Anthem AVM70 Review (AV Processor)

[ArturoKiwi]

This is what Anthem says:

Anthem Room Correction | Compatibility Chart

www.anthemarc.com

So, previous generation (avm60, mrx x20) has Arc Genesis

 

[peng]

So are you saying that Anthem just told dealers the are the same and we should all buy the AVM70?
But they get more money by pushing the AVM90 especially with margins being 40 points off MSRP

Not what I said, sorry for not being clear. I don't know what Anthem told the dealers. I only know the dealer I bought the 70 from told me the 90 sounded better to them and that we (2 of us customers there) that we would be able to hear it. And there was no side by side AB setup to compare the two.

 

[MacCali]

Not what I said, sorry for not being clear. I don't know what Anthem told the dealers. I only know the dealer I bought the 70 from told me the 90 sounded better to them and that we (2 of us customers there) that we would be able to hear it. And there was no side AB setup to compare the two.

Honestly feel that’s hype, I’m sure it probably does measure better. And I say probably cause most likely it could possibly measure worse or the same.

The 90 had 8k out the gate. Honestly if you are not a gamer who uses the AVR there’s no point to have it. *Until recently I thought 4k UHD could do 120 fps

The only thing I got from separates is with balanced outputs the channel separation is better. Which increases immersion, and that’s to an unprofessional listener. I would hope even though the processing codecs are the same the processor will give it more cohesive experience. Also I’m never going to buy a trinov or any of those systems.

The Marantz 7013 which I would assume is equal to or worse than the 7015 has been a great unit. Before I used to tell people and still say on HEOS vs streaming from a TV was better. Unknowingly that once you add a bdp to the system it sounds equal to HEOS or air play.

However I feel the bdp was the best jump in home theater performance. Using the 7013 in pre amp was even more earth shattering. And again this is all without room correction. The only thing I have done is match SPL on all the speakers by manually adjusting db.

Can’t ask for much more. I’ve gone to plenty of movies and honestly my HT experience is better than your average theater merely cause I enjoy it way more.

I think my only regret was not buying the 8012 for 2099 back in 2020. Cause if I had bought that I wouldn’t have upgraded now. I plan on keeping this[avm70] for 6 years at lease before I upgrade so it’s worth it for me and highly probable I will keep this unit until it’s dead.

At 3700 no chance, plus tax I would be at 4100

 

[peng]

I think my only regret was not buying the 8012 for 2099 back in 2020. Cause if I had bought that I wouldn’t have upgraded now. I plan on keeping this[avm70] for 6 years at lease before I upgrade so it’s worth it for me and highly probable I will keep this unit until it’s dead.

At 3700 no chance, plus tax I would be at 4100

Knowing you seem keen on the best available measured performance I would say it was lucky for you that you missed the 8012. That one measured not much better than the likes of the SR6014, typically much worse than Denon's. The only one that is comparable or even better in some ways than the Denon AVRs (the AKM DAC onboard ones) is the SR8015, that has the best measurements among all Marantz AV devices including the USD5,499 flagship AV8805A.

 

[ArturoKiwi]

Knowing you seem keen on the best available measured performance I would say it was lucky for you that you missed the 8012. That one measured not much better than the likes of the SR6014, typically much worse than Denon's. The only one that is comparable or even better in some ways than the Denon AVRs (the AKM DAC onboard ones) is the SR8015, that has the best measurements among all Marantz AV devices including the USD5,499 flagship AV8805A.

That is why I am so undecided. At the same price there is SR8015, Cinema 40 and mrx1120. Sometimes the avm60 is a little cheaper.

 

[peng]

That is why I am so undecided. At the same price there is SR8015, Cinema 40 and mrx1120. Sometimes the avm60 is a little cheaper.

I think for most, if not all, people won't be able to tell a difference between the 8012 and 8015, just nice to know your unit has better measurements. If I can get the 8015 and the avm60 I would definitely take the 8015 and use it as preamp mode, but I doubt you can get them for the same price.

 

[ArturoKiwi]

I think for most, if not all, people won't be able to tell a difference between the 8012 and 8015, just nice to know your unit has better measurements. If I can get the 8015 and the avm60 I would definitely take the 8015 and use it as preamp mode, but I doubt you can get them for the same price.

Comparing the new one SR8015 is 1000€ cheaper than the AVM60. If you compare them used is the avm60 to be cheaper, about 700€

 

[Descartes]

That is why I am so undecided. At the same price there is SR8015, Cinema 40 and mrx1120. Sometimes the avm60 is a little cheaper.

I am selling an AVM 60!

 

[MegaHerzz]

Is there a way to play hi res 192khz music on the avm70, I am out of luck if my Mac book air M1. It seems older M1 are capped at 48khz via the hdmi! Any other methods to connect to it and be able to play hi res, sucks Roon is not there otherwise that would have been the solution. Any suggestions?

 

[MacCali]

Knowing you seem keen on the best available measured performance I would say it was lucky for you that you missed the 8012. That one measured not much better than the likes of the SR6014, typically much worse than Denon's. The only one that is comparable or even better in some ways than the Denon AVRs (the AKM DAC onboard ones) is the SR8015, that has the best measurements among all Marantz AV devices including the USD5,499 flagship AV8805A.

Oh really? Thought the 8012 was a decent performer. Maybe I did dodge a bullet lol

 

[MacCali]

Comparing the new one SR8015 is 1000€ cheaper than the AVM60. If you compare them used is the avm60 to be cheaper, about 700€

You can always try the 6700H I seen them selling for probably 2600 your price.

Just with denon really skeptical with the lack of akm implementation. They just made me spend way more money lol

 

[peng]

I can also confirm that my AVM70 has the ES9010K2M... Maybe this explains why I'm not too impressed with the sound. The review done by Amir showed how good the unit meassured, thus I was very surprised by all the distortions and clipping I have encountered (several others have repported this behavior too). Maybe they rushed the "swap"?

Hello, I just noticed you said you could confirm that, but how? I only read about the ES9010K2M that someone took a photo but couldn't remember where I read it from. It's not too important, just being curious that's all. The only confirmation we have from Anthem is the ES9038Q3M, so the 9010K2M, if actually used, would have been just for a brief period, no one seems to have any evidence of it. Thank you.

 

[Renehc]

Hello.

When looking through the lid, I can see an AKM 5574 ADC. Can’t see the DAC’s.
but since it has an AKM ADC, does that mean that the DAC’s will be 4490EQ?.. or can the DAC’s still be ESS DAC’s?

 

[peng]

Hello.

When looking through the lid, I can see an AKM 5574 ADC. Can’t see the DAC’s.
but since it has an AKM ADC, does that mean that the DAC’s will be 4490EQ?.. or can the DAC’s still be ESS DAC’s?

Probably, mine has the ES9822pro ADC, just not sure about the DAC. Do you know which FW version yours had out of the box before you update it? And when was it shipped, approximately. That might be a good indicator but may be not.

 

[Renehc]

Probably, mine has the ES9822pro ADC, just not sure about the DAC. Do you know which FW version yours had out of the box before you update it? And when was it shipped, approximately. That might be a good indicator but may be not.

Probably what then?.. a bit confused, I actually asked two questions


Did you see the ADC through the lid in the top right corner? ..
You mentioned one that took a photo of the ESS 9010K2M (attached!) - a guy on avsforum did that. Funny he found an 9010K2M when looking the same place through the lid.. but is that not a DAC, and not an ADC? (I really don’t know much about chips…)

I don’t know about which FW it had when arriving. I also bought it used. I do know the former owner got it as a replacement around May 2021.

 

[peng]

Probably what then?.. a bit confused, I actually asked two questions


Did you see the ADC through the lid in the top right corner? ..
You mentioned one that took a photo of the ESS 9010K2M (attached!) - a guy on avsforum did that. Funny he found an 9010K2M when looking the same place through the lid.. but is that not a DAC, and not an ADC? (I really don’t know much about chips…)

I don’t know about which FW it had when arriving. I also bought it used. I do know the former owner got it as a replacement around May 2021.

My point is, we are all just guessing. That 9010 K2M in the photo could be for Z2 because if it is for the main zone as well, there would be many more, not just 2 that I could see on that board.

Too bad Anthem did not provide the details, they did say they were using the 9038Q2M, that is a much higher end one than the 9010 and cost much more. You can Google them for price if you want to know.

Again, yes, we know the 9010 have been used in the AVM70 but since Anthem has only confirmed the ES9038Q2M, the 9010 people took the photo of might be used for Z2 Only. Other manufacturers such as Yamaha, D+M, Onkyo etc. all use cheaper dac chips for Z2.

I hate to guess, so if you really want to know, email Anthem for a clear answer and ask if some uses the 9010 for the main zone and some use for the 9038Q2M. I don't think you will get a definitive answer but it takes a minute to ask them the question. No harm trying..

As for ADC, no doubt I saw the ES9822 that has excellent SINAD spec., can't ask for anything better. It was located above the red box in your attached photo. That's all I can say and I hope you are not more confused.

Photo of the impressive ADC, ES9822QPRO, 117 dB SINAD, 125 dB DR. You can see it with a good flash light and camera:

 

[Rainbowsong2000]

Hi,

I am thinking of upgrading my Denon AVR 4500 to Anthem AVM 70 processor, I am running my 4500 already with Parasound 5125 and Tonewinner 7300 PA power amps.

Is there any other choice I can consider other than AVRM70.

Thanks

 

[HiFi 5.2]

Hi guys, I'm new in this forum so maybe you have already addressed this question but I would be very grateful if somebody could clarify. How many volts VRMS does the XLR outputs of a AVM 70 put out what I can see on their website it should put out 10 VRMS or am I reading this the wrong way?

 

[peng]

Hi guys, I'm new in this forum so maybe you have already addressed this question but I would be very grateful if somebody could clarify. How many volts VRMS does the XLR outputs of a AVM 70 put out what I can see on their website it should put out 10 VRMS or am I reading this the wrong way?

You are reading it right, the manual says:

So expect 5 V for the RCA outputs

PREAMPLIFIER (MEASURED AT XLR OUTPUT)​
Maximum Output (<0.1% THD)​	10.7 VRMS, Subwoofer 11 VRMS​

I am sure you already know but would still like to mention that in most cases, for normal use it will likely output no more than 2 V, in my case probably less than 1 V even during ithe highest peak for music or 1.5 V for movie when I really crank the volume up. The actual maximum is will depend on your speaker's sensitivity, listening distance, maximum spl you need, power amp's gain, power amp's maximum output, and the contents you watch/listen to.

 

[HiFi 5.2]

You are reading it right, the manual says:

So expect 5 V for the RCA outputs

PREAMPLIFIER (MEASURED AT XLR OUTPUT)​
Maximum Output (<0.1% THD)​	10.7 VRMS, Subwoofer 11 VRMS​

I am sure you already know but would still like to mention that in most cases, for normal use it will likely output no more than 2 V, in my case probably less than 1 V even during ithe highest peak for music or 1.5 V for movie when I really crank the volume up. The actual maximum is will depend on your speaker's sensitivity, listening distance, maximum spl you need, power amp's gain, power amp's maximum output, and the contents you watch/listen to.

OK, thanks for the reply, but would it be any difference in sound if I were to buy a processor instead of anthems AV amplifiers because they can output 5 VRMS.