ANTHEM MRX740 - AN HONEST REVIEW // Home Theater Receiver 11.2 Channel Review // Dolby Atmos
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
- My First Experience With The Anthem MRX 740. How This 11.2 Channel Receiver Stacks Up Compared to my Denon X8500H in this critical review and deep dive into resolving the issues with the Anthem MRX 740.
EDIT: I meant IMAX Enhanced - not AURO3D.
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💬 Yves St-Onge's Anthem MRX/AV Calibration Guide: bit.ly/3qr76Rj
💬 Anthem Audio Lovers Facebook Group: bit.ly/3fS01mD
💬 AVS Forum Link: Credit to Paul Gadbois: bit.ly/3yM75de
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00:00 Intro
00:43 Anthem MRX 740 Overview
01:47 Rack Installation
02:07 The Bugs!
05:22 Bug Hunting!
05:39 PDF Guide
07:08 Tricking ARC!
07:43 Successful Calibration
08:21 Calibration Results
09:54 My Verdict
11:23 My Impressions
14:13 BONUS CONTENT
--affiliate links are used in the description of this video which could lead to income for my UA-cam channel. - Наука та технологія
Thanks Tony, loved the honesty you always project and as always thanks for the time energy and effort you pump into the community and content you provide, its much appreciated mate.
Thanks mate, appreciate the kind words. Lots of effort went into this one, so I'm glad the community seem to be responding well to it.
@@BuildMontage Don't worry, I am from the future (October of 2022). I see a TRINNOV ALTITIDE 16 that will put a smile on your face.
Thanks for the honest and candid video Tony, It would have been a lot of work to put together and cudos for sharing the solutions with the community.
Thanks Eli… hopefully it was taken in the way I intended hence the bit at the end of the video.
This is the mark of a good reviewer. I’ve always been interested in Anthem but they need to iron out these issues before I even consider a purchase.
Thank you - it's difficult to balance the initial frustration with a fair review - which is why I persisted through the issues. If we hadn't sorted the calibration, I wouldn't have been very impressed with the result compared to my Denon or any of the other receivers I've tested.
What a great and honest review! Super helpful and fair. Including behind-the-scene comments. First time I watch your channel. Will come back. Just subscribed!
They also just bumped up the price so it’s pushing for more money while still being buggy and lacking HDMI 2.1 which will cost even more to upgrade too. It’s difficult for me to want to drop that cash given everything as is.
6 months later, have they ironed it out?
@@JustinHEMI05 Would be nice to know also. Looking to upgrade to this or RZ50
Great review Tony! We appreciate the time you put into these and your honesty with your thoughts! I’ve always been a fan of Anthem as a brand, having one of their power amps and a room full of speakers from their sister company Paradigm. I like the specs on this receiver but frankly don’t think I’d have the patience or time to dedicate to ironing out the bugs as you did. Hopefully these issues will be addressed by Anthem soon as I feel this has the potential to be a fantastic piece of home theatre equipment!
Hi Jase, thanks for watching. Yes it was a real eye opener for me. The sound was great, but it was a journey to get there and a lot of time.
EDIT: I meant IMAX Enhanced - not AURO3D - I knew it going in but somehow scripted it as AURO3D by accident.
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Great & informative video as always Tony - it's really interesting to hear your take on this thing. Hopefully with time, these issues will get ironed out! 👍
Thanks so much for watching guys, appreciate all your feedback and support as always.
Love the vids Tony and the beard👍❤️
Its strange the bugs you encountered, considering our anthems were on the same shipment! Ive had none, and completed 2 firmware updates since receiving it. Really glad you persisted to push past the initial perception.
Great review mate, im already impressed with my anthem and now im looking forward to getting the "wow" factor you got from "profile 4"! Enjoyed the free talk too, nice personal touch!
Hey Marty thanks for watching. I know you would be watching with baited breath haha! Glad you're enjoying your MRX 740!
We Love ❤️ Tony. You are honest and sincere with ALL your videos. I have the Anthem AVM 70 & I have yet to calibrate it too. I have had 2 months and Enjoy 😉 it. No one is offered by You, Sir👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽
Appreciate you watching. Good luck with your calibration :)
First time watching a video by you and came to it because of my interest in going from Yamaha 2080 to anthem 740. Loved the honesty in your review and it did not put me off on the 740.Im retired and at this stage of my life pushing to get the best out of my home theater is top priority. I found mini DSP and Dirac a bit daunting but the ARC genesis seems easier to grasp but difficult now because of bugs.Im patient and will wait it out until they are fixed.I just subscribed and hope at some point Yves will let out the info on that Profile 4. Thanks for your work.
Thanks for watching :) My intention was not to dissuade people from buying it, rather just to share my experiences with it and I said both good and bad things, so if you have the time to tinker and really learn ARC then it will reward you.
Like the new Set-up :) cant wait for my AVM70 to arrive.
Very good - I've heard a lot of good things about the AVM70
A great, honest and thorough review!
Thanks Dat - nice to hear from you. Hope you're well!
Just saw your channel mentioned on Youthman and have now subscribed.
We are waiting on our avm90 so anything anthem pique’s our interest whilst we wait ;)
Welcome aboard! I was part of a recent room calibration with an AVM70 and many of the bugs I experienced were gone, so possibly only affecting the MRX740 model... AVM90 sounds like a beast from what I've heard.
Great and honest review, thank you for sharing.
Great review - love the honesty. I'm on the Facebook page you mentioned. I own the 1140 and have been reluctant to try out some of Yves' stuff. Maybe I will now.
Yves is a legend - and he knows his stuff. Profile 4 he did was insanely good.
Thanks Tony, this is very interesting review.
Love your honest feedback brother. Great work
Thanks for watching
Thanks, was a real eye opener for anthem products. Not what I expected at all
It was my experience, not necessarily what everyone experiences but I certainly did.
Fantastic video. I really appreciate the persistence and effort you put into this. It would have been easy for you to say the product didn’t work and that you can’t recommend it. As someone who just purchased the 740, I’m happy to hear it ended up sounding great. Hopefully I won’t encounter the same issues, but at least I know now there’s a way forward if I do, so thank you!
I really appreciate that and thanks for watching. It was an epic journey that's for sure!
Thank you for all the cool vids before...all the best in the future Tony.
I really enjoyed the continuous repetition of the billboard to like subscribe bell so much I did the opposite!
Ok 👍🏻 bye!
I picked one of these up in May after waiting a while due to microchip shortages, and interestingly, mine had none of the bugs you described. Mine has worked as expected so far. As somebody who is NOT an expert, I did have some minor issues fumbling through the setup a little bit. Thankfully there are many awesome content creators on UA-cam that I was able to reference to help me get ARC Genesis up and running and a sound that I really liked. I wasn't aware of the Anthem Audio Lovers faceballs page until watching this, I'm excited to see what information I can gain from there. So far I'm very happy with it. I'm am not a brand loyalist by any means, I purchased based on a recommendation from a very reputable home theater installer friend after narrowing down to a couple different options.
Since the review these have improved dramatically!
@@BuildMontage Hi can you elaborate on that please. In which parts of your listening experience did you notice improvement.
Many thanks.
Great to see this video. You are kind of the future for me in terms of equipment. This could be my future.
The unit was a loaner only, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from owning an Anthe MRX 740.
@@BuildMontage Oh I missed that part. So you still have the Denon? Any plans on changing?
Instant sub for the music alone!!
Great video. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Anthem MRX 740. Having the best sound from my AVR was #1. I fully admit this AVR is above my skill & experience level. Right now I’m just letting ARC do it’s thing. Perhaps one day I’ll dive deeper into the 740 or hire a calibrator to really dive in & get the most out of my set up. Perhaps when the bugs have been all worked out.
Hi. Have you ever compared Anthem to Arcam?
I got Arcam AVR850 and I'm thinking about upgrade. Anthem looks amazing just I'm worry if sound is so good as Arcam...
@@tomasz3671 - No I haven’t
nice as always.
Shots fired!! haha
I have never heard anything but good things about Anthem, crazy the problems you had. I was tempted to move to Anthem next year, maybe I should hold off on that.
I never said not to buy one - just be prepared to work for the result ;)
@@BuildMontage We shouldn't have to unfortunately. Not at the price this AVR goes for
I enjoy your video clip Anthem is a good amp I am keeping what I have Thank you for the review.
Thanks for watching Gary!
Great video Tony, very helpful for sure. Either I am blind, or you may have forgotten to link the laser measure tool in the description...cheers.
HAHA You're right - I had it in my text file and forgot to paste it into the description. Good catch!
@@BuildMontage haha, I only noticed because I kind of want a laser measure, thanks bud.
Imo for a product at this price it shouldn’t give this much of a headache. No matter how good it sounds, if it barely functions and frustrates me it’s an instant return
Great video I have the avm70 so far not many issues
Excellent!
Tony, great review as always, but I must say, you have the patience of a Saint to stay with it when it was not going well! Being an audio engineer, there is a lot of gear out there that is a pain in the butt, but when it comes together, they mostly sound great.....
Thanks Tom! Patience is my strong suit I guess - I do IT for a living - and it comes with the territory especially when trying to solve problems. The main issue with the Anthem is that I was flying completely blind, but with some help, we got there in the end.
Nice video. Stay tuned to the end. Bonus footage!!!! Everything that I've talked about on my channel I have bought with my own money. It's easy to say everything new is the best. I'm going through something very similar right now with the arcam avr20. It has some bugs that need to be worked out also.
Great review. I really fancy an anthem amp and prob this one (740). I’ve heard lots of very good things about all their amps and the ARC software. However virtually every review I’ve seen of the new models says ARC doesn’t work properly yet. For amps of this quality and price that’s a) a huge disappointment and b) unacceptable. Anthem should be bending over backwards to sort these problems out. Keep up the great work. 👍
Thanks for watching!
Maybe I missed it, but why change the default volume? Great review as I was looking at the AVM 70 processor but I think I’ll hold off until more bugs get fixed. Thanks again for another solid review!
Nice review Tony I sprayed my Avm 70 with mortein problem solvered 😆👍
Did it work?
@@BuildMontage yes but in all seriousness it’s been great I’ve only had a problem occasionally when the unit won’t turn off and have to turn off from the power plug is there a chance Tony you could please send me link to your curtains from Spotlight I need to buy some cheers 🥂 🙏
I had tons of technical issues with the MRX 1140 so returned it which made me sad because it is a great sounding receiver with a great feature set. Neither Anthem support nor my dealer could resolve the issues. I’m hoping that Anthem gets their act together so that I can repurchase again in the future.
The sound is great but as you say, not bugfree. The 1140 is very similar to the 740, so it's understandable.
@@BuildMontage Quick question,I am between trying to decide the new Marantz Cinema 60 and the Anthem 540. In several owner reviews they mention the fan on the Anthem is so loud and intrusive it is cause for returning the unit.
What is you buddy's experience thus far having lived with the 540 for some time now?
Any and all insights would be aprreciated...Thanks!
@@balooo2863 ... I confirm about the fan noise. In a quiet room it's intrusive. You don't hear it during playing but between tracks or very quiet scenes you hear the fan.. I'm consedering return it... It's a shame!
@@MrJMHP thanks for that information…I purchased the unit and now my issue is I cannot get it to connect to the web no matter what I try to do. Love the sound but way too many bugs.
@@balooo2863 Your connection to web issue must be a thing of your router probably settings. Mine is wired connected and i have no issue at all. I ended not to return my MRX-740 because i love the sound and power of device... Its amazing. In the near future i intended to swap the fans.
Great video, thanks for sharing. Did you by chance find out what Yves did on profile 4 in the end?
Will run through the PDF on the next cal on my MRX740 soon but keen to know what it was that made such a big difference between your Profile 1 and Profile 4. Cheers!
Thanks for watching - at this point Yves is keeping his method to himself but if you join up on the forum and ask some questions, I'm sure he may respond. I think it's a lot of knowledge and experience with tweaking in Pro mode of ARC which he did that made it better. I have done much the same with my minidsp for my subs and Denon's Audessey as well.
What an effort, glad you persisted. Interested to know how you found dropping the 2 channels in your room? Was it noticeable??
Hey Mick, thanks again for providing me with the unit. It was a journey that's for sure - and yes I did feel there was a "gap" but only in certain situations, for the most part I didn't notice at all.
I've been waiting for someone to do an honest review like this. I have the AVM70 and have the same bugs with ARC Genesis boosting speaker levels to max and other issues such as it overriding user settings such as dolby/dts processing and forcing updates even with auto-update turned off.
I have contacted Anthem 2-3 times without a response and many other owners have not received support either.
I 100% agree that us early adopters are beta testers and the products are not currently fit for full release. It has some fantastic features and performance if you have the time to work through them but its not good enough given this is a premium product.
Thanks for the honest review as more potential buyers will be aware of what they are buying into.
Appreciate you watching and sharing your experiences. I was starting to think maybe it was just me until I saw all the comments on the video describing very similar issues.
Great video and attention to detail is 👌🏾 the amp is serious and bigger than my whole apartment 😅
Ps, I see you're watching Jupiter's Legacy too 👌🏾
HAHA! I have way too much gear in my house now. Thanks for watching. Still trying to get low light sorted with out so much noise - sometimes I nail it, sometimes I don't notice until after I film. I need a better low light lens something f1.4 but 12mm or something equivalant to get into the tight spaces of a cinema room.
Yep finished it last week - wasn't bad. Hope it's a good setup for season 2.
@@BuildMontage That sounds like an expensive lens lol, I didn't see much noise though...overall the review was really good so may not have noticed.
I enjoyed season 1 and looking forward to season 2.
Thank you for the review. This and the NADt778 were on my short list, but both seem to be too buggy. I think I'll wait for the new Pioneer and Onkyo receivers with Dirac and see how those are.
I have a Pioneer VSX-LX503 for my living room setup and it works so well, reliable and completely bug free.
Exactly the same. Looking for T778 vs MRX740 vs Denon 4700/6500.
Devices this complex always have couple of bugs. Just wait a little before you buy an avr or home theater processor 6 months or even a year. Great review!
I just bought the MRX740. This receiver is leaps and bounds beyond my previous Rotel 1576. This Anthem, does take a few hours of calibration, but that's what it takes to get to know your new toy. Overall, I'm VERY happy after playing with the Anthem MRX740 after just a few hours. ( 7 channels + 2 subs)
Yes its a great receiever - they fixed a lot of the issues since my review
It's a great receiver BUT... the internal fan sucks... realy bad :((
Wow, certainly saved the unskilled home theatre individual a serious amount of time not pulling their hair out by understanding the true nature of the product. Nothing is perfect first off the rack but the fact you needed to outside of Anthem to fix it means we all don't have the time to buy something and then find a random person half way across the world who will give up their free time to work on something that is not theirs or yours to get a decent review. Great job staying impartial!!
You could work it out if you follow the guide I linked - that's why I made the video - to help :)
@@BuildMontage very true, but but for that cash I would expect plug n play, not to have to spend the time and effort (most definitely appreciate the effort of the video and guide) that went into your video. Out of pure interest, would have expected an installer to go to the extent you did to setup that gear and would you have ended up paying big bucks if that installer spent the time and effort you did. It just seems as though you are the only one to have provided a an accurate review and fixed most( I gather there aren't anymore) of the problems without having to or needing too. So above and beyond for me.
Hi, can you advise how to listen quieter sound of the movies at louder with Anthem MRX receiver? I know turning on Dolby volume, does this job but unfortunately Dolby does not support height speakers.
Great review, I would have returned it do to the bugs.
It is being returned - as it was a loaner ;)
Loved that laser measuring tool ! Crazy bugs they have - they should drop the web based interface and just use the OSD.
That laser too has come in handy so many times!
Thanks for your informative review (& persistence!).
I've been running the MRX 740 in my system for 3 months, with only very minor issues, certainly no show stoppers. It's true that you need some patience during the initial setup, but things are getting better. FYI, here is the change log for the new firmware:
Firmware Change Log
Release: 00.56
Network Module Version: 1.100.116
*Requires ARC 1.5.4 or later
Fixed Center Channel Dropout
Fixed Rear Atmos Height Position Playback
Added MRX 540 Height Position Pre-Out Assignment
Minor Bugs and Improvements
Here is the change log for the new version of ARC Genesis:
Version 1.5.4
MRX x40/AVM70: various quality of implementation improvements, but requires host fw 56 or later
MRX x40/AVM70: added support for performing quick measurements with processing applied (includes bass management and level calibration)
Other minor fixes and improvements
I have found that with this new version & the previous version (1.4.10), it set my Front Left speaker to 75 dB, without having to make any adjustments elsewhere, with adjustments to the other speakers settling around the +6 dB mark.
Before deciding on this amp, I trialled equivalent models from Denon/Arcam/NAD: they all had their good & bad points, but the Anthem came out best for home theatre in my system.
I think the Anthem sounds great. Very clear and precise HF.
Hey mate would you recommend the Anthem mrx 1140 over the marantz Sr8015? I'm not sure which 1 to pick. I do run a ps5 and the marantz has 2.1 as the 1140 doesn't. I'll also be using a Elecktra hd7 power amp to run the krix speakers.
I think both are solid options - higher end units and both make great sound. I haven't heard the MRX1140, I've heard the MRX740 and AVM70 and also the Marantz - and it will just come down to preference and how much effort you want to put in. The Anthem definitely requires more work.
Hello, would you answer a question, the volume that you usually see in movies, in which volume would it be set in the anthem and the denon to sound more or less the same?
What reference level would it be in anthem?
Greetings
It's impossible to say. You should be measuring to 75dB from your front left speaker using the main volume control - that could be -23dB or it could be something completely different. That will give you the reference volume.
Hey Buddy- I am a dedicated subscriber from USA. Appreciate all your videos. Quick question for you: i have a 22 by 16 feet small room: question for you please- what do you think of me getting MRX 540 to run my martin logan esl for FLC and canton cinema satellite speakers for surround. Do you think I should use a external power amp for MrX 540 for the front channels? Any advise will be appreciated as I value your a/v wisdom
I think an external amp will of course help with the performance but you can always test it out and upgrade if you feel it doesn’t perform how you would hope.
good review, to be fair to anthem though this product is just out and there will be bugs out there, with so much control provided it is impossible to iron out every possible bug before any product is released, this is happening from high end car to all electronics we touch now a days. there is software updates on everything seems like.
No doubt, however I made my review based on my experiences, not on what will be fixed over time. Unbiased and fair review based on "my" experiences. I'm sure it's a great product - it sounded awesome in my room when we had it properly calibrated.
Sounds smiliar to Emotiva.. They've got a cult following for some reason yet also plagued with bugs. I'm keeping my eye on this receiver as it's my next upcoming purchase to match with my MCA3..
Hi, has anyone got any idea how the new Anthems compare to the NAD T778 for home theatre, I just mean in terms of sound quality and detail. Thank you
Check out avforums and avsforums, theres some that have switched from the nad to the 740.
In short some say the nads better for music and the 740 for films.
Gonna be picking between the two myself, but also want to see if the new Yamaha’s are anywhere near with their improved eq.
Hi, regards from Spain.... If you had to buy a good processor, Anthem avm70 or Marantz av8805?
Thank you in advantage
Personally, I'd get the AVM 70. But it's not a recommendation.
can you add the arc file as a download, I am interested to see the changes that were made to each profile.
Unfortunately not - Yves has asked me not to share the file. He also says rightly, that it's only relevant to my room so wouldn't really apply to anyone else's setup.
I completely agree with the end/footnote I recently purchased a mrx540 8k and I cannot connect the unit to the web to do the first use update Nothing I’ve tried works typing in the ip into a web browser hardwiring going in via my iPhone…
Any assistance would appreciated as anthem is not particularly helpful (no / slow replies).
The unit sounds fantastic out of the box but I am about to give up on it :(
I used to have a MRX710 which was the best receiver I ever had. Never really had any issues with it and very user friendly.
Shame to hear they have lost their game a little bit. I heard about problems with this generation of receivers a couple of times now.
Hopefully they can fix some of these issues with software updates.
I have a 510 and it’s been great. Even works well with ARC genesis and updated apps/etc. SQ is amazing but am wanting atmos. Was thinking of a new 540 or 740 but I’m worried they are still buggy.
Bugs are pretty much gone now :) since I made this video
Any recent owners having issues with fan noise? I'm hesitant to purchase since I'm reading a lot of people having problems with loud intermittent fan noise in reviews
My Microphone is not getting detected in ARC software, I am using MRX 1140 and microsoft surface pro 7 plus. can anyone help please
Thanks mate for the review, have a good one
Those sorts of bugs in a finished product are really... Interesting? How that kind of stuff gets through testing surprises me...
I don't know either mate - I'd heard about bugs but I really didn't expect the amount and how tricky they were to overcome.
Doses this stereo mode is Class A or Class AB or both in button mode ,Does it have treble, bass control ?? How good is the stereo ?
I'm sorry I really can't remember.. I did this video a long time ago and it was returned.
Hello. Which AVR or processor are you currently using for tv watching and movies. Thanks
Hi I now have a Trinnov Altitude 16 :)
Nice! We currently need to replace out broken AVR. We have a Parasound 52+ amp. We were considering using the pre-outs of a Denon, or 8805, or avm70 for watching tv/ movies.
In your experience is one more dynamic and has better sound quality.
Our previous pioneer can be harsh or bright sounding with Martin Logan motion 40. Thanks.
Hello thanks for this review, I have had a denon 8500h until a few months ago and I loved its sound, it was very stable and it sounded really good but I was always a little more demanding in the stereo section and I was never convinced ... I acquired an arcam avr20 which I am happy and it was a slight improvement of the 8500h and I was wondering how much better was this mrx740 vs 8500h what sound differences did you notice?
After switching back to my Denon, I'm very happy with it. There was better "vocal" quality and detail from the Anthem coming from the center channel, but weighing EVERYTHING up, I prefer the Denon. The trade off in the vocals doesn't make up for the other issues in my opinion. I prefer the Denon if I had to choose now that I have gone back to my daily driver.
@@BuildMontage The denon is an incredible machine one day I will return without a doubt .. right now I am happy with the arcam avr20 but having to use external stages is killing me!
Tony, I am not sure if you would be able to assist me with choosing a AVR for my home. Can I connect with you please and thank you.
Hey there.. you can join my Discord server if you like for a chat!
Great review ... but it's channel's 1-5 at 140watts @8ohms and the other 2 at 60 Watts @ 8ohms ...
Hey I'm new to your channel, thanks - I almost purchased this but I definitely don't have time for these bugs ...wonder if they fixed them by now? Thanks very much for honest review
Yes all the bugs mentioned in this video have definitely been fixed by now :)
@@BuildMontage thank you! I am trying to mix this with a streaming no so that I can listen to music on main speakers then be able to use for theater…. Do you think I should check out another one besides this? Thanks so much
It depends on your channel count. What speaker configuration do you have? Plenty of great options but Anthem is right up there as one of the best. It’s been improved a lot since this video.
@@BuildMontage thanks again for replying!!! I was about to purchase focal arias 948 fronts and focal 900 cc center channel, focal 300 ice6 (4) ceiling speakers, (2) focal 906 rears with also a power amp maybe Marantz 40n or Cambridge evo150 or Naim uniti
And then 2 subs (not sure which ones yet)
Sounds like a good setup. The MRX740 should do a great job. The MRX1140 is also another option - more powered channels.
Nice 👍 video but You have to be kidding that the Anthem 740 is better than the 8500h ? Thanks for the update that was important as I am looking at the 1140 I have a Marantz 8805 do you think that would sound better?
Certain aspects were better. The high frequency clarity especially from the center channel. It could have been the power amplifier helping that as well though. I was just being honest. I’m back to my 8500 right now and it’s great. But it was an honest review and I said what I felt and thought.
On the FB group linked, many members told they did the switch from a Marantz to an Anthem. They all said that they had improvement sound wise. But it's important to say that you have to compare pre/pro with pre/pro, avr with avr. It's not really fair to compare a sr6015 with an AVM70 or a 8805 with a mrx540. There is some guys that did the switch avr to avr and pre/pro to pre/pro and they are all happy with the sound upgrade from what they said.
Hello, I have gone from an 8500h to an arcam avr20 and it was better in both plots ... more clarity, sharpness and detail in scenes that I have very seen! I still think that xt32 is not up to a magnificent 8500h and that they should improve this area since you cannot pay 3.5k for an avr and that it offers you the same eq and the same microphone as the 1k model ... the 8500 is better built and in power they are even the only disadvantage that has me a little pissed off is that arcam only builds 7-channel avr and that makes you spend more on external amplifiers and the denon is much more configurable than arcam, only arcam is something better in SQ.
Whilst everyone talks up Anthem,NAD, Emotiva etc.... one thing Denon,Marantz etc do get right is they tend to get the basic functionality right straight outta the box (well except the 4K/120 thing lol) I would never recommend something like an Anthem or Emotiva processor to anyone but a true enthusiast
I also think the overlaying consensus is that the Anthem is not for a plug and play beginner and will take time to tame.
Though I liked most of the video, I feel like you walk on eggshells as to your explaining your opinion.
As a viewer, consumer and potential buyer I would have loved to know a more clear cut on how you'd feel if you'd choose the Denon over the Anthem.
Sure, as always, I would listen to it myself etc. But I was so waiting for it and you didn't say it.
I feel like soundquality is #1 and @3k I'd go for Anthem and hope that it would last a long time.
It was quite difficult to split the hair on this one. Now that I have my Denon back in my rack - there is a level of comfort there as I am quite happy with it, and having 13 channels, I was able to experiment with adding front wides, and because my speakers are very sensitive, and the Denon is an absolute tank, it provides me with enough power and what I need to run my setup well.
The Anthem I feel had better vocal clarity which is something i will try to work on with my Denon if it's even possible, but I have to say my preference between the MRX740 and my Denon 8500 will be my Denon.
Did anthem confirm an 8k60/4k120 update was actually going come?
I checked with a source and no not yet - they haven't confirmed.
Hi Bro 👋 Presently iam using Yamaha AVR RxA 2050" So upgrading this anthem Makes Massive Difference"
I like Yamaha receivers as they have never let me down and I actually just bought a brand new one for my upstairs setup. Anthem make very nice sounds but you have to work for it with the new receiver.
@@BuildMontage ok sure bro 👍
Random question but is there Atmos receiver, that works with ceiling speakers, that is more budget friendly? One that you would recommend
You are going to be at a a $2500 price range for 11 amps in a receiver at the base level of a Denon
Hi, there are budget recievers from Yamaha and Pioneer which will do "height" channels. Check for 7.2 as a minimum - usually they will either allow for two heights or for two rear surrounds instead.
@@BuildMontage haha, it is bad when my mind could not even conceive of less then 7.2.4 when providing my advice.
@@Justeric78 yes I know what u mean. I had to remember that everyone has a different scenario.
I see you took your last video down about the anthem processor, why is that?
No I didn't. You're commenting on it now.
@@BuildMontage sorry I must have my video reviewers confused
I haven't read the comments yet but I'm hoping I'm not the only one thinking about Crocodile Dundee after the first 2 seconds :D 0:00
Hahaha! I’ve had a couple of PM comments about it - you’re the first to kinda get it :)
@@BuildMontage Haha, awesome. Kinda get it though? I'm more intrigued now :D
I got the 540 last week. The only complaint is I wish these units had more juice out the box. You pay a premium for this brand so you expect more than 100w/channels.
It depends on the sensitivity of your speakers - 100w should be plenty to drive most speakers.
I have the 720 and I also think ARC isn't helping there is lots of separation but for guys like me with medium knowledge I'm underwhelmed with how powerful my sound is I'm just not willing or have the expertise to get ARC dialed. My speakers all got a boost as much as +11 for heights and that really scared me as I also have very powerful amps and didn't want to kill my speakers so ended up taking lots out but to get a good feeling in my room I always need the volume at -5 or 0. My old denon I could go more than -20 or my ears would bleed. Everytime I ask questions it turns into a disaster on the forum. Sadly I might not keep this receiver so I can't imagine what people are going through with the new ones and the thousands of bugs they have.
Sadly, there is little acknowledgement of the fact that ARC adjusts the main level right before calibration whcih in turn means the calibration sweeps are very low - so it boosts them up during the calibration. I think it truly is an enthusiast device, and as such, they should market more toward enthusiasts or at least disclaimer that it's not a plug and play device like MCACC on Pioneer is for example. Thanks for watching and commenting.
@@BuildMontage it does this even on my gen 2 720 I just don't know how to correct it. It's a great product but it just feels like I'm missing 50% of the power because of this.
@@taxi615 J'ai moi-même un 720 et j'ai des "levels" à +11, +12.... Ils seraient à -7, -11 que ça jouerait pas moins/pas plus fort. Crois-moi. Je sais ce que je dis.
Et si jamais, tu veux avoir tes profiles bien tweakés ;-) J'offre le service. Tu parles de "forum", est-ce du groupe Anthem Audio Lovers dont tu parles? Si non, fais une demande d'admission :-) (j'y suis un des admin)
I hade one a couple of months now. The thing the angers me most is the fan noice. Its really loud
I didn't experience the fan noise issue but then again, my rack is in another room to my Home Theater.
Hi Tony I had heard about this issue and I member someone having the same problem he said it was something to do with the microphone volume settings it was too high on the computer something to do with the microphone volume
That's interesting - so if the gain on the mic on the PC was too high it wouldn't play noise, or play from a different speaker? So weird!
Yes and adjusted all the levels because they were too high it was something to do with the microphone volume being set wrong too high or too low I'm pretty sure it was too high but it might be worth checking it out
@@Guy-zt1eb in the calibration scenario it was 100% arc turning the main gain down to -37.5. That’s a bug for sure.
Hmm seeing all these problems people have with modern AVRs i stick to Yamaha - flawless for 20 years and i had multiple models (now couple of A3080 at home). No problems ever.
Yamaha are great. I just bought an RV 4A for my upstairs 3.1 setup. Simple but bugfree!
In the addon at the end you said they created a new firmware but you couldn't say if it fixed the issues, was that because you no longer had the unit when the new firmware came out? Im kind of worried about all these bugs, been watching the forums and so many people that have the unit are having issues, mines on order and paid for whenever it may arrive is anyone's guess. I think part of the issue is that if any engineers are working on the bugs at Anthem they are doing it from home as Ontario is still on a do no leave your house level lockdown for all except essential workers.
I had finished the video and recorded it all, finished unracking and boxing up so it was well past the scope for me to try it out. Hopefully Anthem listen and fix as it’s a great unit once you get past these issues.
Robert, I would run this receiver as much as you can within the return period. I will be selling my on the secondary markets because there are just TOOOOOO many bugs, it makes it truly unenjoyable.
I don't see the link to the PDF, can you post it for me?
Its there in the description :)
Great, fair video. Cool product, but the bugs will prevent me from buying it. I don't have the time or energy to devote to it. I need something that more or less works out of the box.
Hopefully you can find one that works for you. Yamaha, Denon and Marantz are great options that will "work" with very little effort on your part. Like anything, to get the most out of your gear, it will take a tonne of effort and all three can be used to create a great sound.
Does it supports Auro 3D ? I think it's IMAX enhanced and not Auro 3D
Correct. I already made the edit in the description - that’s 100% a slip I made that I didn’t pick up during editing.
So Anthem ARC still has problems??? I seem to remember a video from some channel awhile back that said it was pretty good now. All I know is that I had a terrible experience with it back around 2009 or 2010. I was finally put in contact with the idiots... I mean PHD's that developed it and I was told they made some changes to it after that but I never tried it again.
I generally look at any automatic room correction like a point and shoot camera, it's better than nothing for the average Joe but can never match what you can do manually.
ARC runs very well on all the previous generation. It has sometimes some snags with the new series but I did tweaks on many of them without any problem. In the precise case of Tony's set-up, I wanted to have room to tweaks with the levels and when he got a loan extension we decided to go forward with the method that force playing sweeps louder. In his first set Auto-calibration, he did't mentionned it in his video in order to try to keep things concise but his MiniDsp had lost the calibration file (not related with ARC! Off topic, he didn't mention). When eveything goes wrong.. ;-) Sure it didn't help the final result, and there was another issue with a surround still a bit blocked by a curtain for some mic positions. So we had to redo the measurements anyway (after he found the issue with the MiniDsp). So, with this good set of measurements, he got an auto-calibration profile-1 very satisfying. And I can swear to you that it has nothing to do with the levels lower. But with this levels lower I had more than enough room for playing ;-)
At this point, he asked me if I really think it worth the effort to try to tweak the calibration. I said I wasn't sure if he would prefer it but I was very confident.
Yes there were other issues which were not the fault of the anthem but it didn't change the fact there were bugs - I was only referring to the bugs in the video - didn't want to slow down the pace of an already lengthy video describing the issue of the curtain and the minidsp - as it wasn't relevant to the calibration issues we experienced once we had that fixed.
@@yvesst-onge8522 would you say this reciever is a waste of time if you haven't got a laptop or pc and have to do it on android?
@@slyfoxx8540 This receiver, without ARC is already impressive. It has better separation and dynamic than Marantz, Yamaha, etc of same price. ARC is the icing on cake.
Obviously, with a PC you can extract all the juice from the ARC possibilities. With an Android device, you are limited but from what I heard, it gives good results but you can't tweak.
@@yvesst-onge8522 excellent, just the news I wanted to hear.
Cheers👍
I love and hate the video. Love it because it's another great video by you. But I hate it because it makes me sad to hear about the bugs and complexity of ARC. Anthem was on my short list for my AVR upgrade, but sounds like its out for now. Dealing with bugs in technology drives me crazy! Had you not had the bugs, it sounds like you'd have a much higher opinion of the product.
The bonus content was awesome - always appreciate the honesty you provide on your channel
Thanks brother. I'm not recommending NOT to buy one - the sound it made was phenominal once we had it dialled in. But as I said, you need to be aware of it going in.
@@BuildMontage It just sounds like a LOT of work to get it all setup. Hopefully future firmware updates will help
@@TorinTPG
Tony had a lot of weird bugs from the begining with the 740. He wasn't lucky. It consumed time and energy, and having the 740 for only a short time, he didn't have the time to slowly tame ARC like every owner can do. That's a big difference. I love my mrx720 I got 1 year ago. It sounds very well and it's night and day difference with my former Denon but it's only since about 5 months I understood enough ARC to extract almost all the juice.
@@yvesst-onge8522 howdy! I’ll continue to keep it on my list. Sounds like you were a great help to Tony on this one. What’s the Facebook group you’re a part of?
@@TorinTPG Tony put the link of the Anthem Audio Lovers FB group ;-)
Do you recommend anthem over marantz sr8015?
At the moment, I am pretty good with Anthem, they fixed a lot of the bugs I encountered - and it sounds fantastic. I don't generally recommend one product over another, it will come down to analysing the merits and pros and cons yourself. I have the Denon 8500 which is similar to the Marantz, and I am very happy with Audessey as well.
@@BuildMontage understood, but if you had to pick one to keep, which one would be? hard part for me is there is no show rooms for anthem product around me, I had 7015 and just recently sold it in order to upgrade.
Anthem equipment is amazing but you should only buy after 1 year of their equipment coming out since they need time to iron out the bugs since they are a smaller company relative to Denon etc. Web displays are way better since it's much easier to do firmware upgrades and bug fixes for web interfaces vs OSD.
If i I didn't get a Trinnov Altitude 16, Anthem would have been my next choice.
I'm a owner and active AVS forum user and i'm interrested to join your Discord server but sadly it doesn't work. Does it changed?
Hi there - this is the link - it's in the description: discord.gg/wvtvkaP
have one in box unopened I'm kinda scared to open it now.
@xperia I have no idea haven't opened it yet
A lot of the glitches have since been fixed with firmware I believe.
@@BuildMontage hope so
Sounds like a good product ...the set up sounds like a nightmare... all the reviews I have seen about their products seem to be the same ....great product ....lousy set up process ...but once you get it dial in they all like it....I was looking for an EndGame unit maybe in the fall of 2021 ...They dont have the 2.1 HDMI support and that will be a hardware up grade ...so if you want 2.1 ...will have to pay to get it installed....So this chipset problem(2.1) that all the Audio makers have will eventually come to an end ....but when...? So in my case I will wait until they get this problem fixed and it is fully functional in all units before I buy my EndGame unit be it The Anthem Receiver or their Processor. One of the reviews I read said the Anthem Receivers sound as good as separates...do you agree ..?? If so that makes my decision easier...I like Marantz and the ease of set up and Denon is the same way. Lets hope Anthem can hire those guys to get the set up process done better without the Bugs....or maybe at least include in the purchase ...a can of Raid! lol . I think if I needed that much frustration in my life I would take up golf ...or stayed Married! lol Thanks for your review ! I live in Canada and they make the Anthem amps just down the road from me(200 miles lol) I did buy an Anthem Amp to run my font 3 channels and have Emotiva mono blocks running the rears My speakers are 4ohm linn Majik and these amps are rated at 400 watts at 4 ohms all channels driven which is nice ..So I have notice better separation and clearer voice without the need to adjust the volume for center channel ...So if the amps can impress me with the sound I can only Imagine what their processing is like ...but everybody likes it so far! Just work on the setup and business for their product would increase and hopefully the Quality stays!
Hi Jim, and thanks for watching. I would say out of "receivers" this is as close to separates as I have heard. Bear in mind it ships with only 7 channels powered so you do need an amp to run it to it's full potential anyway. The processing is very good I will say that. Just so many issues to sort through first.
@@BuildMontage thanks for getting back! Yeah I know about the extra power I have the MCA 325 for 3 channels and the two mono blocks from Emotiva....just going to wait and see what they do with the 2.1 issue I talked to an Anthem dealer and he said maybe the fall for the upgrade to 2.1 ...but it's a hardware install ....no sense of me buying one now and the have to spend extra for the install If they come out with new one ready to go with fixed 2.1 HDMI support then I might pull the trigger lol Yamaha just released a statement today saying they would fix all the ones they sold with a new board....and the new models coming out now will be all good with the 2.1.....that's better than Sound United is doing ...their fix is a separate converter box ...no charge if you want it...but it's a separate box ...that turns a lot of owners off Marantz has a new AV 8805A processor that they say is good to go with the 2.1 and you can get the kit for that 8805 that they have now for $600 ...that's a lot of clams ....won't be going that way either $6000 plus 13% tax for the AV 8805 A .....I think the Anthem processor would be a better deal for me if I was going that way. Anyways thanks for sharing and have a good one!
So is the denon 6700h better
I believe that Anthem have fixed a lot of the issues I encountered since this video. Denon 6700 is a great reciever too!
Holy knife
Indeed! As a Canadian, I wondered why he doesn't use a Crocodile Dundee knife! LOL
HAHA - it's a little smaller than my regular knife
Wow how much are theses...
You are saying if we don't have access to Marc, we should not buy this AV amplifier.
All good about the review.. except the fact that anthem mrx series does not support auro-3d... That's a mistake you made while noting the features of this receiver.
Yes, I’m aware - it’s in the description I published the correction as it was too late to re:edit: I meant IMAX Enhanced.
Ooof that calibration thing sounds like a huge pain in the ass..
Its gotten a lot better since this video.
i cant even get mine to show up on the arc app let alone run the correction
Hmm... I havent played with Anthem since I did this review, but I would make sure your network is setup correctly and that your app's host (pc or phone) is on the same network as the Anthem. Also check your firewall isn't blocking anything as well.
yep i have tried a few things like that im still trying to get my head around everything thx@@BuildMontage
I have no issues with my 740. Make sure it's on the network. The app should connect also.
Ye once the issue was sorted everything else was easy it's str forward arc worked well as well ye it was just a simple change of the port in the modem that was needed
Holy F the beep at the end is way too loud and not level matched