Anthem AVM60 Review (AV Processor)

[Vasr]

Both the HTP-1 and this one get decapitated panthers. I know which one I would buy though.

This would have been a timely review given a bunch of these would have come to the used market with the launch of the next generation. But the launch of those has been so beyond bad, you are more likely to find a lot of refurbished units of AVM 70 from returns than used AVM 60s, I think.

Don't know if the acquisition of the Anthem, Paradigm, Martin Logan by the original founders back in 2019 was supposed to fix existing problems or created new problems with the next generation line up. But it is clear that Anthem is not a very functional company right now except for their power amps and stereo integrated amps.

 

[Vasr]

I think it is almost ridiculous for a product launch in 2021 (or was it late 2020) to be "HDMI v2.1 8K Upgradeable. ", and did not mention if it would be a free upgrade, or otherwise how much.. I can understand why D+M did the same with the AVR-X8500H and AV8805 but those were launched 2-3 years ago.

The AVM 70 is upgradeable with a $500 charge, the AVM-90 upgrade is included in the price according to dealers.

 

[fun]

ASR Measurements like this convince me that Denon AVR is the logical choice to replace my pre-HDMI Rotel receiver. The main motivation for doing that is EQ, though I can also benefit from HDMI switching, modern surround encoding (Atmos, Auro 3D etc.), networking/streaming capabilities.

 

[DuncanTodd]

The upgrade to the AVM 70/90 internal hardware and software, better Dacs, ARC Genesis etc upgrades over the outgoing 60 product looks very promising on paper, but the real question is how does the AVM 70 sound?

What I want, is an AV processors that:

1. Sounds better then 90% of its price point competitors

They still haven't released specs for any of the new models even they already available and people got them.
90% better I think is a utopic goal.

 

[Vasr]

They still haven't released specs for any of the new models even they already available and people got them.

The only possible explanation for this is that the specs for the new units look really bad on paper even with whatever fudging manufacturers do.

It would not surprise me if there was a v2 model put out or internals reworked/changed before specs come out.

 

[DuncanTodd]

I’ve been considering the AVM70, but of course right now it’s a clown show, judging by the forums. Half-broken, full of bugs. This review gives me serious pause.

It's almost a guaranteed route to frustration to be an early adopter of such products. Takes them a while (or ages in the case of Arcam) till they get to a near perfect state. I wouldn't buy these before they have time to iron out the kinks and make it available with the HDMI 2.1 board.

 

[DuncanTodd]

The AVM 70 is upgradeable with a $500 charge, the AVM-90 upgrade is included in the price according to dealers.

Have they officially announced the upgrade cost? $500 was a mere speculation as far as I've seen.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Can't that sound superiority owners feel they notice, be a result of the advanced calibration system? A lot of people would buy these over something else to get the ARC calibration system which is considered to be far superior to Audessey. After all one of the main uses (if not thee main) is for HT.

ARC is the only reason I have MRX 520. I will purchase again.

 

[DuncanTodd]

ARC is the only reason I have MRX 520. I will purchase again.

I think that's the main reason people buy it.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

There are indeed subjective opinions that ARC is better than Audyssey to go along with subjective opinions that Anthem is of higher fidelity. The objective data I've seen doesn't support this. I've seen evidence that Audyssey may be better than ARC. One glaring, basically completely broken aspect of ARC is that it does not properly integrate subs with speakers and results in poor response around crossover. This alone makes Audyssey much better objectively. If I'm not mistaken, the newest implementations of ARC on certain models is capable of competent subwoofer integration.

I never have been satisfied with Audyssey over the years with 3 different brands.

 

[rccarguy]

I never have been satisfied with Audyssey over the years with 3 different brands.

Did you try limitimg correction to 300hz?

 

[bigx5murf]

I have an AVM20, and it has very noticeable tweeter hiss. I've found other owners who reported the same.

 

[Vasr]

Have they officially announced the upgrade cost? $500 was a mere speculation as far as I've seen.

Confirmed through multiple independent dealer sources at AVSForums. Communications directly from Anthem itself has been less than forthcoming as you know. Product Management/Marketing has been MIA over there.

 

[rccarguy]

I have an AVM20, and it has very noticeable tweeter hiss. I've found other owners who reported the same.

Does it occur or change when the avm is off? Power amp on. Then switch on avm, does it change?

 

[DuncanTodd]

Confirmed through multiple independent dealer sources at AVSForums. Communications directly from Anthem itself has been less than forthcoming as you know. Product Management/Marketing has been MIA over there.

Good to know. Is that $500 all in? Like say you bought it from Crutchfield, who pays to get it shipped back and forth? What about overseas customers? Will one be able to replace on his own without voiding the warrenty? Will the batch of units that will already have the updated board cost +$500?

Doesn't seem there is any direct communication from Anthem. They didn't disclosed there is no ARC available yet when the products were shipping. Dealers were told to inform the customers, some did, some didn't. Seems nowdays you need to be on top of forums and social media to know such stuff.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Both the HTP-1 and this one get decapitated panthers. I know which one I would buy though.

This would have been a timely review given a bunch of these would have come to the used market with the launch of the next generation. But the launch of those has been so beyond bad, you are more likely to find a lot of refurbished units of AVM 70 from returns than used AVM 60s, I think.

Don't know if the acquisition of the Anthem, Paradigm, Martin Logan by the original founders back in 2019 was supposed to fix existing problems or created new problems with the next generation line up. But it is clear that Anthem is not a very functional company right now except for their power amps and stereo integrated amps.

It's not that bad.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Did you try limitimg correction to 300hz?

No I did not. ARC was somewhat challenging to set up. I needed tech help from teenage son. Once completed the result was stunning.

 

[rccarguy]

No I did not. ARC was somewhat challenging to set up. I needed tech help from teenage son. Once completed the result was stunning.

If you limit range to that with auddssy apparently it's a lot better

 

[peng]

I never have been satisfied with Audyssey over the years with 3 different brands.

You probably have not tried the App. Without the App, Audyssey forced you to accept the BBC dip, and EQ full range, and they probably don't do well above the room transition frequency. To some people that's a show stopper already. Anthem MRX receivers can EQ up to 5 kHz by default (not sure about the newest models) but I believe you can limit to lower frequencies.

 

[SynthesisCinema]

@cbrents73 can you get Anthem`s engineers to comment these measurements?