Anthem MRX 1140 fan noise

[Chrispy]

FWIW I recently got an Aircom T8 when I changed out an avr, as the old avr was a bit taller and couldn't fit one of the Aircom units, but always wanted to try one after all the glowing reports. I'd been using some low profile rear exhaust (and cheaper) coolerguys.com fans set to lowest speed and they were nearly silent, inaudible at my seat at least, up close I could hear them but quieter; the T8 is a bit noisier at its lowest speed, altho still not an issue particularly, and inaudible with anything playing, I just notice it more in an otherwise quiet room from my seat.

 

[peng]

I mean, fans will make noise but there are ways to implement them so they have such low noise-floor, it's going to be fine for 99% of use cases. Sounds like there is a both an implementation problem, and a use of mediocre fans. Anyone with a gaming PC understands this issue.

To be clear, I believe it is a setpoint issue (that is, set too low) edit: I mean in my case, because the unit was never really that warm each time the fan turned on. In other cases, if the fan turned on because the unit was warm/hot enough to trigger the fan in a legit way, then the 2nd issue came in, that is, the fan itself was too noisy and there are quieter ones that Anthem could have used for sure. Mine is the AVM70, so no internal amps and it runs cool. There is no reason for the fan (again, in my case) to turn on when the top is only lukewarm.

 

[jbonn5000]

To be clear, I believe it is a setpoint issue (that is, set too low). Mine is the AVM70, so no internal amps and it runs cool. There is no reason for the fan to turn on when the top is only lukewarm.

Understood. But if the fans are loud when the unit is hot, then it's still an issue. Weird that they'd come on at such a low threshold, but I don't actually care. I care about them being silent enough so when I'm enjoying a $4,000 (USD) AVR, I'm not being distracted by the fan noise. I can't find it right now but I saw someone post a video of the fan noise of their Anthem... that wasn't just blades moving air. It was a bearing issue. I was again shocked that an audio company would even allow such a thing to hit the market. (I'm assuming they stress test their gear)

So I think we're agreeing about it being an implementation issue. I argue the biggest issue is shit fans.

ETA: I don't have an Anthem yet so I'm speaking a bit out of line

 

[peng]

Understood. But if the fans are loud when the unit is hot, then it's still an issue. Weird that they'd come on at such a low threshold, but I don't actually care. I care about them being silent enough so when I'm enjoying a $4,000 (USD) AVR, I'm not being distracted by the fan noise. I can't find it right now but I saw someone post a video of the fan noise of their Anthem... that wasn't just blades moving air. It was a bearing issue. I was again shocked that an audio company would even allow such a thing to hit the market. (I'm assuming they stress test their gear)

So I think we're agreeing about it being an implementation issue. I argue the biggest issue is shit fans.

ETA: I don't have an Anthem yet so I'm speaking a bit out of line

Agreed, I said the same, that the noisy fan is an issue too. Two separate but related issues.

 

[ArturoKiwi]

I have a big monster ADCom 7807. It has very noisy fan, but I discover the fan noise only when I use it for L+R (my NC400 was out of office) and unintentionally managed to clip.
I think that the Anthem MRX suffer of a design problem, because it was easy to put a bigger and silent fan in the project, and an initial firmware problem.

 

[peng]

I have a big monster ADCom 7807. It has very noisy fan, but I discover the fan noise only when I use it for L+R (my NC400 was out of office) and unintentionally managed to clip.
I think that the Anthem MRX suffer of a design problem, because it was easy to put a bigger and silent fan in the project, and an initial firmware problem.

They probably don't sell as many units as Yamaha, Onkyo, D+M and Sony, so they likely have to pay more on parts/components and watch where the money goes more carefully. In this case, it would appear they spent more on the volume control, dac, opamp ICs than others. While it may be justifiable to save the dollars on using a noisier fan in order to use better electronic components, there is no excuse to mess up the design/implementation of the fan control system.

I hope enough people will let their customer support know that the fans are turning on well before the units get warm to the touch, and when they turned on, they sounded like running at full speed. They should be able to raise the set point by 5 to 10 deg C, and start the fan at a lower speed and only increase the speed to maximum if the temperature does not drop within x minutes, etc. They must know this, but unless enough customer let them know of the issue, nothing will happen.

 

[Bren Derlin]

Awesome! That gives me a little more confidence to jump into an Anthem. Do you know if you can dim or turn off the LED display on the Aircom?

Never thought I'd say this, but I'm jumping in the Anthem fray with the MRX 540 8K (yes, I know this is the 1140 thread). Want to give it whirl, and compare it to my x2600H. I really want to give ARC a crack...

...But the problem with the fan seems to be plaguing the entire line-up, from the 540 up to the 1140. Crutchfield knows about this, but not all units have this problem. They mentioned they know a solution, and if my 540 has fan problems, to give them call, and they can walk me through it.

I would have no problem swapping fans: Noctua, Fractal, Thermaltake, Corsair, Arctic... They're all pretty damn good, but I'm kinda partial to "Be Quiet! based on the name alone. In the past, I've used Fractal Design in my custom PC build cases, and they were dead silent - and I was running 7 (three on the CPU water cooler, three on the front of the case, and on the back. Never heard a peep for the two years I owned it. Really hoping I luck out...

 

[DaveN]

I’ve had my Anthem MRX 1140 for a few months and haven’t heard it at all (it probably helps that my hearing is not 100%!). However, I’ve just added an AC Infinity Aircom T8 Fan Cooler due to the tight air space above the Anthem and I can just hear that. The noise from the cooler doesn’t bother me which is probably because I’m used to the low fan noise from the number of heat pumps that we have.

 

[peng]

but not all units have this problem.

I highly doubt that, if Anthem has a half decent QS system, ther is no way only some would have the issue.

More likely, some people are not sensitive to the noise, that is audible from 10 ft but may not be loud enough for them to notice when watching an action movie.

It's a bit like transformer hum, not the ground loop type but the mechanical hum that large audio transformers all make, especially toroids, but many, if not most people don't hear such quiet hum, or not bothered by it. Same for fans in av devices.

 

[Bren Derlin]

More likely, some people are not sensitive to the noise, that is audible from 10 ft but may not be loud enough for them to notice when watching an action movie.

That’s very possible, and so they don't report the problem to Crutchfield. …will be a fun day tomorrow when my Anthem shows up.

 

[jbonn5000]

More likely, some people are not sensitive to the noise, that is audible from 10 ft but may not be loud enough for them to notice when watching an action movie.

That’s very possible, and so they don't report the problem to Crutchfield. …will be a fun day tomorrow when my Anthem shows up.

Definitely let us know what you discover. I've been traveling so waiting until the end of March to order mine.

 

[Bren Derlin]

So far, the fan is absolutely silent. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

This thing is full of bugs out of the box, and you need an Ethernet cable to connect to the receiver. I did most of the set up in my main-floor office, as I don’t have an Ethernet connection in the basement where this receiver will go. That part is ridiculously frustrating. It’s just damn maddening.

Seriously Anthem, stop being so stubborn and stupid - and allow the adjustments to be made using an on a TV menu system like every other receiver. This silliness doesn’t make your receiver special - it makes it exceedingly frustrating. Or at the very least, allow your receiver to locate and connect to a wifi signal without jumping through an unnecessary hoops. I need Google Home App to do this? Really? F-Google.

Anyway….

When I was connected to the Ethernet port, I was able to access the webpage adjustments on my Mac Studio, and told the computer to search for updates. Not much happened, and I couldn’t get Bluetooth nor wifi to work. Like…they weren’t showing up at all (not connected).

Spent a good half hour with a Crutchfield tech person to no resolve, so he’s going to contact Anthem on Tuesday, and get back to me.

So…I shut the receiver off, and powered it back on, and a whole bunch of items began downloading and updating. Felt like it took a good 7-8 minutes. When it was finished, wifi showed up, as well as Bluetooth. I went into my basement, grabbed all of my measurements to the speakers, entered them on my Anthem Web App, took the reciever to the basement, plugged it in and set up the speaker and HDMI cables. Played it for a moment to make sure it was working, and voila. It’s up and running. Then I ran out with the family to have some fun at the Milwaukee Sports Show.

….I’ve been playing with the receiver this morning, haven’t futzed with ARC yet, just using my remote and fine tuning it by ear to my liking (for now) until Crutchfield gets back to me. Wifi still doesn’t work from the basement — says “not connected”. ffffffffuuuuuuuudge!

This thing is ridiculously frustrating, and as I’ve been watching a bunch of familiar movie scenes and listening to music over the past couple of hours, I really want to hate this thing so I have an excuse to send it back, and just get the old reliable Denon. I already have the x2600H, which is moving to the main floor living room to replace an 18 year old Denon AVR3805. Kinda nice to be able to plug the HDMI cables into the receiver, and run one HDMI to the TV without switching cables. Oh. The living room TV is one of the last 60” Samsung plasma TV’s I could find a few years before OLED was released. So…we’re down to one working HDMI port on the TV — definitely needed an AVR upgrade for that TV. Anyway. Denon has been our old reliable for almost 20 years, and it would be so damn convenient to just send the Anthem back and get the x3800H…

But I can’t. As it is, even without ARC implemented yet, the sound on this Anthem is pretty damn stellar. Didn’t really expect this considering the review/measurements here. But damn, I’m glad I decided to bring it in and give it an in-home audition. You really need try the product before you can decide whether a product is not worthy - numbers don't tell you everything...

 

[Bren Derlin]

…One thing I can’t figure out while listening to music - listening to Apple Music lossless through AppleTV 4K - if an album has ATMOS, it automatically plays in ATMOS through the receiver. But if I want to listen to the album in stereo (2.1), I can’t figure out how to change from Dolby Surround to Stereo… I click “mode” on the remote, and can’t switch from what has already been pre-selected by the receiver. I looked in the user manual, and came up dry. Any ideas?

 

[oneeightseven]

…One thing I can’t figure out while listening to music - listening to Apple Music lossless through AppleTV 4K - if an album has ATMOS, it automatically plays in ATMOS through the receiver. But if I want to listen to the album in stereo (2.1), I can’t figure out how to change from Dolby Surround to Stereo… I click “mode” on the remote, and can’t switch from what has already been pre-selected by the receiver. I looked in the user manual, and came up dry. Any ideas?

I’m sure an owner will give you better advice (I’m still researching and considering purchasing an Anthem AVR). But until they do, you could switch the sound to stereo from the Apple TV. Not ideal.

Play audio in Dolby Atmos or surround sound on your Apple TV - Apple Support

Learn which audio formats are supported on Apple TV and the setup you need to play sound in the highest quality.

support.apple.com

 

[Bren Derlin]

I’m sure an owner will give you better advice (I’m still researching). But until they do, you could switch the sound to stereo from the Apple TV. Not ideal.

Play audio in Dolby Atmos or surround sound on your Apple TV - Apple Support

Learn which audio formats are supported on Apple TV and the setup you need to play sound in the highest quality.

support.apple.com

Does that support playing 2.1? Or simply 2.0, negating the sub. Will give it a try later tonight.

 

[oneeightseven]

Does that support playing 2.1? Or simply 2.0, negating the sub. Will give it a try later tonight.

Did you set your front speakers to crossover at 80Hz? I would expect it to use the sub for the low frequencies in stereo if you did.

 

[Bren Derlin]

Yes. So it’s just automatic? Cool.

 

[ascl]

I highly doubt that, if Anthem has a half decent QS system, ther is no way only some would have the issue.

More likely, some people are not sensitive to the noise, that is audible from 10 ft but may not be loud enough for them to notice when watching an action movie.

It's a bit like transformer hum, not the ground loop type but the mechanical hum that large audio transformers all make, especially toroids, but many, if not most people don't hear such quiet hum, or not bothered by it. Same for fans in av devices.

I really wish they'd address this issue, I'm sensitive to fan noise, and as much as many people are not (the PC world is hilarious for "quiet" fans that, to me, sound like jet engines), the lack of proper responses to people's reports of fan noise completely put me off, and I've purchased a Denon 4800 instead. Clicking noises changing mode I'm okay with, fan noise not so much.

 

[peng]

…One thing I can’t figure out while listening to music - listening to Apple Music lossless through AppleTV 4K - if an album has ATMOS, it automatically plays in ATMOS through the receiver. But if I want to listen to the album in stereo (2.1), I can’t figure out how to change from Dolby Surround to Stereo… I click “mode” on the remote, and can’t switch from what has already been pre-selected by the receiver. I looked in the user manual, and came up dry. Any ideas?

Since the Amazon Fire stick 4K Max became so cheap, I no longer use my non 4K App TV but could hook it back up and troubleshoot for you if you couldn't find the reason, but I am sure if you take a detailed look of the settings and pick the right option you will be able to select stereo. That's based on my experience with the Firestick and my AVM4K, depending on the settings on the Firestick, I may or may not have the "stereo" option, though "all channel stereo" is always selectable. If you are used to D+M like I am, you will find Anthem's approach very different. And the manual is ridiculously brief, just compare the number of pages with D+M's and you will the difference. That must have resulted in unnecessarily heavy work load for Anthem support lol..

 

[peng]

So far, the fan is absolutely silent. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

This thing is full of bugs out of the box, and you need an Ethernet cable to connect to the receiver. I did most of the set up in my main-floor office, as I don’t have an Ethernet connection in the basement where this receiver will go. That part is ridiculously frustrating. It’s just damn maddening.

Seriously Anthem, stop being so stubborn and stupid - and allow the adjustments to be made using an on a TV menu system like every other receiver. This silliness doesn’t make your receiver special - it makes it exceedingly frustrating. Or at the very least, allow your receiver to locate and connect to a wifi signal without jumping through an unnecessary hoops. I need Google Home App to do this? Really? F-Google.

Anyway….

When I was connected to the Ethernet port, I was able to access the webpage adjustments on my Mac Studio, and told the computer to search for updates. Not much happened, and I couldn’t get Bluetooth nor wifi to work. Like…they weren’t showing up at all (not connected).

Spent a good half hour with a Crutchfield tech person to no resolve, so he’s going to contact Anthem on Tuesday, and get back to me.

So…I shut the receiver off, and powered it back on, and a whole bunch of items began downloading and updating. Felt like it took a good 7-8 minutes. When it was finished, wifi showed up, as well as Bluetooth. I went into my basement, grabbed all of my measurements to the speakers, entered them on my Anthem Web App, took the reciever to the basement, plugged it in and set up the speaker and HDMI cables. Played it for a moment to make sure it was working, and voila. It’s up and running. Then I ran out with the family to have some fun at the Milwaukee Sports Show.

….I’ve been playing with the receiver this morning, haven’t futzed with ARC yet, just using my remote and fine tuning it by ear to my liking (for now) until Crutchfield gets back to me. Wifi still doesn’t work from the basement — says “not connected”. ffffffffuuuuuuuudge!

This thing is ridiculously frustrating, and as I’ve been watching a bunch of familiar movie scenes and listening to music over the past couple of hours, I really want to hate this thing so I have an excuse to send it back, and just get the old reliable Denon. I already have the x2600H, which is moving to the main floor living room to replace an 18 year old Denon AVR3805. Kinda nice to be able to plug the HDMI cables into the receiver, and run one HDMI to the TV without switching cables. Oh. The living room TV is one of the last 60” Samsung plasma TV’s I could find a few years before OLED was released. So…we’re down to one working HDMI port on the TV — definitely needed an AVR upgrade for that TV. Anyway. Denon has been our old reliable for almost 20 years, and it would be so damn convenient to just send the Anthem back and get the x3800H…

But I can’t. As it is, even without ARC implemented yet, the sound on this Anthem is pretty damn stellar. Didn’t really expect this considering the review/measurements here. But damn, I’m glad I decided to bring it in and give it an in-home audition. You really need try the product before you can decide whether a product is not worthy - numbers don't tell you everything...

Welcome to the alternate universe (since you are from the D+M's), and congrats too, since you find the "sound stellar"! One thing for sure, it is rare (if any) to see any negative reviews on these newer Anthem's on forums in terms of sound quality. Most negatives seem to be about the fan noise (only in some cases, apparently..), and the way ARCG handles the bass.