The Upgraded Anthem AVM-20 2.1 (1 Viewer)

[Marc_E]

The turn around for my repair was relatively quick. I had called Nick so he was expecting it when it got there. it was no more than 3 weeks. Nick called me on several occasions to update me on the status which was awesome.
I am sure you will get first class treatment.
Marc

 

[Brian Fitterman]

Same here. When my AVM20's display was going heywire, it took about 2.5 weeks from drop off to pickup. Maybe add a week or 10 days for shipping to CA.

 

[Mifr44]

Thanks for information everyone. Depending on the severity of our problem, I figure it may be up to 4 weeks for the turnaround. I just need to determine what to do in the interim. I suppose I could take this time to audition, but other than the D1 or the Lexicon MC-12, there isn't a processor out there I would want instead of the AVM-20.

Michael

 

[Frank joe]

hi, i have been reading the posts above and have a question. i have the anthem avm20 also. i recetly heard a loud pop noise from the speakers when pressing stop on the dvd player and sometimes when pressing the power button. also my display seems to flicker some normal to low and then back , usually it goes back to normal in a few minutes. i dont hear any difference in prefromance at all.
any idears?????? frank

 

[Mark Dubeau]

Make sure you are running the latest software

 

[wayne p]

Frank joe, do other source components produce this pop? Was there an event, such as a power surge/interuption etc. that may be associated with this recent pop noise? Have you checked the cables and ruled out static electricity? What have you set your display brightness levels at?

Sorry for all the questions but coming on the heels of Michael's power supply problem I would like to understand what is going on with your unit.

Thanks,
wayne p

 

[Mifr44]

While we await the news on the repair of our AVM-20, my wife and I have decided to start TV shopping again to replace our ailing 11 year old 35" tube TV. We have been looking at the 46"-52" DLP and LCD RPTVs, some quite good and some not so good.

Here's the dilemma. These TVs are quite large and unlike CRT RPTVs, most don't allow for the positioning of a center channel speaker on top. In our current setup, our center speaker is on a temporary (read: ugly!) stand in front of the TV. Our center speaker is 20"L x 9"H x 11"D and weighs at least 25 lbs.

I was wondering if there were any Anthem owners with RPTVs of this size, and what you did with the center speaker. There are times where I consider seriously going with a phantom center, but the seating to the sides benefits from the center speaker.

Michael

 

[Dennis Oblow]

Michael, I'm in the same boat. My center hannel speaker is 26"Lx10"Hx11"D. I currently have it sitting on top of a 50" Mitsu RPTV. The new DLP tv's are too thin for this mounting. So far I'm leaning towards a Mitsu WD62725 with the optional base, which has an opening large enough to contain my speaker.

 

[Mifr44]

Dennis,

I have never been a fan of the center speaker on top of large TVs. I've always felt that the positioning was too out of line with the mains. Having the center speaker in front and below the TV is okay now, but our junky plastic table was meant only as a temporary solution as a stand.

I was considering the same solution when we get our new TV, but having a small stand/table in front the stand under the TV means that I would be blocking the spaces on the TV stand. While not a problem now, we are about to switch from cable TV (no cable box) to Direct TV (Direct Tivo receiver), plus a DVR and an XBOX (I have a kid!). So, I need all of the shelf space I can get.

Michael

 

[stephen shadow]

Sounds like you need to look at a new stand for equipment and your center. Bello makes some very nice stands with plenty of room for a center and components. Pricey but nice. Many other brands out there. You might also go to a custom installer with some of your own hand made drawings for what your ideal stand should look like and get an estimate.

 

[Brian Fitterman]

As you can see the pics of my website, I have a very large Center channel. It is 2" MDF in the front and weighs in about 75lbs. It would bow my 65" mits. So I put it infront of the TV on top of the Krell amp. I did not like that at all. It was more foward than the left and right and it made it have to much of a "presence" during movies. I made a homemade shelf that put the weight of the speaker on the sides of the TV, not the center. It has a small 1/4" gap along the top of the TV so it puts zero pressure on the top of the TV and has angle mounts that tilt the center to the right angle. Worked out great. This put the speaker back a good 2 feet so it was where it is supposed to be, further away than the fronts, not closer. My fronts are very tall so the tweeters are vertically better aligned as well. I have not yet updated my web site yet with new pics.

So, what does this mean to you? I would vote for you to make your own shelf with support on the back from legs. I know they sell units pre-made for this as well.

Also off topic a bit, if you are going to DirecTV and want Tivo, save yourself some money and get the the DirecTivo units that are all in one. WAY WAY WAY WAY better than two boxes (one DirecTV box and one Tivo Box) for the following reasons:

1) Only $4.99 per month
2) You can record 2 shows at the same time.
3) It records the bit stream directly: what does this mean? What goes in comes out..ZERO picture quality loss during the recording. MUCH MUCH Better PQ than the stand alone.
4) The 80 hour DirecTivo is a 80 hour unit. No PQ settings. DirecTV does the compression and its way better than the cheapo MPEG chips in the stand alone units.
5) If you want a second Tivo, the $5 mirror charge you pay for extra receiver, covers the tivo charge for that extra box. NO TIVO CHARGES BEYOND THE INITAL $4.99.
6) The hardware is way cheaper than the standalones.

I know, what about HD. Well you can buy the HR10-250 for $899 and get all the above with HD, or you can buy an HD tuner AND the DirecTivo. With the $5 Tivo charge and $5 extra box charge for the HD Tuner, you are still $3/month cheaper than just 1 NON-HD Stand Alone Tivo.

Trust me on this, dump the stand alone and the the DirecTivo box when you switch, you will not regret it. I own 3 (1 HD and 2 non-hd)..With Standalone that would be $39/month, with DirecTivo its $5.

This will also save you room in the Rack!!!

 

[Mifr44]

Brian,

Also off topic a bit, if you are going to DirecTV and want Tivo, save yourself some money and get the the DirecTivo units that are all in one.

That's our plan. I think when I said "Direct Tivo receiver" you may have thought I meant two separate units, one being a Tivo and the other a Direct TV receiver. I did mean to say DirecTivo and agree with all of the positives you listed.

Michael

 

[Brian Fitterman]

Mike here is my center shelf. It is thick becuase the center is very heavy. I too am not sure it would work with DLP and LCD TVs.

 

[Mifr44]

Brian,

Thanks for the pictures. That helps me visualize what you were describing. Looks good!

You are correct in that most of the DLP and LCD RPTVs would not be able to handle such a setup. These RPTVs do not have much in the way of a flat top surface, and they have backsides that slope down rather steeply. These RPTVs are much lighter than a CRT RPTV.

I did see some brackets that are suppose to clamp at the top and down the back of a "sloped" RPTV, but I am not sure that the bracket is going to be strong enough for our center speaker. I think yours would be out of the question weight-wise for this bracket.

This is probably for the best anyway. Our weekend of TV shopping wasn't very fruitful. There were a couple of RPTVs that were okay (Hitachi 50VS810 50" LCD, Sony KDF-55XS955 50" LCD), but $4000 for "okay" is rather annoying. Back to looking at 50" plasmas again.

Michael

 

[Brian Fitterman]

I was looking at the Mits DLP and there is no way what I have would come close to working. If it was me, I would most likely use a piece of 1/2" MDF cut to a trapazoid shaped like the top view of the TV only a bit wider in the back. The front would be the same width of the TV. Round the edges, paint black. Then make some sort of legs that came down in the back to the base unit where the TV is sitting on. The legs would be very close to the TV so you would not see from the front. They could even rest up against the TV for stability. The longer the Legs the more the speaker is angled...but not to much or off it goes over the front of the TV.

Just a suggestion from a DIY guy.

BTW, my father just picked up the 42" sony and loves it. It is not the most fussy video guy, but he calls me up every weekend during football and raves about HD and how good it looks. I really like the XBR LCD's (60 and 70 inch versions). I think they are a step up from the non XBR. DLP RPTV's are not quite there yet for me. I did see the xHD3 prototype in NY a few months ago at the Home Entertainment show and wow it did look fantastic. 61" Samsung version and I think its going to sell for a big price when it comes out.

 

[Mifr44]

Update:

Our AVM-20 returned yesterday from Anthem, about a 3 week turnaround from California. It appears that the regulator for one of the power supplies (I think the standby power supply) was faulty. Given how our AVM-20 reacted in the past on some power shutdowns, it is possible that the regulator was flawed from the beginning (two years ago).

All fired up fine, plus Anthem upgraded our AVM-20 from v2.12 to v2.15 (I didn't have a need before). I need to re-enter the setup parameters, but I find it is always best to check all calibration settings after a software upgrade.

Kudos to Anthem for the quick turnaround. Time to listen again!

Michael

 

[Dan Schulze]

Good Stuff Michael!!

Glad you got your AVM 20 back and all is well. I had done the upgrade to v2.15, and I noticed a bug that I was experiencing was fixed. After the upgrade, my Anthem now switched correctly between speaker configurations when I changed sources!! Another tip of the hat to Anthem for the ongoing great support, even when new products are released!

Enjoy!!

Dan

 

[ChrisHeflen]

MM, I am glad you got your '20 back so soon too (if one can say that about taking 3 weeks).
I was shocked to read that you of all people had to send it in for service.

Mine has been working great except for a few "only once" type problems. Last nite I switched from dvd to cd via remote and when I did, I heard static like when your not on a radio station. I switched back to dvd then cd and still the same. I powered it off/on and it stopped. The other thing is no picture from the dvd once in a while, even though the OSD will show. Powering off/on fixes it.
These are rare so I'm not too concerned, but should I be? Has anybody else had this?

 

[Dan Schulze]

Chris,

A while back I had a very intermittant problem. Rather than re-write it here, here are a few links to three of my posts (of many) about it.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...01#post1778101

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...25#post1997025

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...46#post2046046

Although you problem sounds different than mine, this may give you something to go on.

Good Luck!!!

Dan

 

[Jason GT]

Hey Anthem geeks -

What are you guys using for CD players? I use my AVM for more music than movies, and right now am using digital out from an elcrappo DVDP to the prepro's DACs.

Should I expect a difference/improvement in sound if I go for the budget audiogeek CDPs? (NAD, Cambridge, Arcam, Rotel are the usual suspects) This is obviously something I need to try firsthand, but I would like a bit of background from you more experienced anthemites.

Thanks.