Anthem STR pre-amp

[GTDTS]

No experience with ARC here, but I have read similar stories in which redoing the measurements with more distance between measuring locations helped. Since you’re experienced in using room correction this may not apply in your case, but I thought it worth mentioning.

Interesting...I'll try that and turn down the tone sweeps to as low as I can get. That would make sense and I never even considered it.
Profile 3, here we come.
Thank you very much!

 

[Mike-48]

@GTDTS --

I have used other systems, too, but my results couldn't be more different. I have had excellent results from ARC on the STR Preamp. So I can offer a little help if you want it.

Have you made sure that speaker levels match above and below max correction frequency?

Would you like to post graphs and I'll take a look?

 

[GTDTS]

Mike...thank you.
Yes...I am very cautious on the max correction frequency. It makes sense that it can push the drivers harder than designed. I also positioned, distanced them will all the parameters outside of ARC.
With ARC off, my sub has this outstanding deep growl that I can't seem to get ARC to reproduce.

What I'm really trying to do, is to get ARC to tame my highs first. The room is small and lively/bright which can cause some listening fatigue.
I like my bass how it is and spent a lot of time in position and configuration given the flexibility that HSU provides. Is there a way to turn off Bass Management?

I will post some graphs over the next several days. I'm out over the weekend so I can't work on it.
Thank you for willing to help. I sincerely appreciate the offered support!

 

[Mike-48]

Mike...thank you.
Yes...I am very cautious on the max correction frequency. It makes sense that it can push the drivers harder than designed. I also positioned, distanced them will all the parameters outside of ARC.
With ARC off, my sub has this outstanding deep growl that I can't seem to get ARC to reproduce.

What I'm really trying to do, is to get ARC to tame my highs first. The room is small and lively/bright which can cause some listening fatigue.
I like my bass how it is and spent a lot of time in position and configuration given the flexibility that HSU provides. Is there a way to turn off Bass Management?

I will post some graphs over the next several days. I'm out over the weekend so I can't work on it.
Thank you for willing to help. I sincerely appreciate the offered support!

Maybe you would attach the generated PDF, too, which has all the information about your settings and the results obtained.

Getting the best from ARC takes a bit of trial and error -- not the least because each of us has their own definition of "best."

By the way, ARC limits boosts to no more than 6 dB, an amount unlikely to cause driver damage, in my opinion, unless perhaps you listen at window-shattering levels.

 

[Thomas savage]

Mike...thank you.
Yes...I am very cautious on the max correction frequency. It makes sense that it can push the drivers harder than designed. I also positioned, distanced them will all the parameters outside of ARC.
With ARC off, my sub has this outstanding deep growl that I can't seem to get ARC to reproduce.

What I'm really trying to do, is to get ARC to tame my highs first. The room is small and lively/bright which can cause some listening fatigue.
I like my bass how it is and spent a lot of time in position and configuration given the flexibility that HSU provides. Is there a way to turn off Bass Management?

I will post some graphs over the next several days. I'm out over the weekend so I can't work on it.
Thank you for willing to help. I sincerely appreciate the offered support!

How did this pan out ? I had some similar experience regarding the ' dead ' sound after correction vs straight analogue output of the STR, thats with only using the correction below 500Hz too so you'd think it would make a impact above that .

I played about with it without much success but just chose to accept it . Recently iv used a 10 band eq on my phone to improve things as that seems easier and gave a better result over the room correction on its own .

Iv not measured the result of what I have now , should get around to it but the hifi room is upside down at the moment

A odd phenomenon.

 

[pma]

Just searched for some measurements of this preamp, it looks very good.

 

[GTDTS]

How did this pan out ? I had some similar experience regarding the ' dead ' sound after correction vs straight analogue output of the STR, thats with only using the correction below 500Hz too so you'd think it would make a impact above that .

I played about with it without much success but just chose to accept it . Recently iv used a 10 band eq on my phone to improve things as that seems easier and gave a better result over the room correction on its own .

Iv not measured the result of what I have now , should get around to it but the hifi room is upside down at the moment

A odd phenomenon.

Thank you for following up.
I think I’m making progress. I’ve come away with how powerful the ARC software actually is. I’ve tried tuning to what I think I want, that that has got me closer and I’ve learned some things along the way.

Basically, I’ve decided against the bass management for various reasons. I like my sub and how it is set up. HSU makes this very configurable as is.
I also was using the analogue out on my Blue Sound streamer. Switched it to digital out and digital in on the STR Preamp and that seemed to wake it up a bit past just a volume bump
I also upgraded ARC when the next update came out and that made a big difference for some reason. Maybe it is just a bit buggy.

I’ve since gone the REW route. I measured the various profiles and compared them to what my older Onkyo put out. I then took one of the profiles and tried to match the curves to each other using ARC. I also measured the effect on the STR bass and treble at min, zero, and max so I know what I’m dealing with.
Then I’ve come down with a terrible sinus infection and can’t hear jack. So I’ve got to get that and my allergies under control and I’ll get back to it.

 

[MarcT]

Bought this , plugged it in.. sounds at least as good as my belles statement pre .

It's got a ton of functionality, is less than half the price of my belles . In fact I might be able to sell my belles for the same price as I bought this new.

Although it's internally converting to 32/196 it suffers little detrimental effects I can hear over the pure analogue signal. There's a slight shiny sound possibly around 10K that needs more investigation.

I'm yet to run the room EQ and subwoofer integration software as I need a adapter for my phone to plug the mic into.

I believe it measured well, maybe the integrated version would be something @amirm could get his hands on to measure.

I actually think it sounds more detailed than my old belles and the imaging is more precise but regardless it's certainly no worse. Iv had a bunch of £10000 ish pre's through my hifi over the years and this as good as any sound wise and has abilities non of those far more expensive ones had.

I will up date when iv got the room software working .

https://www.anthemav.com/products-current/model=str-pre-amplifier/page=overview

I just bought a STR Preamp for a great price and installed it yesterday! However, so far, I cannot get any sound out of the Home Theater Bypass feature when the STR is in Standby. The manual clearly states that the front L/R channels should play the sound from the AVR when the STR is in Standby mode.

I have the front L/R channels from the AVR connected via analog interconnect to the RCA 3 input of the STR(as stated in the manual), and I have RCA 3 configured to HTB "ON". As long as the STR is turned on and set to RCA 3 input, I get sound for those channels(albeit with a notable hum that I don't get when using the USB DAC). But, when I put the STR into Standby, there is no sound going to the front L/R channels.

Now, I do not have a sub in that room, so no sub is connected to RCA 4. Is it possible that the Home Theater Bypass only works when a sub is connected? If this is the case, would it be possible to trick the STR into thinking a sub is connected by merely plugging in a RCA cable to the RCA 4 input on the STR?

I'm pretty disappointed, as I want to compare how this performs for movies, with the same speakers set up, compared to my old preamp, which also has a home theater bypass feature, which works great for me. Any ideas or tips? Thanks much.

 

[GTDTS]

I just bought a STR Preamp for a great price and installed it yesterday! However, so far, I cannot get any sound out of the Home Theater Bypass feature when the STR is in Standby. The manual clearly states that the front L/R channels should play the sound from the AVR when the STR is in Standby mode.

I have the front L/R channels from the AVR connected via analog interconnect to the RCA 3 input of the STR(as stated in the manual), and I have RCA 3 configured to HTB "ON". As long as the STR is turned on and set to RCA 3 input, I get sound for those channels(albeit with a notable hum that I don't get when using the USB DAC). But, when I put the STR into Standby, there is no sound going to the front L/R channels.

Now, I do not have a sub in that room, so no sub is connected to RCA 4. Is it possible that the Home Theater Bypass only works when a sub is connected? If this is the case, would it be possible to trick the STR into thinking a sub is connected by merely plugging in a RCA cable to the RCA 4 input on the STR?

I'm pretty disappointed, as I want to compare how this performs for movies, with the same speakers set up, compared to my old preamp, which also has a home theater bypass feature, which works great for me. Any ideas or tips? Thanks much.

Interesting...mine works perfect. I have the L/R from my Onkyo output hooked up via RCA 3 and configured HT Bypass for that input. The output must also be RCA for L/R...not line out or anything. No switching between RCA and XLR.

I also am not using HT bypass for the sub. I actually am using an RCA switch as the moment for the sub only.

 

[MarcT]

Interesting...mine works perfect. I have the L/R from my Onkyo output hooked up via RCA 3 and configured HT Bypass for that input. The output must also be RCA for L/R...not line out or anything. No switching between RCA and XLR.

I also am not using HT bypass for the sub. I actually am using an RCA switch as the moment for the sub only.

Thanks. I spoke with Anthem tech support this morning. Upi there mentioned that if the AVR is connected to the RCA 3 input on the STR, then the output also has to be RCA to the power amp. The problem is that my power amp only has XLR inputs, and my AVR has only rca outputs. Upi said he was going to confer with a couple guys there who know more about this. They are supposed to be calling me back. I do have a set of RCA to XLR adapters, so I guess I'll try those and then come in to the STR on XLR input and see if that works.

 

[GTDTS]

Thanks. I spoke with Anthem tech support this morning. Upi there mentioned that if the AVR is connected to the RCA 3 input on the STR, then the output also has to be RCA to the power amp. The problem is that my power amp only has XLR inputs, and my AVR has only rca outputs. Upi said he was going to confer with a couple guys there who know more about this. They are supposed to be calling me back. I do have a set of RCA to XLR adapters, so I guess I'll try those and then come in to the STR on XLR input and see if that works.

That should do it.
Now you can do XLR to XLR as well...just can’t cross over RCA to XLR and vise versa.
Just a note...apparently the preamp when off is a straight physical relayed connection so you should hear no difference when in movie mode. It is basically a straight wire.

 

[Thomas savage]

Heres my graphs from the ARC room correction software, took some adjusting and learning to get things to here.

I'm giving up now as I want my life back ha ha

I tried a million different settings and combinations but ended up here . Just sounds correct to me . Iv got a 6th order crossover on my mains at 20hz as I dont want random low level signals sent to them that might damage the woofers and I am using subsonic filters on my subs ( that are stacked in the right corner of my room ) at 12 hz 24 db per octave just because it seems to sound cleaner to me and dose no harm.

 

[Pdxwayne]

Here are two plots (made with a Dayton OmniMic2) of my system with the STR preamp and sub crossover at 80 Hz. Top plot, correct phase adjustment. Bottom plot, sub out of phase by 180 deg. I can tell you from experience, the out-of-phase condition is subjectively quite noticeable.

(Less noticeable is the persistent null at ~120 Hz. I've been chasing that a while and not yet figured it out. I'd like to get rid of it, if I can find a way.)

View attachment 112749

View attachment 112750

The 120 Hz null likely due to Speaker Boundary Interference Response (sbir). This is not something that can be solved with eq. If possible, move your main speakers toward you and you should see the null point shifting lower and lower as you pull the speakers closer to you.

 

[Mike-48]

The 120 Hz null likely due to Speaker Boundary Interference Response (sbir). This is not something that can be solved with eq. If possible, move your main speakers toward you and you should see the null point shifting lower and lower as you pull the speakers closer to you.

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, it is not SBIR. I have tried moving the speakers several times without any marked change in null frequency. I've also tried moving the listening chair. Maybe it's a ceiling bounce, or maybe something else.

 

[GTDTS]

Team,
This is what I managed so far.
The orange is Profile 1 and is settings recommended by ARC.
The Blue is what my Onkyo sounded like...very nice...needed a little more "taming" on the high end.
The Red is Profile 3 and what I've determined that I will go with for time being...ever so slightly warmer, but still clear and lively.

Note...I got started on this because I thought ARC sounded terrible...bright and lifeless...If someone want to duplicate my Profile 3 and tell me how it sounds to them, that would be cool. Profile 4 is my second choice.
I don't like what ARC does to my subwoofer. I like its natural growl. It is not boomy or over bearing when listening.
Again, I have a pair of Paradigm Prestige 85F's in a smaller/lively room and an HSU VTF 15 MKII sub.

For what it is worth...the Onkyo (blue) and the Profile 3 (red) sounds completely different...not even close.

 

[GTDTS]

Here are my Setting in ARC on the STR Pre Amp.
The PDF was too large to import/attach.

 

[Thomas savage]

Well my anthem has died , no right channel.. 18 months of use , not impressed .

We will find out how good their returns and technical support is now I guess.

 

[GTDTS]

Well my anthem has died , no right channel.. 18 months of use , not impressed .

We will find out how good their returns and technical support is now I guess.

Thats terrible!
I bet they are pretty good.

I’m still tweaking a bit. My ears are sorta good enough to get back to it. I’m close. Got the sub about where I want it. I can FEEL that.

 

[Mike-48]

@GTDTS - If you can plot just Profile 3 (red) vs the Onkyo (blue) curve, I'd be interested and might have some questions/suggestions.

I am not surprised they sound different -- there's about a 5 dB difference in the midrange. So I would expect the ARC result to be more forward sounding.

I am surprised that you don't like the sub results . . . the red and blue curves look quite similar.

 

[GTDTS]

@Mike-48
Indeed you are correct. The STR does sound more forward. Thank you very much for the offer to look. I’d like to take you up on that!

And, yes...I was able to dial in the sub so they are much the same now. Good observation. The Orange line is the original ARC setting...and much different than what I want. It’s very bright and anemic sounding in the room. The good news is that the STR is configurable enough to get it where the user wants it. It just took a bit.

This is like a baby to me so I really appreciate any support. I know we can get this just right. I like the STR. It has been solid and bug free for me. No edginess on some of the female vocals. No breaks in the music and no slight interruptions like with jitter. And it looks great. So I want this to show off. Thanks!!