designing home A/V set up, more about music than home theater

Originally Posted by GQgeek

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^^ things like lip sync, surround decode capabilities, room correction, etc.

As for dealers ******** on anthem, do he sell anthem? if not, there's your answer. It's good equipment in general, though i'm not familiar with the mrx500.

yes those things are important to me, I am assuming it also includes things like video processing, etc.?

That is all stuff I want, although it will be used 70% for music, for that 30% when I am watching a bluray or TV I want it to be really good as well.

My issue is that I have yet to speak with a dealer that sells both the Integra and Anthem.... and as expected each says the other is not as good.

There does seem to be a general consensus between all of them that the Pioneer Elite is not on the same level as either the Anthem or Integra (even coming from a dealer who sells the Pioneer Elite).

I was looking at the highest end Elites (SC-35/37) with the ICE amp, and the reviews people give seem to be great. All the dealers say they play very 'bright' and since my room is bright to begin with it prob. wouldnt be the best option.

ya, it would, depending on manufacturer. Some include video processing and others don't. Whether that matters depends on your sources more than anything. These days, I watch two types of content: blu-ray movies or downloaded TV shows. For the former, there's not much (any?) need for additional processing. For the latter, I don't really care. Good processing can help with DVDs, but I'm trying to avoid DVDs because they just don't look good on a 108" screen.

Originally Posted by pg600rr

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I would like to be at $1200 or less, I can get the Anthem MRX-500, Integra 50.2, or the Elite SC-35 for all under $1200.

Over the past few days I have spoken with a few dealers and they all rave about the Anthem and its 'ARC' system, that is the same as found in their $8000+ products.

I was almost set on the Integra because on dealer really pushed it on me, and kinda **** on the Anthem, but he seems to be in the minority of those whom i spoken to. It would be nice just to get some honest insight from a dealer!

What do you mean by HT functionality?

Do you need surround sound? If you can pare back to 2 channel your sound quality will take a leap.

Perhaps your dealer **** on Anthem because he does not carry it. That's unfortunately an all too common problem.

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

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Do you need surround sound? If you can pare back to 2 channel your sound quality will take a leap.

Perhaps your dealer **** on Anthem because he does not carry it. That's unfortunately an all too common problem.

I really do want surround for when I am watching movies and the such. You are correct, the ones who favored Integra over Anthem, did not carry Anthem, but even they had to admit the ARC set-up was pretty incredible. Most of the complaints I heard were regarding features (most of which I didnt really understand), someone threw out there that its not THX certified... not sure if that matters.

Those selling the Anthem gear, bascially all said they dropped Integra a few years back because the quality was not what it use to be. And really touted the ARC system and the quality of the amplification found in the Anthem...

I am still trying to find a dealer who carries both.

Originally Posted by pg600rr

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I really do want surround for when I am watching movies and the such. You are correct, the ones who favored Integra over Anthem, did not carry Anthem, but even they had to admit the ARC set-up was pretty incredible. Most of the complaints I heard were regarding features (most of which I didnt really understand), someone threw out there that its not THX certified... not sure if that matters.

Those selling the Anthem gear, bascially all said they dropped Integra a few years back because the quality was not what it use to be. And really touted the ARC system and the quality of the amplification found in the Anthem...

I am still trying to find a dealer who carries both.

Being THX certified doesn't make a lick of difference. All it means is they weren't willing to pay for certification. Niche players like Anthem frequently don't bother. As for features, I don't know how Anthem could be lacking, though I'm only really familiar with the AVM and Statement lines. I haven't heard/seen/read up on the new MRX line. That said, the aforementioned lines tend to have every feature imaginable, and they've got a strong history of always providing upgrades because they use swappable modules, which is something very few manufacturers do.

Also throwing Marantz 7005 and the Yamaha Adventage A3000 into the mix as well. The Marantz tested better on the Hometheater.com reviews/benchmark testing.

Originally Posted by pg600rr

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Also throwing Marantz 7005 and the Yamaha Adventage A3000 into the mix as well. The Marantz tested better on the Hometheater.com reviews/benchmark testing.

The Marantz 7005 would be a great choice.

still havent purchased the speakers yet, I have auditioned a boatload of new options though, including:

PSB Synchrony Two
B&W CM9/CM8
Magnepan 1.7s
Esoteric MG-10
Dynaudio Excite X32

I really liked the B&W CM9/8 and I think they look fantastic with the grills off... any opinions on the B&W CM series?

From what I read on the boards the lower line B&W seems to suck quality-wise but starting at the CM line it goes way up. I thought they sounded great, but I wasnt able to do an A/B comparison with my previous favs, the PSB Imagine T's



pg600rr said:

still havent purchased the speakers yet, I have auditioned a boatload of new options though, including:


PSB Synchrony Two

B&W CM9/CM8

Magnepan 1.7s

Esoteric MG-10

Dynaudio Excite X32


I really liked the B&W CM9/8 and I think they look fantastic with the grills off... any opinions on the B&W CM series?


From what I read on the boards the lower line B&W seems to suck quality-wise but starting at the CM line it goes way up. I thought they sounded great, but I wasnt able to do an A/B comparison with my previous favs, the PSB Imagine T's

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I've heard all of these speakers and the 1.7s are the best by far. I bought them after having three previous pairs of Maggies. Great sound, build quality and resale value.

Just make sure you have plenty of high quality power, ideally 130-150 watts per channel.

Artisan Fan said:

I've heard all of these speakers and the 1.7s are the best by far. I bought them after having three previous pairs of Maggies. Great sound, build quality and resale value.
Just make sure you have plenty of high quality power, ideally 130-150 watts per channel.

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Same for the B&W CM's (and the 800-series),pretty hard to drive and they both benefit from a big ampfiler Also note that the Maggies' looks aren't for everyone.

Artisan Fan said:

I've heard all of these speakers and the 1.7s are the best by far. I bought them after having three previous pairs of Maggies. Great sound, build quality and resale value.
Just make sure you have plenty of high quality power, ideally 130-150 watts per channel.

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+1 This also counts for the B&W CM's (and the 800-series), pretty hard to drive and need lots of power. Also note that the Maggies' looks aren't for everyone...