@dorkwad the sound of an Anthem home theater receiver can’t really be compared to their dedicated two channel preamp. Those are meant for entirely different functions. There’s a lot more room for elegant design when not cramming in a bunch of circuitry for video and multichannel processing/amplification.
fwiw, Gene at Audioholics, who is a no-BS reviewer, liked it enough to purchase his review sample: https://www.audioholics.com/av-preamp-processor-reviews/anthem-str-preamp-power-amplifier
Assuming you can get one used at the 2500 mark I would put it up against anything solid state in that range. If you prefer tube sound you should go tubes of course - especially if you have room treatment. I used to have tube gear that I thought sounded fantastic, but my room produced too many issues for my setup to really shine. After applying room correction and bass management all my issues with fuzzy imaging and distorted bass were gone. I doubt I’ll go back to tubes until I can get a dedicated treated listening room.
fwiw, Gene at Audioholics, who is a no-BS reviewer, liked it enough to purchase his review sample: https://www.audioholics.com/av-preamp-processor-reviews/anthem-str-preamp-power-amplifier
Assuming you can get one used at the 2500 mark I would put it up against anything solid state in that range. If you prefer tube sound you should go tubes of course - especially if you have room treatment. I used to have tube gear that I thought sounded fantastic, but my room produced too many issues for my setup to really shine. After applying room correction and bass management all my issues with fuzzy imaging and distorted bass were gone. I doubt I’ll go back to tubes until I can get a dedicated treated listening room.