So far not so good with new Anthem..help! (1 Viewer)

[Joe e h]

Chris

I should have added I currently have the Parasound hooked up to Zone 2 & 3 from the Anthem. It is powering Paradigm and Niles ceiling speakers in my Bedroom and Bathroom.

 

[Frank Zimkas]

My mains are older Polks SDA-2 models. They were from the era when Polk made good speakers and not the mass produced crap they make now.

I have owned the SDA-2B's and wish I is still had them, but to say that the current offerings are crap is a little rough. Have you had a chance to audition the Lsi Series? If you can, do it! I bet you'll be quite impressed.

As for the problems the original poster has been having, I hope he resolves the issues and posts his results because I just ordered my Anthem PVA-7a amp and will be getting the AVM-20 (v2.0) as soon as I can scrap together the required coin!

 

[BobRoulier]

It is powering Paradigm and Niles ceiling speakers in my Bedroom and Bathroom

Joe, What model paradigms and niles in ceilings do you have and do which do you prefer?

Thanks, Bob

 

[Jeff]

I have Paradigm 7's and they are bright. Fortunately my Parasound amps and Sherwood Newcastle preamp help things a lot.

Since ATI amps are also bright, your old amp must have had a real warm sound to compensate. Perhaps the Anthem is too neutral or also leans on the bright side.


Jeff

 

[Craig_Kg]

Now I have them small and x'd-over @70hz and the sub x'd-over at @80

The sub crossover should be maxed out or bypassed since the LFE channel can contain information up to 120Hz - all the bass control should be handled by the Anthem. This shouldn't affect the problem you are experiencing, though.

 

[Mifr44]

The 80 Hz sub crossover in question is within the AVM-20, not the sub's own crossover. Normally, you would set it to the same as the mains, but there are times where a slight overlap in mains/sub bass may help, or even a slight hole (mains @ 90 Hz, sub @ 80 Hz) when you have a bass hump in your room.
Anyway, it should be noted that whatever the AVM-20's sub crossover is set to, that portion of the LFE (.1) channel may be lost. This is typical with most receivers and processors on the market today. Even THX systems lose the portion of the LFE channel above 80 Hz.
It has also been noted that DVD mixes rarely contain any LFE signals above 80 Hz. I confirmed this at home when I use to own the Lexicon MC-1. I set all speakers to large, but turned off their amps, and played DVDs that contained an LFE channel. Switching the sub crossover from 40 Hz to 80 Hz made a huge difference. Switching from 80 Hz to 120 Hz made no difference that I could detect.
Michaal

 

[ChrisHeflen]

Ok, I've decided that I'm gonna keep the Anthem. I am getting used to the sound. I was able to do some listening this weekend and I pretty much like it. I do not find it fatiguing, just a little different. I probably will sell my amp if I can find a buyer. I might be able to break even if I can find the right sucker since I got it for half price new, and now it is only 4 months old. I am considering Anthems' own offerings as well as Rotel and Parasound. The regular line of Parasound seems to be coming down in price as their new Halo stuff becomes available. In talking with my dealer we kinda came to the conclusion that the Anthem is a cleaner sonic window than my old Elite pre-amp so it is letting the brighter chcaracter of the ATI shine through.
I also hope that Chas T is right in that they are going to release yet another upgrade and hopefully this could include different speaker size settings for each input.
I have heard so many good things about the Anthem and I feel that I would rather work around IT than to keep my amp. Amps seem to be a dime a dozen, yeah they vary sound wise, but not usually feature wise so it seems the easier way to go. My stomache has been starting to turn a bit seeing the latest offering from Adcom who finally seem to be getting back into the game. One of the guys at the dealer said he heard they got bought buy some tool comapany, go figure..
Anyway, Thanks again for all your support. I appreciate all the suggestions!

 

[Craig_Kg]

The 80 Hz sub crossover in question is within the AVM-20, not the sub's own crossover. Normally, you would set it to the same as the mains, but there are times where a slight overlap in mains/sub bass may help, or even a slight hole (mains @ 90 Hz, sub @ 80 Hz) when you have a bass hump in your room.

My bad! That would be a nice feature to help equalise room modes.

 

[Mifr44]

Craig,

"My bad! That would be a nice feature to help equalise room modes."

If you have a single bass hump or peak in your room, somewhere in the 70-100 Hz range, then the AVM-20's separate crossovers might help. Ideally, you would want to use an equalizer for your subwoofer if you have significant issues with bass in your room that you can't minimize by room placement or phase control.

Michael

 

[Camp]

Ok, I've decided that I'm gonna keep the Anthem. I am getting used to the sound. I was able to do some listening this weekend and I pretty much like it

Another case of user break-in.
Glad to hear things worked out in the end. I think an amp change may be just what the Dr. ordered.

 

[Erik_C]

I, too, have the AVM-20 v.2.0 and ATI 1505 amp. I think it sounds great. The biggest difference between it, and my old Yamaha receiver with an outboard Parasound amp for the L&R channels, is the upper mids and treble, which seem much more extended and lifelife, but not bright or harsh on the Antmem/ATI combo. It sounds real, which is all one can ask for. As said above, don't give up on it yet. Even the Anthem's manual says it sounds better once it "thermally stabilizes."
-Erik

 

[ChrisHeflen]

Ok here's the deal. Break in doesn't apply to me because I bought the floor model for $2800.00. I figured it was a good deal and so I did it even though I'm ashamed to purchase a floor model. What the hooey, I still get a warranty.

 

[ChrisHeflen]

Erik C, are you using the triggers from the Anthem to turn on your ATI? If so where did you get the cable?

 

[Jay Sylvester]

Does the model now shipping (version 2.0) come set to a different Bass Peak Level default than the older model? Mine says:

Current Level: +0.0
Adjust Level: -50.0

Doesn't this mean it's already set to "zero?" I tried adjusting it, but by the time I hit -10.0 I thought my windows were going to blow out. I unhooked my sub to get it all the way to zero. Net effect: it sounds the same.

It did sound like crap at first, until I flicked the phase switch on the back of my sub :b

 

[Erik_C]

ChrisHeflen, I am not using triggers between the ATI and Anthem. I leave them both on all the time.
-Erik

 

[ChrisHeflen]

Do you know if there is such a cable?

 

[Brian Fitterman]

What is the ATI expecting as an input? The Shack makes just about every kind of adaptor there is that can turn a mono mini jack cable into something that the ATI will accept. Or is it voltage thing?

 

[ChrisHeflen]

The ATI takes a db25 connector. I checked the shack's site and didn't see anything.

 

[Brian Fitterman]

Is that the trigger, or just another way to hook up the inputs? I have never heard of a 12volt trigger that needed a db25 pin connector. Thats a little overkill isn't it?

 

[Marc_E]

Flame suit-ON
Chris,
what are you using for interconnects between AVM-20 and the ATI? When I first got mine, I tried a few different cables: the free crap that comes with all components, good XLRs, and silvercats (RCA and XLR). I did notice a very big difference that translated to harsh (the free stuff) to a more even sound (XLRs) to very smooth and wonderful (silvercats).
Marc