Anthem AVM 70 - Initial Impressions (3 Viewers)

[Robert Crawford]

Getting back to you guys, after changing out to the spare fuse, the SVS subwoofer is working again. Now, onto that Polk sub that won't power up.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Getting back to you guys, after changing out to the spare fuse, the SVS subwoofer is working again. Now, onto that Polk sub that won't power up.

Write off the Polk and get a second SVS. I’m king at spending other people’s money.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Write off the Polk and get a second SVS. I’m king at spending other people’s money.

I've been thinking about it.

 

[DaveF]

Good to hear. I’m experiencing some oddities with one or both of my SVS subs. i want to re-run Audyssey just to make sure something didn’t go weird with my processor. If not, need to contact SVS for some help.

 

[John Dirk]

New 50 ft active HDMI 2.1 cable in place, AV7702MKII back online, AVM70 on it's way back to Audio Advice.
NZ8 looking amazing with 4K HTPC content. Looking forward to having some actual time to enjoy it now.

 

[John Sparks]

How much of an inprovement over the 6050...night and day?

 

[John Dirk]

How much of an inprovement over the 6050...night and day?

It's a little too soon to say as I have been preoccupied with installing the JVC (it's huge) and then wrestling with the AVM70 for the past 5 days. The NZ8 also needs some basic adjustments as reviews have suggested it is not the most accurate out of the box. I'm hoping to get to that soon.

That said I immediately noticed the extreme improvement in color saturation, black levels and overall sharpness compared to the 6050. Over the next few days I'm hoping to get to some Blu Ray and UHD viewing as I suspect that's where the real improvements will be evidenced

Is 3D important to you? If not then I'd definitely suggest taking a look at the Epson LS12000. After seeing one in person a couple of weeks ago, I was quite impressed with the image quality and only went with the JVC because, sadly, the LS12000 lacks 3D support and a true dynamic tone mapping solution.

 

[JohnRice]

I’m amazed to discover I’ve had my Marantz AV7703 for five years.

 

[DaveF]

For the Dirac-curious here’s early PR info from last Fall

Dirac Roadmap for 2022 Denon & Marantz AV Products

In this editorial we discuss a roadmap of Dirac room correction support for ALL Denon and Marantz AV products that are planning support for 2022 and beyond. What version, will there be fees? All discussed.

www.audioholics.com

 

[Robert Saccone]

For those Denon & Marantz units that support Dirac I understand that the firmware update adding support is out now.

 

[DaveF]

After a bit more reading: if I were buying today, I’d get the Anthem AVM70. Especially on the current sale price. I think I understand John’s frustrations, and think those would be more tolerable to me. And my best estimate is ARC Genesis would be a great upgrade, and the extra cost, extra complexity, and extra wait to get a Dirac system wouldn’t be worth it for me.

if I’m buying in two years when Marantz has all its models out with all Dirac options, supply chain problems are more improved (maybe fixed), and maybe even an updated model from Monoprice or a less spendy model from JBL Synthesis… no idea what I’ll get.

 

[John Dirk]

After a bit more reading: if I were buying today, I’d get the Anthem AVM70. Especially on the current sale price. I think I understand John’s frustrations, and think those would be more tolerable to me.

I absolutely believe you would choose it out of todays available options but I'm not convinced you'd tolerate it.

 

[John Dirk]

Not to drag this out but I thought it might be helpful to some [now or in the future] if I added some "start to finish" context.

My initial plan was to upgrade my projector only at this time. I knew I would eventually need to upgrade my 6 year old AV7702MKII but felt it best to wait a bit. While I researched projector options and wrestled with whether or not I was willing to give up 3D and dynamic tone-mapping, the AVM70 8K [replacing the 4K version] materialized and went on sale. I'd been watching and intrigued by the original AVM70 since it's announcement in 2021, so I figured now might be the best time to go ahead and grab one.

I did this and, as stated in prior posts, was nothing short of amazed with the performance of the unit. Meanwhile I was finally able to see an Epson LS12000 in person. The picture was outstanding but my 6050 was no slouch either. I went back and forth [also considering the new Sony models] but ultimately decided I wanted the JVC NZ7. While planning my purchase of the NZ7 I continued to research JVC models and came to the conclusion that the NZ8, although a good bit more expensive, actually represented the "sweet spot" in the new JVC line.

I had never planned to spend the combined cost of both the NZ8 and the AVM70 but that's just the way things worked out and, as long as they both brought a smile to my face, I was fine with it. Aside from a very laborious installation and initial setup experience, the JVC has been nothing but a joy to own. The Anthem was consistently a joy to listen to but I began to dread making any configuration changes other than volume adjustments and basic input selections as they were just not intuitive. While the Anthem is an extremely competent performer, it behaves more like a PC than a piece of AV equipment. Feedback was not always consistent or easily understood and the unit would lock up from time to time, requiring hard resets.

Once I got my AV7702MKII back in place I breathed a sigh of relief as I now knew I could begin enjoying my HT again instead of looking forward to another evening of troubleshooting. The AVM 70 has great potential. If Anthem ever releases a firmware update that introduces a better OSD experience I may very well end up purchasing another one. Keeping the current unit meant I had to gamble on whether or not they would do so and that was simply not a bet I was willing to make.

 

[John Dirk]

I think this thread reinforces why us normal people want an Eero or such ilk: Plug in, turn on, done.
I still can’t figure out how I’d configurate this pro gear, what router I have to buy, how to maintain the network, does it “just work” or does “network engineering” have to become my new full time hobby…?

I recalled this post from another thread as it basically describes my feeling about the AVM70.

 

[DaveF]

Doing some reading, I understand Anthem ARC‘s Profiles mean you can setup multiple room corrections. So I could have profiles for: Just me in MLP; me and wife in front row; and me and wife in back row (daily TV watching). That seems like it would be great for how I use my room!

Do other current processors, with Audyssey or Dirac or other support multiple, user-selectable room correction profiles?

 

[JohnRice]

They do have some nice features, such as that and the "virtual" inputs. I'm not aware that other units have those features, but I don't know why.

 

[John Dirk]

Doing some reading, I understand Anthem ARC‘s Profiles mean you can setup multiple room corrections. So I could have profiles for: Just me in MLP; me and wife in front row; and me and wife in back row (daily TV watching). That seems like it would be great for how I use my room!

Do other current processors, with Audyssey or Dirac or other support multiple, user-selectable room correction profiles?

I'm not sure but I'd imagine any processor that supports Dirac Live would offer this feature. Anthem allows you to quickly recall up to four unique correction sets but you could theoretically have as many as you want as they are simply files stored on a PC. I doubt Dirac would be substantially different. Our Marantz units are limited by Audyssey, which handles all of the correction processing and storage internally.

 

[sinisanav]

Hello all, just read through this one… myself purchasing used ANthem AVM 60 just about a month ago after my prehistoric 2007 Onkyo pre/pro died…
I did not encounter any GUI issues so far as John was mentioning, but the again, I hear there is a substantial difference between “old” AVM 60 and new models. As for ARC , comparing it to Audysey XT and miniDSP and REW combo it is so much easier ad intuitive to use while I would say, so far results are excellent. I do no like to tweak a lot from day to day, and have not tried out its own test tone, but used ARC only .I had only time to set up one profile and did notice improvement already for movies ( and sports) over my 8 years old Audysey/REW setup. After I install 4 Atmos speakers in next few days then I will embark on setting up different listening profiles.

 

[GeorgeHolland]

Interesting experience around the frustration mastering the Anthem AVM 70. I have the Anthem STR Preamp and couldn't be happier. While I initially played around with ARC, it is very different than my experience with Denon and Marantz. I don't use the STR in my main theater. There I still use a Marantz AV7705. I got the STR so I could finally build a dedicated two channel music system in my family room. I use a pair of subwoofers and love the way ARC bass management works in either stereo or mono with automated phase correction.

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/co...cant-music-system-update.377140/#post-5171107

I never reached a high level of frustration when attempting to optimize the system and mastering ARC because I decided to just have the system professionally calibrated by Kris Deering since he was calibrating my JVC DLA-RS3100/NZ8 with Lumagen Processor anyway. I intended to get around to doing some of my own configurations, still might, but haven't yet. I am just enjoying how good a dedicated stereo system can sound, especially records.

 

[John Dirk]

I never reached a high level of frustration when attempting to optimize the system and mastering ARC because I decided to just have the system professionally calibrated

It's entirely possible Kris did.