Anthem AVM30

[mitch57]

I'm thinking about upgrading my Denon 3805 which is my pre/pro mated to my Parasound Halo A51. I've looked at the Rotels, Parasound, Arcam, Anthem, and others. I will also need a tuner with whatever processor I decide to go with.

I have been leaning toward the Anthem AVM30 due to it's price and feature set.

Anybody else have any input on this unit?

[wildfire99]

I use it with an A51 and A21... they get along well together and look nice with the aluminum AVM30 faceplate.

Usually people will recommend the Arcam AVP-700 and the Halo C2 in the same breath as the Anthem. I chose the Anthem because I've always heard good things about it, and the upgradeability is a major plus. There's no "sorry, buy a new one" nonsense.

The thing is complicated. I write complicated software for a living, and it took me 30 minutes to figure out how to turn the thing on. But it's easy once you get the hang of it. Everything is tweakable, and is laid out very nicely except for the oddball remote. The full XLR outputs on the back were the closing featureset for me.

I can't tell you how it 'sounds' compared to other things, they all sound decent enough to me, it's the speakers that make the difference. The only thing I miss is HDMI/firewire inputs, which are supposed to be coming on with the $1500 scaler upgrade. Of course, I prefer to not put all my electronic eggs in one basket (or chassis).