourself and a few others who helped me decide to go Atmos.

[Big Red Machine]

Hey what outboard amp are you running those extra channels with?

[TomS]

Hey what outboard amp are you running those extra channels with?

Mine is 5.4.1. I use all the Anthem 5x140w channels, but not the 2x60w channels. I added 4 channels of Hypex 250w (2x 2ch modules) for the 4 ceiling speakers, controlled by a trigger from the MRX720. Works great.

[ajzepp]

Hey what outboard amp are you running those extra channels with?

I had an outlaw 7 channel amp (7075, I think is the model?) that didnt have anything to do, so I put it to work.

[witchdoctor]

There are bluerays with Atmos mixes that are not UHD as well as some music discs. Checkout Roger Waters movie The Wall and Aquaman.

[Big Red Machine]

I'm reading between the lines here that my Yamaha receiver may be outgunned by the Anthem ARC system. My Yamaha has all the power for the 5.4.2 channels now and it is okay sounding with the Elac enabled speakers. I have other more pressing things to spend money on but Anthem is having a 20% off sale until early June on processors and receivers. Do you think the ARC is superior in sound to YPAO?

[TomS]

I'm reading between the lines here that my Yamaha receiver may be outgunned by the Anthem ARC system. My Yamaha has all the power for the 5.4.2 channels now and it is okay sounding with the Elac enabled speakers. I have other more pressing things to spend money on but Anthem is having a 20% off sale until early June on processors and receivers. Do you think the ARC is superior in sound to YPAO?

I can't really say, but note that ARC just underwent a huge revision, called Genesis, which just came out. Not much info out there yet on it's effectiveness, but I'd presume it's better

[goskers]

I don’t follow processors much but Anthem ARC stems from research done at the NRC. If anyone believes in the research done by Toole then this product falls in line with it.

[ajzepp]

I'm reading between the lines here that my Yamaha receiver may be outgunned by the Anthem ARC system. My Yamaha has all the power for the 5.4.2 channels now and it is okay sounding with the Elac enabled speakers. I have other more pressing things to spend money on but Anthem is having a 20% off sale until early June on processors and receivers. Do you think the ARC is superior in sound to YPAO?

The main reason I went with Anthem back in 2016 was because of the research I did on the room correction software vs other options. I haven't heard Audyssey or YPAO, but I will say that the impact ARC has (haven't run Genesis yet) is pretty impressive. I had manually calibrated my previous system with an SPL meter, but when I ran ARC, the soundfield became far more cohesive and vocals were significantly improved in terms of intelligibility. That's the main reason I spent more than I really wanted and moved up the line to an Anthem 720 for Atmos.

[Big Red Machine]

I'll keep reading and relying on you guys.

I have the Yamaha RX-A2080 AVENTAGE 9.2-Channel

This 9.2-channel AV receiver harnesses dual ESS SABRE™ DACs, seven HDMI inputs, three HDMI outputs, Dolby Atmos® and DTS:X™, Multi-Zone functionality, Phono input, Wi-Fi®, YPAO™ with Precision EQ and much more.
9.2-ch Dolby Atmos, DTS:X (7.2.2-ch or 5.2.4-ch) and CINEMA DSP HD3 with Zone 2/3/4
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, AirPlay®, Spotify Connect and MusicCast multi-room
New Surround:AI™ technology automatically optimizes the sound in real-time
4K Ultra HD support, HDR10, Dolby Vision™, Hybrid Log-Gamma and BT.2020
HDMI with HDCP 2.2 (7 in/3 out)
Dual ESS SABRE ES9007S Premier Audio DACs for high performance conversion
Pandora®, Spotify, SiriusXM Internet Radio, TIDAL, Deezer, Napster and more
YPAO R.S.C., multipoint, 3D and precision EQ
Voice control using your Alexa device like Echo or Echo Dot
Phono input

[witchdoctor]

I'll keep reading and relying on you guys.

I have the Yamaha RX-A2080 AVENTAGE 9.2-Channel

This 9.2-channel AV receiver harnesses dual ESS SABRE™ DACs, seven HDMI inputs, three HDMI outputs, Dolby Atmos® and DTS:X™, Multi-Zone functionality, Phono input, Wi-Fi®, YPAO™ with Precision EQ and much more.
9.2-ch Dolby Atmos, DTS:X (7.2.2-ch or 5.2.4-ch) and CINEMA DSP HD3 with Zone 2/3/4
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, AirPlay®, Spotify Connect and MusicCast multi-room
New Surround:AI™ technology automatically optimizes the sound in real-time
4K Ultra HD support, HDR10, Dolby Vision™, Hybrid Log-Gamma and BT.2020
HDMI with HDCP 2.2 (7 in/3 out)
Dual ESS SABRE ES9007S Premier Audio DACs for high performance conversion
Pandora®, Spotify, SiriusXM Internet Radio, TIDAL, Deezer, Napster and more
YPAO R.S.C., multipoint, 3D and precision EQ
Voice control using your Alexa device like Echo or Echo Dot
Phono input

I don't know that you need to change anything, that is a brand new receiver from their Avantage line. How do you like Surround AI? I think you just need to experiment a little to dial in the sound for your room. I am sure you could be happy with either receiver.

[Big Red Machine]

I don't know that you need to change anything, that is a brand new receiver from their Avantage line. How do you like Surround AI? I think you just need to experiment a little to dial in the sound for your room. I am sure you could be happy with either receiver.

Can't say I have noticed any impact from it. I'll take a look at the menu at the next sitting.

[witchdoctor]

Can't say I have noticed any impact from it. I'll take a look at the menu at the next sitting.

Here is a video about surround ai, looking forward to your impressions:

https://youtu.be/9AbBDO0Zdrs

[Doublej]

A little dated but still useful writeup on the topic of room correction.

https://hometheaterreview.com/room-correction-revisited/