Anthem AVM90 AV Processor Review

[Oddball]

It is okay, this is an ASR thread, not that 1527 pages AVSF thread.

AVSF . Would not go back there if they were offering $1K discount to any audio or video product. There is a price for decency, and we generally get it right on this and some other forums.

 

[Sal1950]

There is a price for decency,

Thats up to you Oddball, Even at my age, I often enjoy gettin indecent.

 

[Oddball]

Thats up to you Oddball, Even at my age, I often enjoy gettin indecent.

We all have to choose our own paths. I would not go back but many exist there happily ever after . Good luck to you all, as they say.

Funny enough, in last two years they have not commented or invented anything that would be meaningful in the AV world. Still keep an eye on them as a guest. The fact that they are the largest AV forum really does not count much. They have some great advanced member and I am sad they did not decide to branch out to our forum.

 

[Sal1950]

AVSF .

AVSF isn't without it charms. The "Official" threads for various pieces of gear oft contain some good pieces of info on firmware updates, the good and bad.
Also if you wade thru the phoolishness, folks with solid info on setting configurations, etc. But you got to have patience.

 

[Snappy]

Is the cost worth going from a 70 to the 90 ??

I already owned an Anthem STR for 2-channel and was using Home Theater Bypass with a Denon AVR. My dealer offered to give me a larger discount to compensate me for challenges we were dealing with for another manufacturer's product they had sold me. I expressed an interest in one of the Anthem AVM's and they recommended I wait for one of the Anthem sales that come up a couple times a year. Due to the Anthem sale price, coupled with a nice additional discount from my dealer, I opted for the AVM90.

Always work with your local dealer to negotiate additional discounts and the better relationship you have with them, the larger the likely additional discount.

While I installed the AVM90 in my 5.2 family room, I may decide to someday switch it with the Marantz AV-7705 currently in my 7.3.4 basement theater. I don't have a desire to do that anytime soon.

Music is the priority in my family room. While I use the STR for most 2-channel music listening, I use the AVM90 for multi-channel SACD, DVD-A, and BluRay music videos. (And of course TV and Movies). From my research, the AVM90 has a better DAC than the AVM70 and was preferred by users prioritising music. I doubt I would notice much difference but took advantage of the stacked discounts.

 

[peng]

From my research, the AVM90 has a better DAC than the AVM70 and was preferred by users prioritising music. I doubt I would notice much difference but took advantage of the stacked discounts.

That is very true, the 90 uses the ES9038Pro, versus the 70's ES9038Q2M. Both have almost the same THD+N spec but the 9038Pro has 4 dB better DNR that practically means nothing because even the 9038Q2M's 129 dB is more than enough for normal or even super humans.

So I would have made my decision based on discounts too if I needed 4 subs.

 

[Descartes]

I think the more correct naming convention for the kinds of layouts these processors can create is "Base level.Subs.Heights". So this particular receiver is a 9.4.6 rather than a 15.4.

My exact configuration 9.4.6!

 

[Sal1950]

My exact configuration 9.4.6!

Yep, hopefully to avoid confusion the pre-Atmos naming convention was the number of bed then subwoofer speakers.
When Atmos came along they just added the number of overheads on the end.

 

[Descartes]

Yep, hopefully to avoid confusion the pre-Atmos naming convention was the number of bed then subwoofer speakers.
When Atmos came along they just added the number of overheads on the end.

4 subs one in each corner of the room as according to Floyd, and 6 in ceiling for ATMOS!

 

[Oddball]

4 subs one in each corner of the room as according to Floyd, and 6 in ceiling for ATMOS!

Now that is one admirable setup and hope you are enjoying it.

 

[Sal1950]

Now that is one admirable setup and hope you are enjoying it.

Nope, I hate him for having such flexibility !!! JK

 

[hwest]

No, it should be the same, but if you have amps that have lower gains, such as many of the Hypex, or Purifi based amps, XLR may be better because of the higher voltage. Also, as GXAlan mentioned a few times, and on that I agree with him, that if you have higher gain amps, say 29 dB or higher, there is a good chance that RCA will do better, in terms of lower THD+N, aka higher SINAD, over the range of the output range you will likely be within when watching movies or music.

That being said, the AVM 90 has such lower distortions and noise, any such differences will likely be only on paper, but not really audible. Some people may disagree as they might have much better ears and more discerning than average and may have very quiet room that needs noise level to be exceptionally low.

I agree, I saw Amir's review of the RCA vs the XLR and I tried to find any difference in measurements and I could not see any graphed noise using all of my measuring tools.

 

[Descartes]

Now that is one admirable setup and hope you are enjoying it.

Thank you!

 

[Descartes]

Nope, I hate him for having such flexibility !!! JK

Such strong feelings and emotions, peace

 

[tdmoon]

AV10

 

[hwest]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Anthem AVM90 home theater 15.4 channel Audio/Video Processor. It was sent to me by the company and is on sale for US $6375.
View attachment 336184
As you see, the AVM90 sports a gorgeous, high contrast and large display. It is a joy to navigate this feature as it is backed by a speedy processor. To wit, hitting the setup button almost instantly brings up the menus. On many consumer level processors you wait good few seconds before anything shows up. I am also pleased by the nice/smooth feeling when turning volume/menu selector. On almost all consumer brands the volume control is very stiff and unsatisfying. The slight downside is that on-screen (video) is limited to two lines that are overlaid at the bottom.

My reviews are focused on performance and not functionality. In this class of product though, you better do good bit of research into the latter as there are significant differences. As an example, check out the above subwoofer submenu. There are whopping 22 options there! Everything is seemingly programmable down to deciding if plugging in a headphone turns off the speakers or not.

Back panel shows a more modern take on inputs/outputs, leaving behind legacy options:
View attachment 336186

I liked the simple input menu to select sources with very large icons and instant response of the remote control.

Note that you get a professional quality microphone setup for room calibration and everything is included. Competing consumer products come with decidedly cheesy microphone/stands and advanced Room EQ costs extra.

Measurements were performed after updating the unit to the last firmware.

Anthem AVM90 Processor Measurements
When products have balanced output, I usually focus on that as it usually provides better performance and of course, resilience to ground loops. Such was NOT the case here:
View attachment 336188
That is already good performance but we actually get more by switching to RCA out:
View attachment 336190
I asked Anthem if the XLR output was derived from unbalanced and they said that was the case (we saw the same in a processor I recently reviewed). Going with the better of the two, the AVM90 lands right next to its closest competitor in this price range:

View attachment 336191

Here is how performance varies if you sweep digital input or keep that the same and use the volume control:
View attachment 336192
View attachment 336193

Note that above is with RCA out if you compare it to other tested units with XLR's higher output level.

Dynamic range is excellent by AV standards:
View attachment 336194
Same is true of multitone:
View attachment 336196

IMD distortion is again, very good for the class:
View attachment 336195

Jitter test shows fair bit of messiness, fortunately at inaudible levels:
View attachment 336197

I found a familiar muting problem I have seen below -90 dB in other processors:
View attachment 336198
I ran this by Anthem but they could not replicate it. They shared measurements with me that was normal. I have supplied my test project file for them to investigate. Will update the review when I hear more.

The typical filter is deployed here and as with its competitors, could use more out of band attenuation:
View attachment 336200
Frequency response is flat:
View attachment 336201

The less than ideal filtering gives rise to noise in our wideband THD+N sweep at higher frequencies:
View attachment 336202
But doesn't explain the small rise in low frequencies.

Figuring someone will ask about the phono input, here is a quick test of RIAA equalization:
View attachment 336203

Conclusion
We have waited a long time for AV products to break into our "green" level of performance and we finally have a couple of examples with AVM90 being one. So by standards of the category, AVM90 is an excellent offering. Couple of that with very responsive user interface and functionality and you have a very nice package. I hope company aims one grade higher in future products to close the gap further with music-only DACs.

I am happy to recommend the Anthem AVM90 AVP.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

I'm not seeing that high of distortion with R.E.W, running & I'm using the XLR connections, the AVM 90, Emotiva fully differential AMP, B&W 804 D3's. Just some basic Nordst Purple flare cables nothing too expensive since I listen to you on cables aren't doing much for sound. Great overall review I definitely love my setup and particularly this AVM90 compared to many others I have tested.

 

[peng]

I'm not seeing that high of distortion with R.E.W, running & I'm using the XLR connections, the AVM 90, Emotiva fully differential AMP, B&W 804 D3's. Just some basic Nordst Purple flare cables nothing too expensive since I listen to you on cables aren't doing much for sound. Great overall review I definitely love my setup and particularly this AVM90 compared to many others I have tested.

I don't think anyone would consider the AVM90 having high distortion unless one define high if it is higher than -100 dB!

 

[Oddball]

I don't think anyone would consider the AVM90 having high distortion unless one define high if it is higher than -100 dB!

What about the Tide folks? They are just riding high on the 118dB SINAD wave. Isn't that like Tsunami compared do 100dB wave?

 

[Sal1950]

What about the Tide folks

Are we discussing processors or clothes detergents?
I'm so confused.

 

[Oddball]

Are we discussing processors or clothes detergents?
I'm so confused.

Oh Sal - we are out there to discuss anything. But not sure where you get to clothes detergents? A new fetish? If so can give you a few tips as like my laundry perfect. Feel free to PM me so we don't contaminate the thread.