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Anthem AVM/20 upgrade to Integra or Marantz??

Greetings all,

I've enjoyed and stretched out the life of my Anthem AVM/20 paired with a Lexicon CX-7. My sources are Oppo, AppleTV, Roku, vinyl, and cable if you are interested. These are all being driven through Revel Performa M22 monitors, C32 center and B15 sub and Revel in-ceiling for surrounds. The speakers are in a 7.1 setup in a formal living room, not dedicated HT.

I need HDMI compatibility in my Pre-pro at this point but I don't want to lose or compromise the sonic quality I've had with the Anthem. Given that another, newer pre-pro from Anthem that isn't north of 5k isn't in the near future I'm looking to either Integra or Marantz as sonically they seem to be given top billing.

So here is my issue: I *love* 2-channel and I don't want any sonic compromise at all in soundtage bredth and depth, tonal accuracy, and sheer emotional involvement in the music. In fact, I want *better* performance than my AVM/20 currently offers.

So,will the Marantz AV7005 or Integra 80.3 do the trick? I've read Kal and Michael Fremmer's reviews of the AV7005 and they are excellent. Michael even bought the review sample and I think Kal has the integra 70.2. However the Integra offers the newer Audyssey room correction. The Anthem is just such a well put together piece that I am afraid that my upgrade will be a sonic downgrade. Are my fears justified or not?

Looking for some sage advice and guidance! Many thanks to all in advance.
internetmin
internetmin OP
258 posts
 
Sorry, Kal. 80.2 instead of 70.2 :-) So my recollection was correct on that one.

Don't mean to put you on the spot, but is it a fair shot to say that either the Marantz or Integra would do me well for my purposes going from an Anthem PrePro? I don't need the extra HDMI settings of the Integra and I don't need the added streaming services like Spotify, etc.

The only nice feature that I do use is separate crossover settings between music and movies. I run my M22s down to about 50Hz with the music setting and I pretty much leave the M22s close to 80Hz for movies. I also use the notch filter in the Anthem, but that would likely be taken care of via Audyssey.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
dbphd
1,628 posts
 
Yesterday I auditioned a Marantz AV7005 with the aim of replacing my Cary 11a, Velodyne SMS-1, and DVDO Edge with a single processor. I took several discs, then played the discs again when I returned home about a half hour later. In every case I preferred the sound of my system. But I couldn't attribute that to the difference between the 11a and the AV7005, because the ancillary equipment was also different.

The setup in my HT started as a 2.1 music system before the addition of front projection and surround speakers. The setup at the dealer seems aimed at very elaborate HT. The disc player was a video server with a name something like Kaleidoscope; the speakers were large B&Ws.

So I conclude that an audition at a dealer is of limited value, unless the dealer has the same equipment you have. So much for don't rely on reviews, listen for yourself advice. I can only go by Michael Fremer's review of the AV7005 in which he concludes that the AV7005 is an excellent value with very good sound, but not quite the equal of the sound of the Cary 11a. I suppose if I had been persistent, I might have borrowed an AV7005 to try at home, but then I would have felt really obligated. With a new lamp in my projector, I will try to it without the video processor. That would be one step toward simplification.

db
internetmin OP
258 posts
 
DB, that's a perfect point. I was trying to do an "apples to apples" comparison. The closest I could find (quickly) was a dealer who had both Integra and Anthem. They were pushing me to the Integra vs the Anthem because of the fact that Anthem has not really done any major updates recently and nothing on the horizon (he actually had the D2 at home). While they had nothing in the store to do an "Apples to Apples" it was interesting to hear that. The only caveat--and I've heard this from a few places--that the before and after measurements of the ARC are better. However, I also wonder about that because Audyssey MultiEQ Pro does the same thing (or something similar) if I understand it correctly. But you need to do the Pro version with the calibrated mic. Regardless, I'm encouraged by the fact that it appears as though you can get the same or better audio quality (ISF, video scaling, etc is important but less of a priority) for almost half the price of what it was 10 years ago.
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,680 posts
 
Of course, at the dealer, you can never know how competent the ARC/Audyssey setup is.
internetmin OP
258 posts
 
Ha. Touché. Very nice Kal.

Theo
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