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Anthem MRX 720 Question

I want to improve the sound quality of my system and am looking at new receivers.  I have a 5.1 system with Paradigm S3's for L&R, a C3 center (LCR all V3), dual Klipsch subs and Sonance surrounds.

A fair number of people rate the Anthem 520, 720 and 1120 receivers highly for their sound and room correction software.  I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on a 720 but have a concern.

Many of the forums talk about HDMI connectivity, receiver lockup, firmware and various other issues.  To be fair, it seems like those discussions dropped off in recent months presumably as newer firmware became available.  

Does anyone have recent experience with the 720 they can share?  Have the HDMI, receiver lock-up and PlayFi issues been resolved?  Were those issues unfairly highlighted?  A demanding forum audience could make something appear bigger than it is.

I'm replacing a Yamaha RX-A3050.   With the current setup if I select FIOS, ROKU, BluRay, Spotify, Chromecast etc from the Harmony remote, a lot of activities happen behind the scenes; devices power up or down, inputs are selected, amps and fans turn on - and it all works every time even when I switch between activities.  Yamaha's switching is impressive since it rarely has HDMI/HDCP handshaking issues.  I love that since recovering from those issues usually involves recycling the power to the receiver, TV and/or device.

I want good sound but don't want to lose the reliability and ease of use I currently have. I'd really appreciate hearing what others have experienced with their Anthems.

Thanks in advance.


myoungva
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,842 posts
 
Myoungva,  we are Anthem dealers i have a Mrx 720 and have never had any major problems with the Anthem receivers. 

We just did a full Kef CI 3160 THX Theater being fronted by the 720 with an Epson Laser projector. The system sounded fantastic and the Anthem room correction is nothing short of sensational. 

Anthem is very good about firmware upgrades. 

I have one in my own Living Room theater and it is used every day never an issue.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
mahler123
3,409 posts
 
I just added a 520 two weeks ago, no issues either.  Sonically it was a major upgrade over the 10 year old Onkyo receiver that it replaced
mahler123
3,409 posts
 
OP
if you are happy with the Yamaha switching abilities, etc the newest Yamaha receivers also have room correction, but I didn’t think they sonically matched the Anthem
myoungva OP
6 posts
 
The Yamaha 3050 has YPAO which does OK with room correction but varies greatly each time you do it.  The Anthem's room correction is supposed to be best in class so I'm excited to hear it in actios.

I think I've come up with a solution for my situation. I'm going to use the Anthem to power the 5.1 system and Zone 2.  Then I'm going to use the Yamaha with a feed from the Anthem's line outs to power and control zones 3 & 4.

I believe I can do this in such a way that you won't need a degree in computer science to turn it on ... and have good sound!

The real issue as I have learned is sending a 5.1 signal to the main zone and a 2 channel downmixed signal to the other zones and have the sound be in sync on both.  This is super important if say your 5.1 is in the family room and you have zone 2 in the kitchen which is next to the family room.  If they're out of I didn't realize until I got into this how few receivers can do this.

Most receivers downmix the main if you send the audio to another 2 channel zone.  The Yamaha can keep the main in 5.1 and send down mixed audio to the other zones.  I am told (but need to verify) the Anthem can do this as well.  If true, I should be able to get the best of both worlds - good sound in the main, all 3 of my other zones in sync and easy to use.

If anyone's interested in the details, happy to share. 
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