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What tier do you consider Anthem integrated?

Anthem has an STR integrated amp with the ARC room correction. The integrated teams loaded with a lot of features such as built in room correction, stable into low ohms, big toroidal transformer, etc. Would a 15 year old Pass labs amp walk all over a 3 year old anthem? The Anthem is newer and has more features, Anthem is rated class A by Stereophile review, but Stereophile seems to only give amps with phono stages class A ratings, and the Pass labs doesn't have that. So what would you grab? An older Pass labs that may have age issues, or a newer amp with good reviews and room correction? Looking for best sound, not to impress people with brand names. Thanks.

128x128labguy
labguy's avatar
labguy OP
82 posts
 

@soix thanks. I sent seller a message to inquire about shipping as im not close to those. I should also see if i can audition the Nola 3 contender. Any idea what a fair price is for those? The look to be in good condition 

soix
8,876 posts
 

Most sell in the $3-4k range depending on condition.  For future reference, you can go to hifishark.com and search for a component.  You can see a list of all that are currently for sale across several sites, but you can also click the tab that’ll show you all past listings for items that already sold that will give you a good reference for a real-world price range.

https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=nola+contender+3

stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,385 posts
 

take a look at Ayre used.....they are very supportive, and have sound that's midway between tube and solid state.  Even old Ayre stuff is excellent.

secretguy
1,606 posts
 

The Anthem STR takes a back seat to nothing mentioned in this thread.

Whoever said it was "sterile"....wow...

brewerslaw's avatar
brewerslaw
35 posts
 

I’m an Anthem STR owner.  I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed in the purchase.  It does everything quite well and I think you’d be hard pressed at your budget to find anything better.  I’ve continued to shop/audition gear post-purchase and I’ve shrugged at the sound from some amps 2-3X the cost

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