Anthem MRX-500

[spurriersucks]

Jul 2, 2012 18:56:28 GMT -5 @wisconsinite said:

Jul 2, 2012 18:16:41 GMT -5 spurriersucks said:

What do you think of the sound from the Anthem? How does it compare to the UMC-1?

to be honest I really don't know , the anthem doesn't have direct which I like , I need to do some reading yet and try a few things . I know I have no delays and switching is quick . For movies the Anthem for sure , as for music I'm not sure yet

I think the Anthem is comparable to the USP-1. The USP-1 had a litlle more separation and detail but the Anthem can hold its own. I also like the Anthem logic for 2 channel playback, which makes it 4 channel playback.

[wisconsinite]

Jul 3, 2012 6:44:06 GMT -5 spurriersucks said:

Jul 2, 2012 18:56:28 GMT -5 @wisconsinite said:

to be honest I really don't know , the anthem doesn't have direct which I like , I need to do some reading yet and try a few things . I know I have no delays and switching is quick . For movies the Anthem for sure , as for music I'm not sure yet

I think the Anthem is comparable to the USP-1. The USP-1 had a litlle more separation and detail but the Anthem can hold its own. I also like the Anthem logic for 2 channel playback, which makes it 4 channel playback.

"Anthem logic for 2 channel playback" what are you setting the speakers at Large or 80 Hz ? Sub no Sub

[amt]

I am really curious how ARC goes, as my next processor is likely to be either the XMC-1 or the MRX

[restless]

I have had my MRX500 for a year now. The std amp worked ok for a while, and then I made the mistake of picking up a XPA3 for L/C/R speakers (B&W 704 + B&W HTM7). Improvement was incredible. The MRX was still feeding Polk LSi15 rears and LSi7 height speakers. ARC did a good job with films.
Then picked up a UPA2, and used that for the Rears, and once again, made the Polks sound much better.
Final overkill was the XPA2 going on sale, and it arrived last week and was used for L/R, the XPA3 extra two channels moved to the LSi15 and the UPA2 to the LSi7.
Through all the changes to the amps, the MRX500 pre amp still performed wonderfully. Even the Internet Radio stations work well and sound great. OPPO 93 feeds the CD/SACD/BluRay content as well as FLAC on USB via the front panel.

Found that the XPA2 was overkill. To drive the 704's at a 93db reading on an iPhone Db app, the amp shows 2-3 lights.... not even close to max. For me, the XPA3 would have been enough, but got tempted by the XPA2, so now I know. (would have always been a question!).

The software seems to have stabilized a bit. I have gone through updates from v10 thru v23.

Also, I had an older B&K 507 amp that was replace by the Anthem. Even with the lower amp output of the Anthem, the sound quality was better with the Anthem over the B&K.

Also, with the Anthem, the ALL STEREO option is nice for listening to improvements on a particular set of speakers. Setting to ALL STEREO, then turning off the amp I do not want to listen to, I can compare the change to the speakers, using the same basic source. And the ANTHEM settings for 2 channel PCM are quite nice as well.

Enjoy the new amp!!

[wisconsinite]

Jul 3, 2012 9:43:24 GMT -5 restless said:

I have had my MRX500 for a year now. The std amp worked ok for a while, and then I made the mistake of picking up a XPA3 for L/C/R speakers (B&W 704 + B&W HTM7). Improvement was incredible. The MRX was still feeding Polk LSi15 rears and LSi7 height speakers. ARC did a good job with films.
Then picked up a UPA2, and used that for the Rears, and once again, made the Polks sound much better.
Final overkill was the XPA2 going on sale, and it arrived last week and was used for L/R, the XPA3 extra two channels moved to the LSi15 and the UPA2 to the LSi7.
Through all the changes to the amps, the MRX500 pre amp still performed wonderfully. Even the Internet Radio stations work well and sound great. OPPO 93 feeds the CD/SACD/BluRay content as well as FLAC on USB via the front panel.

Found that the XPA2 was overkill. To drive the 704's at a 93db reading on an iPhone Db app, the amp shows 2-3 lights.... not even close to max. For me, the XPA3 would have been enough, but got tempted by the XPA2, so now I know. (would have always been a question!).

The software seems to have stabilized a bit. I have gone through updates from v10 thru v23.

Also, I had an older B&K 507 amp that was replace by the Anthem. Even with the lower amp output of the Anthem, the sound quality was better with the Anthem over the B&K.

Also, with the Anthem, the ALL STEREO option is nice for listening to improvements on a particular set of speakers. Setting to ALL STEREO, then turning off the amp I do not want to listen to, I can compare the change to the speakers, using the same basic source. And the ANTHEM settings for 2 channel PCM are quite nice as well.

Enjoy the new amp!!

I was going to buy the MRX-300 which is all I needed but I got the MRX-500 for the same price , great deal .
I paired it with a XPA-5 and it worked out great . I tried the MRX-500 without the XPA-5 and it lacked power for me .

[briank]

Jul 3, 2012 9:53:47 GMT -5 @wisconsinite said:

Jul 3, 2012 9:43:24 GMT -5 restless said:

I have had my MRX500 for a year now. The std amp worked ok for a while, and then I made the mistake of picking up a XPA3 for L/C/R speakers (B&W 704 + B&W HTM7). Improvement was incredible. The MRX was still feeding Polk LSi15 rears and LSi7 height speakers. ARC did a good job with films.
Then picked up a UPA2, and used that for the Rears, and once again, made the Polks sound much better.
Final overkill was the XPA2 going on sale, and it arrived last week and was used for L/R, the XPA3 extra two channels moved to the LSi15 and the UPA2 to the LSi7.
Through all the changes to the amps, the MRX500 pre amp still performed wonderfully. Even the Internet Radio stations work well and sound great. OPPO 93 feeds the CD/SACD/BluRay content as well as FLAC on USB via the front panel.

Found that the XPA2 was overkill. To drive the 704's at a 93db reading on an iPhone Db app, the amp shows 2-3 lights.... not even close to max. For me, the XPA3 would have been enough, but got tempted by the XPA2, so now I know. (would have always been a question!).

The software seems to have stabilized a bit. I have gone through updates from v10 thru v23.

Also, I had an older B&K 507 amp that was replace by the Anthem. Even with the lower amp output of the Anthem, the sound quality was better with the Anthem over the B&K.

Also, with the Anthem, the ALL STEREO option is nice for listening to improvements on a particular set of speakers. Setting to ALL STEREO, then turning off the amp I do not want to listen to, I can compare the change to the speakers, using the same basic source. And the ANTHEM settings for 2 channel PCM are quite nice as well.

Enjoy the new amp!!

I was going to buy the MRX-300 which is all I needed but I got the MRX-500 for the same price , great deal .
I paired it with a XPA-5 and it worked out great . I tried the MRX-500 without the XPA-5 and it lacked power for me .

Same here except I was using the MRX-300 and found it's internal amps too wimpy. It made a great combo with the XPA-5 though.

[paintedklown]

a1uc,

I am glad to see you are enjoying your new receiver, and having good luck with it. Please keep us updated on your thoughts as to how it performs with 2 ch. music.

Congrats.

[monkumonku]

Jul 3, 2012 12:19:08 GMT -5 paintedklown said:

a1uc,

I am glad to see you are enjoying your new receiver, and having good luck with it. Please keep us updated on your thoughts as to how it performs with 2 ch. music.

Congrats.

He still has it??? Are you sure?? ;D

[vthokies]

Jul 3, 2012 12:26:33 GMT -5 monkumonku said:

Jul 3, 2012 12:19:08 GMT -5 paintedklown said:

a1uc,

I am glad to see you are enjoying your new receiver, and having good luck with it. Please keep us updated on your thoughts as to how it performs with 2 ch. music.

Congrats.

He still has it??? Are you sure?? ;D

I don't think he's even run ARC yet so give him at least another week. ;D

I might be interested in it when he does sell shortly.

[frenchyfranky]

I owned an Anthem MRX-700 for 6 months that I use as a pre-pro just before I buy a UMC-1 and in my opinion the UMC-1 was a huge improvement over the MRX-700. That decide me to sold the MRX-700.

[cgolf]

a1uc hasn't posted for a few hours. He may already be packing up the Anthem!! ;D

[Pauly]

Or wondering why the Anthem is crashing his PC lol.

I kid, I kid...

[wisconsinite]

Jul 3, 2012 13:07:28 GMT -5 frenchyfranky said:

I owned an Anthem MRX-700 for 6 months that I use as a pre-pro just before I buy a UMC-1 and in my opinion the UMC-1 was a huge improvement over the MRX-700. That decide me to sold the MRX-700.

Did you find Emo Q to work better than ARC also

[frenchyfranky]

I have to admit the ARC room correction of Anthem is more sophisticated but in both case I don't like the result, I prefer tune manually with a soundmeter and adjust only the level of each chanel without equalize the frequencies, I found it a lot more natural.

[spurriersucks]

Jul 3, 2012 8:23:34 GMT -5 @wisconsinite said:

Jul 3, 2012 6:44:06 GMT -5 spurriersucks said:

I think the Anthem is comparable to the USP-1. The USP-1 had a litlle more separation and detail but the Anthem can hold its own. I also like the Anthem logic for 2 channel playback, which makes it 4 channel playback.

"Anthem logic for 2 channel playback" what are you setting the speakers at Large or 80 Hz ? Sub no Sub

80hz and I like to use the sub.

[danny01]

Sick system. The HSU's make the Paradigm 60's look tiny. What is the height of the space where the amp is sitting on VTI stand ?

[wisconsinite]

Jul 7, 2012 17:07:18 GMT -5 danny01 said:

Sick system. The HSU's make the Paradigm 60's look tiny. What is the height of the space where the amp is sitting on VTI stand ?

2 3/4"

[spurriersucks]

Where the hell did he go and how is the Anthem?

[Deleted]

I think he got his account suspended for buying and reselling UMC-1 cards for a profit in the lounge.

[danny01]

He still around on other boards.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using proboards