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What’s in a watt

Ok guys, here’s my current dilemma. 

I’m running my TV into an OPPO BDP-105D, which in turn is plugged into my MA6500. AppleTV is my main music/tv source, so now, we have 4 different components in play for the system. I’m running Focal 1028BE II with a pair of Velodyne VX-11 subs hooked onto the pre out from the Mac. 

Not a high priced system, but it sounds great in my smallish living room and I can (and do) listen for hours on end without fatigue.

The problem: the OPPO is on the fritz and is no longer made or supported. The other problem: while she knows how to use the system, my wife finds it to be a pain in the ass. The OPPO randomly powering off was the last straw. She watches TV on her phone and listens through AirPods when I’m not home to avoid all the components. 

I’m building a separate theatre room, so the system were discussing is strictly 2 channel w/subs. 

Ive been eyeing the Anthem STR Integrated as a good option to centralize the whole system into one box. Then, the Naim Unity line was recommended to me and it looks really intriguing. The Anthem is in the high end range for what I would like to spend, about $4500. This puts the Unity Atom in my sights. My concern is that at 40 watts, I might come up short with certain types of music, especially if we move to a bigger home.

I’ve been told that ‘Naim watts’ are superior to other watts and that it’s 40 would outperform the 120 in my MA6500 but I’m skeptical and don’t want to short change myself in the long run for ease of use now. 

I’d love to get the communities thoughts and recommendations on what a good direction or solution to current situation might be. 

Thanks!
hybrid81
elevick
2,638 posts
 
So, I had a similar issue:  Mac Amp, Coincident speakers, Oppo 105 (that works flawlessly.The big difference is that I use a pre-pro.  My Emotiva has a great pass through feature.  When it's off, the source, satellite, goes directly through the TV.  As soon as I turn on the Emotiva, everything turns on and I have theater.
My thoughts:  The Oppo is a great player, the volume is mediocre and I keep the output fixed, the DAC is also mediocre.  Emotiva's DAC is somewhat better. (My Hugo is clearly better for streaming, Tidal or computer audio).
Keep everything.  Buy a Samsung or Sony BlueRay player.  Spend some decent money on a pre-pro with pass through.  Emotiva is great.  Anthem is even better.  Your wife can ignore all of your toys and watch tv when she pleases.
glennewdick's avatar
glennewdick
1,729 posts
 

i've been doing some research on the all in one idea and your needs seem to follow what I was thinking. The Anthem integrated seems like a winner from many standpoints. enough power, digital ins as well as analogue and then there is the room correction system built in, this is the main reason you would buy this amp and from all the research i've done that's what makes it so good other wise its just an average hi end integrated that you will either love the sound or not just like any other product out there. I think the anthem room correction is on par with the other well done room correction systems out there thinking lyngdorf .

Speaking of Lyngdorf have you looked at their integrated getting fabulous reviews and do all if not more then the anthem.

I personally was looking at the anthem pre amp with the room correction and the lyngdorf integrated amps. The anthem preamp may fit your bill for upgradability but you will need a 2 channel amp.

I'm not a Naim fan, I have owned an all Naim system but was never engaged in the music so dumped it all and returned to tubes. I just don't get the Naim sound I suppose I always found it boring and could never get past one side of a record before I went off to do something else. That's me though so everyone has a different story.

dracule1
1,085 posts
 
“Naim watt superior to others”. That’s a good one. A watt is a watt, strictly defined mathematically. Someone is trying to sell you snake oil.  That being said, an amplifier can deliver different amount of power power depending on the load and frequency it sees.  How well an amp can consistently deliver its rated power into different loads and frequencies will determine how well an amplifier is designed and perhaps sound. 
hybrid81 OP
32 posts
 
Thanks for all the replies. 

Elevik, you were right about the OPPO’s volume control. I went to fixed and started controlling from the Mac and I actually do seem to notice a difference. Just a little bit more vibrant at mid to high volumes. 

Crazy. Thanks for the heads up. 

Glennewdick I haven’t checked into the Lyngdorf offerings. I will definitely research them tonight. Not looking to wait too long to make a move. The techie in me says go Naim, but the sensible part of me says the Anthem is the better piece of kit. 

dracule1, what you state is what I’ve always believed. I did some very unscientific testing today and measured where, approximately, the low end Unity would run out of steam based on the meter positions on the Mac. It could get pretty loud, but at around 40ish watts it wasn’t so loud that it made me uneasy. When I think about cranking the system and working around the house, 40 ‘Naim watts’ might not cut it. 

hybrid81 OP
32 posts
 
The Lyngdorf is interesting. The only major advantage I see over the Anthem is the HDMI option. That add on puts it at the same price as the Anthem, but the Anthem has way more power and a lot of the Lyngdorf add-ons are already built into it. 

The Lyngdorf is rated at 170 watts at 4 ohms. The Anthem is rated at 200 watts at 8 ohms, and up to 550 down to 2. Seems like no contest there. It also already has USB and analog inputs at no extra cost, as well as bass management in addition to its own room correction software, ARC. 

From a value perspective alone, the Anthem seems to be the better bet. The HDMI in/out on the Lyngdorf would be nice, but not really necessary. The real question, though, is how do they sound?!

Not familiar with the ‘house sound’ of either, if they even have one. 

Both nice looking pieces of kit, though. 
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