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Anthem Integrated 225 -opinions

Hi group,
I want to upgrade my system, which is currently an older pair of Arcam amplifiers (Alpha 9 integrated and Alpha 9 power), which I bi-amp with B&W 805 Nautilus speakers.

My audio dealer suggests the Anthem integrated 225: much better power than the older Alpha's (Anthem: 225 w/ch) ....; says it will be a much better fit for my speakers.

Looking for opinions on the Anthem;

Also, I've been a big fan of bi-amping: doing that with my Arcams sounds quite good. Does anyone know if that's possible with the Anthem integrated? (Or, would the Anthem offer such a sound improvement that bi-amping would be unnecessary?)

Thanks in advance for your input,
Jeff
arcamguy
arcamguy OP
83 posts
 
Thanks for resurrecting my thread; my journey took me to a Rega Elicit-R integrated and not the Anthem. Now...I'm about to upgrade the Rega, searching for an amp with more power.

Currently looking at Parasound's new Halo integrated, along with amps from Wyred4Sound and Bel Canto.
J
uncledemp
779 posts
 
Did you ever listen to the Anthem? I'd be interested In the difference you noticed between the Rega and Anthem.

No brick and mortar shops around me... I live vicariously through others!

Best,
Gary
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,700 posts
 
I hear ya (no pun) Gary.

Yes, I have spent much time w/ both the Rega & Anthem.
In short, the Anthem offers much more power and much more
current. It is powerful enough to drive Thiel (my reference)
loudspeakers to concert levels.

The Rega is much less powerful in this regard. It should be utilized in a smaller system that will not be driven to concert spl.

Keep me posted and Happy Listening!
geph0007's avatar
geph0007
184 posts
 
I tried an Anthem and really wanted to like it but felt it was kind of dry sounding Had an Exposure 210S2 next to it and i would have sworn the Exposure was the bigger amp Just more alive and sounding more like live music.
uncledemp
779 posts
 
I own the Anthem and like it. However I'm curious about other gear like Exposure, Simaudio, etc. My previous setup was a Sonic Frontiers Line 1 preamp and Monarchy mono block amplifiers. With that said, I like the simplicity of an integrated and will probably stay the course.

Oh well, something to look forward to!
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