Anthem AVM-20, Opinions? Convince Me. (1 Viewer)

[Evan S]

Scott, Legairre and I are going in on Wednesday to check it out. I know if I try to bring it home for an in-house, I will have to give a substantial reason for not buying it. Not sure I want to do that, but we do plan to give it a run for it's money on Wednesday, sound, features, presets, the works. I'll report back on what associated equipment was used (speakers, amps, etc).

By the way, Scott, I've read all those reviews and will bring a laundry list into the dealer to address every issue that's been brought up. I'm actually writing them down as we speak.

-Ev

 

[Evan S]

Scott, in addition to going to do a first hand demo on Wednesday, I've e-mailed Brian Florian at Secrets to see if he can answer some of the questions both you and Alex had (as well as some of my own). I'll let you know if/when he responds and what he has to say.

 

[Scott-C]

Thanks Evan, that's great and I really appreciate it. If I can help in any way, please let me know. That's a good idea to write down all the questions.

Here's one more that may be of interest to others.

My first complaint has to do with flexibility of surround setups. Speaker config is universal. That is, once you define which speakers are present in your system, all modes use that config. I guess most people wouldn't care about this, but think about the following.... 7.1 setup with direct radiators in the back and dipole side surrounds. Now you want to use all the speakers for DTS ES, but what if you want to listen to SACD using rear speakers instead of side surrounds? Sorry, 6-ch input allows you to use ONLY side surrounds. In addition, the software will not let you choose rear speakers if you have NONE selected for side speakers! I think Anthem needs to work on improving the flexibility of speaker config. B&K is much more flexible in this regard.

Perhaps this is something Anthem can address in a simple, Web-based software upgrade? I doubt a dealer would be able to give you an accurate answer. If you want me to email Anthem, I'll be happy to, but thought I'd give you first dibs since you have already established contact and may even have more questions for Anthem.

BYW, I sent you an email a little while ago with some other related thoughts.

Thanks again!

 

[Evan S]

Scott, that's one of the questions I addressed to Brian and will bring up at the dealer. Already covered my man!!

 

[Bob-N]

Guys,

Thanks for doing the legwork on the AVM20. I look forward to your reviews of the unit.

Unfortunately, our local Anthem dealer (Paradise in San Jose, CA) is very unflexible and said that they are flying out the door. They just sold their demo (I saw the hole in the rack) a few hours before so I couldn't do any auditioning. They are also selling at MSRP ($3200?). uggh.

Bob

 

[Andy Bell]

Evan & Legairre,

The AVM-20 is on the top of my pre/pro list also.

I look forward to see what you two think of it after Wed. I deal with a shop in Maryland, that carries Anthem products. May be going up there this week, so I will see if I can mess with it in the store. They also let me demo products at home, so I'll also see if I can bring a AVM-20 home sometime.

 

[Curtis_Edwards]

Curtis Edwards has received the page and have contacted Evan directly.
-- CUE

 

[Evan S]

Andy, I tried sending you an e-mail regarding this but it didn't go through. E-mail me if you want more info.

 

[Scott-C]

Andy, what store in MD do you plan to visit to demo the AVM-20? I'm here in Baltimore, and might not be too far away...could be demo time.

 

[Evan S]

For those of you who are interested, I e-mailed Sonic Frontiers some questions regarding this unit and this is what they said...

Questions about your new processor.

1. With the new Motorola chip upgrade due in April, will that be a do it yourself upgrade or will you have to return your unit to the dealer for this?

A: The dealer will be responsible for the upgrade.

2. Will the chip upgrade make the unit THX Ultra 2 compliant?

A: Too early to say. If so, the release date will be more like June.

3. A review of the unit stated that if you are using dipole speakers as side surrounds and direct radiators as rear surrounds, when using SACD, the unit will default to the dipole speakers and you could not direct them to play on the rear surrounds. Is this correct and if so will this be addressed in a future software fix?

A: The way the albums are mixed, you should use speakers positioned to the side. If you want to use your direct speakers, you'd have to physically move them to the proper location, otherwise you won't hear what was heard in

the control room, and possibly run into phase problems.

4. It has also been said that the unit will not play with 5 or 7 speakers when THX is activated unless the original source material is 5.1. Is this correct?

A: It'll play with 5 speakers with THX Cinema because Pro Logic automatically engages, but not 7. Otherwise, you have to use THX Surround EX, but this only works with 5.1 sources. All THX preamps are like this. If you want to

use all speakers with stereo material, our own Cinema Logic and future Music Logic is the way to go.

 

[Scott-C]

Evan, Thanks for posting these answers. Some thoughts and comments relating to the answers you received (my question # corresponds to Evan's numbered questions):

1. That stinks that the dealer has to do the upgrade. I don't believe there are any Anthem dealers in Baltimore, so I'd have to trek down to the greater DC area for the upgrade.

2. I don't understand how the responder can say it's "too early to say" when they've stated (Legairre pasted the quote somewhere I think in this thread) that the upgrade will incorporate THX Ultra 2. Hmm...

3. I'm not sure what to think about that! Doesn't that fly in the face of the way many like to listen to multi-channel digital and analog music? While I haven't experimented with it yet, I've heard that many people enjoy using the rear surrounds, as opposed to the sides, for multi-channel music. I would think this could be an option that could be easily incorporated into the AVM-20 via a downloadable software upgrade.

4. Does the answer to question #4 mean that even with the upcoming PLII upgrade, it won't be possible to use some sort of DSP to extract the soundtrack to 7 channels? If so, that would be really unfortunate.

 

[John Tompkins]

Scott C, audio video solutions in Laurel or Kensington Md carries the anthem and the last time I was there they had one setup..hope this helps

 

[Evan S]

Scott, I sent you an e-mail about the install of the chip. It is possible to do it yourself. In fact, the contact said it was easy (pop in the card, two screws and you are done)...however there are warranty issues I'm trying to clear up before posting.

Second, the reviewer on EGear said that the chip would be Ultra 2 compliant. Sonic Frontiers has never taken a stance publicly on this issue as far as I know.

I would assume you are correct that a software fix could alleviate problem #3 but at the present time, this is a drawback to those with dipole side surrounds. Flexibility could be improved here.

I cannot answer #4...perhaps another question for Sonic. I think that with DPLII you would be able to do this, but I don't want to talk out of my a** about something I cannot verify.

 

[John Morris]

. That stinks that the dealer has to do the upgrade. I don't believe there are any Anthem dealers in Baltimore, so I'd have to trek down to the greater DC area for the upgrade.

Scott: the other thing that would concern me is how the upgrade would be handled if you bought your unit from a dealer somewhere else than where you live. Would you have to send your unit back to the original dealer? If not, who do you think will get the quickest turnaround and service for the upgrade at the dealer that you did not buy from? Also, whenever I hear that the upgrade is done at the dealer, usually what they mean is that the dealer sends it back to the manufacturer for the upgrade, otherwise, why couldn't a techno saavy bunch like us do our own upgrade? Finally, before you buy this unit I'd make sure that the local dealer is going to give you a loaner unit while your unit is being upgraded. Afterall, isn't that always one of the reasons given for authorized dealers always charging such outrageous prices? Upgrade time sounds like the perfect time to get your B&M money's worth!

 

[John Morris]

Scott, I sent you an e-mail about the install of the chip. It is possible to do it yourself. In fact, the contact said it was easy (pop in the card, two screws and you are done)...however there are warranty issues I'm trying to clear up before posting.

Scott, and Evan: If this is so, I don't see any reason why the dealer couldn't do the upgrade while you stand there and wait? Good News for AVM-20 owners.

 

[Scott-C]

John Morris,
Yes, good news indeed as long as the dealer has the cards/chips. Your point about the dealer passing along warranty and service issues to the manufacturer is well taken, and I'm not sure that isn't what happens in this case.
Also, thanks for your thoughts on dealer willingness to provide service, if I haven't purchased the unit there. That's something that I've been wondering about lately. If I need to do an upgrade, or there is something wrong with the unit now or in the future, I need to know I can take it to a local dealer and not have to get it back to the original dealer. If I can only work with the original dealer, that brings other issues into play.
John Tompkins,
Thanks for the info on SF dealers. Laurel isn't too far away from me, but I'm not exactly sure where Kensington is (I'm not originally from the area, and I'm the kind who could get lost in a phone booth )
Evan,
Thanks again for all of your legwork on this product. I'm anxiously awaiting the feedback you receive on whether we can do the chip upgrade ourselves (and if there are any warranty issues), as well as the results of your Wed. demo session with Legairre.
Well, I think it's time to take a break from all of this, and relax in front of a movie! Use the 'ole Yammy DSP-A3090 while I still have it...because upgrade time is comin' soon. Be back later...

 

[John Tompkins]

Scott C, Audio video solutions is in Laurel and it is on Cherry lane across from the Laurel shopping mall, if you do go to give it a listen, talk to Craig as he's the most helpful.

 

[Andy Bell]

Scott,

Audio Video Solutions in Laurel Md. is where I have been going to for the last 21/2 years. It is 60 miles from my home in Va., but when I went there to buy my Paradigm speakers back then, I met a salesman (David Mimms) that I like working with. He has always been helpful and taken care of any problems, so I give him my business and have also referred a couple of friends to him.

 

[Scott-C]

Thanks John and Andy, I'll try to get down there soon, if I can. I'll post my impressions once/if I go.

 

[Evan S]

Saw this post on another forum. Might be pertinent to this discussion. Just to set up the quote, the thread pertained to a comparison between the Anthem AVM-20 and the Integra Research RDC-7. The quote pertains to the performance of these two units in regards to the top of the line Lexicon MC-12 and Krell HTS....
quote:
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Originally posted by Carl Brinkman
But neither (The AVM-20 or RDC-7) will challange the top end processors let alone a really good 2 ch preamp.
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Couldn't be more wrong had you tried. As my system is in transition, I've nonetheless replaced a Sonic Frontiers Line I (an excellent 2-channel preamp) with a '20 (see my AVM20 review at Audireview.com http://www.audioreview.com/pscAmpli...51_2719crx.aspx). The transition was wholly musical and certainly worthy enough to compare to the Line I let alone an A/V preamp.
Not only will the '20 challenge top-end processors and very good 2-channel preamps, but it is an obvious benchmark (Link Removed) for fidelity and features in A/V processors below (IMO): price-bar-none. There are some that may currently better it in one or a few areas of sonic reproduction or another; but as a whole, it'll be the rare component that handily beats it in every area in the here and now and is worth the difference in price for the degree of change. That decision of course depends on the buyer (one man's tea, etc.), but even if it were two, three… …ten times the '20's asking price, will it quantifiably be that much better reproducing the event at hand? The general ROI rule-of-thumb is pretty well logarithmic and indicates otherwise. There is also the extremely rare possibility that there exists an A/V Preamp that is less expensive, sounds better, built better, and is at least as flexible… If so, kudos to that company or individual(s) that produce it and to those who purchase it!
Nonetheless technology advances, prices fall, and there are new croppings-up pushing their respective envelopes on a regular basis, and many of today's darlings will be next year's flash-in-the-pan. Although given how it performs along with a certain design to stay off near-future obsolescence vs. the availabilities of an advancing industry, Anthem will be satisfying its customers with the '20 for a long time to come.
However, Carl's conjecture (ref. the aforementioned quote) echoes an all too common problem in any industry: unlearned opinion espoused as substance. I'm sure not many have heard any of the current heavyweights (the '20, MC-12, RDC 7, HT Standard, Casablanca II, Theater Grand Processor II, 861, etc.) properly setup and pitted one against the other in the same system/room worthy enough to reveal their differences over time; I know I haven't. Ergo in the quest for knowledge and fun, along with the fact that there are quite a few avid enthusiasts in Michigan; I'd be willing to meet some new friends, swap in/out preamps, listen to music, watch movies, listen for honest differences, drink beverages of choice, and just enjoy the time… My schedule is jammed with activity but there are a few weekends free here and there; so if there are enough interested and we could get schedules to line-up and a good enough system/acoustic venue, then what better way to make use of a common interest?