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Anthem processors: AVM20 v. AVM30 v. D1

I am building a new system from scratch for HT and music and have liked what I've read about the Anthem processors. While I can afford to buy the D1, I also don't like paying a lot more for marginal improvements, and from what I've read, the AVM20 with upgrades is so good that upgrading buys some improvement but there isn't a lot of room to improve.

For those of you who have owned or used the Anthems, how do you evaluate the enhancements compared to the added costs, both in 2-channel and HT? What does an upgraded AVM20 used go for and how much more might I pay for the 30 or the D1? Would it be wisest to get the 20 and if I want to upgrade wait until the D1 is replaced and becomes more widely available used?

As an aside, I'm pretty set on getting a DD Velodyne as the sub while my choice in speakers is still wide open (I need to foind more time to listen to speakers).

Also, any suggestions for mating the Anthem pre's to an amplifier?

Thanks for your suggestions.
jonsher
sailfishben
65 posts
 
in late but... good stuff on the Anthem product. My slant is on the Velodyne. I had a DD-12, which at the time I got it I thought it was totally awesome and I thought I'd died and went to subwoofer heaven. HOWEVER, I upgraded it to a DD-18 recently and am now writing this from there! Get the biggest, baddest one you can (or can't) afford. They are awesome, blend into any room (mine has one wall of glass sliders!) and what they do for my B&W 9nt floor standers listening to vinyl has made me not even think about getting better ones. Truly a great piece of gear. Yes, 4,999 retail on a subwoofer might be close to 'stupid' money for some - but once you have one you'll know!
drew_w
63 posts
 
"Faster processor (more than double the clock speed)"

If you're lucky, some of the very last AVM-20 v2s had the same DSP processor as the AVM-30. Had one of those a while back and sold it when scaling down my HT.
flrnlamb
508 posts
 
Jonsher,
I'm just curious as your "priority order" here for picking gear....seems you are focusing on the pre/pro and amp and such first, then the speaekrs last. It's all good of course. But you have to know of couse that this is backwards, no? Speakers are DEFINITELY the priority for a system, then the electronics after that.
If you focus on the speakers that do what you need, then the amp can match what the speakers require, both power-wise, and tonally, ey?
It seems far too many people get fixated on their pre's (see the thread "preamp deal of the century") and amps and such, and that the speaker threads are SPARSE and less heavily posted. This explains why most peoples sytems are mediocre from my experience, at least in part.
Focus on the speakers, seating, and setup/acoustics, and the rest will season to taste. Good luck
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