The Upgraded Anthem AVM-20 2.0 Thread (1 Viewer)

[Dan Hitchman]

I've read that ATI is coming out with the 2000 and 3000 amplifier series. They are totally re-designed with ~200 watts/channel and ~300 watts/channel in monoblock designs (you can have as many amps in a chassis as you'd like).

They are TOTALLY balanced amps from stem to stern according to reports I've read. There were a couple good reviews I've come across. Most notable was the comment that they sound almost as good as the Theta Dreadnaught, but at a fraction of the cost.

Dan

 

[wayne p]

Migeul,

As mentioned by Pro, have you considered the room in your search for better sound?

You describe harsh/sharp sound and unintelligible dialog on certain movies while others sound good. Too many hard surfaces can cause reflections and a loss of coherence (particularly where more then one person is speaking)in addition to accentuating the upper octaves. Tweaking the room can be a very inexpensive upgrade to your system.

Speaker placement and toe-in should also be considered. A little experimentation can be very rewarding here.

Just food for thought.

Wayne

 

[MikeAF]

Hello fellow Anthem owners,
I always follow this thread as an owner but do not chime in much as Michael M. has things pretty much under control I was reading a few of the comments on bass control. Maybe someone can give me some advice. I have dual SV 20-39 CS's with the Samson amp. Iam using XLR connections from the Anthem to the Samson and running the 2 subs off 1 channel (bridged or parallel, I can't remember). My question, I have the crossover on all speakers set at 80, and under the Sub crossover on the Anthem in the Advanced Settings, I have the sub crossover at 80 as well. Since I'm using passive subs should I have the sub crossover in the Advanced settings set other than at 80?? I've been happy with the sound but wonder if I should try something different with this sub setting. Any ideas would be helpful.
Mike

 

[Mifr44]

Mike,

I've been happy with the sound but wonder if I should try something different with this sub setting. Any ideas would be helpful.

Since you are happy with the results, nothing says you can't try other settings knowing you can always go back to 80Hz for all crossovers. Depending on your speakers and the location of your subwoofers, you might want to try a slightly higher crossover, say between 85Hz and 100Hz. So long as you don't have localization problems with your subwoofer, the slightly higher crossover may improve your system's sound and give more bass to the dual SVS subs.
Michael

 

[MikeAF]

Michael,
Thanks for you thoughts. Are you saying to set the sub to a higher crossover or all the other speakers to a higher crossover? My subs right now are in the same corner behind my front left speaker and I don't have any localization as far as I can tell.

Mike

 

[Mifr44]

Mike,

If you decide to raise any crossovers in the AVM-20, keep all of them (speakers and subwoofer) set to the same crossover. It just makes life easier.

BTW, since you have entered the AVM-20's advanced crossover menu, did you try to adjust the phase and polarity settings for the subwoofer? This can improve the bass response for your subwoofer(s) with respect to the mains.

Play a bass intensive CD in 2 channel stereo mode (either digital or analog-DSP input) so that both the mains and the subwoofers are playing. Adjust the phase setting and see if the bass improves/changes. The phase setting goes from 0 to 180 degrees. Setting the polarity to invert adds 180 degrees to the phase setting, make the range 180 to 360 degrees.

Michael

 

[Mifr44]

Hi all,
Robert George over at AVS has a question about the master volume control on your AVM-20s. Read the post at the link below and please post your comments, either on AVS (if you have an account) or here on this thread.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=238996
Thanks,
Michael

 

[Lee-M]

To obtain a balanced bass response (using the requisite Radio Shack analog SPL meter and the AVIA subwoofer test tones), I ended up setting my sub crossover at 80 Hz, but my mains, center, and surrounds at different settings; based initially on the bottom end of the different speakers, but correlating that with the test tones.

Here is how it came out; obviously, this is specific to my room and speakers:

Klipsch Fortes (mains): 40 Hz
Klipsch KLF-C7 (center): 60 Hz
Klipsch RS3's (surrounds): 40 Hz
(Subwoofer phase and polarity: All normal)

This seems to generate a nice, full response from all speakers, and, as indicated, provides for the most acurate response from the test tones.

The only drawback of not using the THX standard of 80 Hz across the board is that, with some material which has a lot of location-specific panning between the mains and center (i.e. Toy Story 2), there is a slight noticeable timbre difference between my mains and center that is not as obvious when using all-80 Hz. This is due primarily, I believe, to a slight mis-match between my my center and mains. They're close, but not perfect...

 

[Randy Haines]

Lee,

I also use Klipsch speakers for my system.

Klipsch Forte's (mains) set at 40 hz
Klipsch RC-7 (center) set at 80hz (better timbre match!)
Klipsch RS-7's (surrounds) set at 80 hz
Klipsch KG-4's (rears) set at 80 hz
Klipsch Kp=480 ( pro grade 18" sub) set at 95 hz
Design Acoustics 12" sub set at 95 hz (for lower registers)

I also used the Avia disc and RS meter, but then went back and used my ears and made minor changes, like setting the sub polarity at 5 degrees off normal. This was better for my room. If you are going to stay with Klipsch, you might try out the larger Reference series speakers for center and surrounds. Timbre comes much closer to your mains then, but they aren't 3 way like the Forte's. I gave up on the THX for the sub and mains, but it seems to work for the rest. I also have a center speaker for the rear for when that becomes an option, which also timbre matches the KG-4's.

 

[Evan S]

Does anyone find this statement ironic seeing that this thread is now 50 pages long???

Sometimes when those threads get so long, it's difficult to make any sense of them as time goes by.

Posted September 5th, 2002 by Chas in the very first post of this thread.

 

[Lee-M]

Randy,
Nice set-up... I tried the RC3 (obviously not as dynamic as your RC7, but from the same series) with my Fortes a year ago, but could not get them to match up; they were too far removed in the Klipsch family to evoke a realistic soundstage.
I do not plan to change my mains anytime soon... I have owned them since 1988, and they still amaze me with their clarity, dynamics, and realism. If I were to make a change in the future, it would most likely be to an even older Klipsch model; most likely the Cornwall, relegating the Fortes to surrounds, or a second system.
Not so fast, though... I still have to pay off the widescreen Mits and the Anthem...

 

[Randy Haines]

Lee,

Oh, I was never suggesting to replace your Forte's. I love mine, too. the Rc-7 was just the biggest, closest, match I could find at the time. I will not buy any more new style Klipsch, just the "classic" designs from now on.If I had the room (and the money) I'd have Klipschorns with a Belle Klipsch as a center and use the Forte's as surrounds with the KG-4's still in the rear. I still do not prefer the dipoles I have. Maybe I have done live sound for too long, which is probably why I prefer the clarity and detail of the horns. I use an Aragon 8008x3B amp to power the front 3 speakers and with the Anthem, to my ears, it makes a superb combination. The Anthem has really brought out these speakers. With my prior setup, I was about to get rid of the Klipsch and get something new like Definitive Technology boxes. Anthem saved me from that.

Sorry for the deviation from this forums focus!

 

[Tom Camlioglu]

Guys,
What will 2.10 bring to the table?
What is for certain (does anyone know?) and what would be nice to have?
I don't know about you guys, but I've heard how good DTS 96/24 sounds on my Integra DTR 8.3, and now find myself wishing for it on the Anthem, purely from a greed standpoint. I can't seem to accept very well that my receiver can do something my pre/pro can't ... it's anguish to me now ...
Tom

 

[Mifr44]

Tom,

I can't seem to accept very well that my receiver can do something my pre/pro can't ... it's anguish to me now ...

I wonder how the Lexicon MC-12 owners feel? Yes, that's right. Considered one of the best HT processors available, the MC-12 doesn't do DTS 96/24 either. With such a small and limit variety of DTS 96/24 discs, I am not concerned at this time.
Michael

 

[keelan t]

i just purchased the avm-20 and so far so good, but i do have one question... when i listen to the sat input in stereo the sub cuts off in about two minutes, if i select another input and switch right back to sat input the same thing happens... my speakers are set to small, cross over at 70hz and sub at 75hz..... if i change the speaker setting to large and sub to super the sub continues to play......

 

[Wayne_T]

Keelan, what software version is your AVM-20? The current version is 2.09, and corrected several problems in earlier versions.

Wayne

 

[JimmyK]

Robert George over at AVS has a question about the master volume control on your AVM-20s. Read the post at the link below and please post your comments, either on AVS (if you have an account) or here on this thread.

Michael,

I don't have an account at the forum you refered to, so I'll respond here as you suggested.

My AVM20, purchased 3-17-03, does have indents on the master volume control.

JimmyK

 

[keelan t]

i have version 2.09

 

[Lee-M]

I have a version 2.09, purchased 2 weeks ago, which has indents, clicks, whatever you want to call them on the volume knob.

I don't like it as well as the analogue knob on my McCormack TLC-1 preamp, but it's better than that damn thing in the middle of the Rotel 1066...

 

[Mifr44]

I have a version 2.09, purchased 2 weeks ago, which has indents, clicks, whatever you want to call them on the volume knob.
I don't like it as well as the analogue knob on my McCormack TLC-1 preamp, but it's better than that damn thing in the middle of the Rotel 1066...

Just to clarify something, the knob on the right side of the front panel is not a volume control. This is a quote from Shawn Fogg over at AVS:
"It isn't really even a volume control, just a rotary encoder which sends signals to the controller in the Anthem. When you are adjusting volume the controller then sends commands to the volume control chips."
Michael