Anthem MRX1140 AVR Review

[Chanur]

I'm wanting to move up to a set up that's better for a Hybrid HiFi/Video set up 50/50. Would moving up to something like this or an equally priced Arcam or Marrantz be the way to go vs a cheaper AVR and a separate amp or stereo receiver?

Furthermore if I bought this receiver or the others mentioned would adding a separate amp help improve the sound? If so what kind of price range would I have to go to, to get the improvement?

Sorry if the questions are dumb as this thought is kind of new to me.

 

[dlaloum]

Many of us have moved from various brands to Denon/Marantz simply to gain access to Dirac ART... which is a paradigm shift in what is possible "in room"...

The Anthem's, Arcam's, JBL, Onkyo and others are all good, and provide various features, power levels etc.... but for the money, a Denon X3800 provides pretty much all the features you are likely to want, and can also host Dirac ART (which needs to be purchased seperately and is not cheap, although it IS great value, given what it achieves). - Depending on where in the world you are, the well nigh identical Marantz versions can be very closely price matched to their Denon siblings, or may be more expensive.... (in the EU Marantz and Denon are often priced very similarly, where in other regions, Marantz fetches a premium.... this is primarily marketing, not performance!)

I went from a relatively economical Integra DRX3.4 (which I used with external amps to feed my difficult speakers), to a Denon X4800 (which drives my speakers directly, and has no issue doing so) - mostly so I could step up to Dirac ART...

Telling us what sort of speakers and what size room you have would help in identifying rough orders of magnitude for power amp sizing... also if you have a specific budget in mind that would help too... very good AVR's can be had from under US$1000 to over US$10,000...

Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer often provide fantastic value in the under $5000 range (from around US$700)

If you don't care about things like Dirac ART, and you aren't planning on using height speakers (Atmos, etc...) then there may even be more economical options among the 7.1 channel AVR's (although anything premium is likely to be at least 11 channel nowadays, which does not mean you have to use all of those channels)

 

[Chanur]

Many of us have moved from various brands to Denon/Marantz simply to gain access to Dirac ART... which is a paradigm shift in what is possible "in room"...

The Anthem's, Arcam's, JBL, Onkyo and others are all good, and provide various features, power levels etc.... but for the money, a Denon X3800 provides pretty much all the features you are likely to want, and can also host Dirac ART (which needs to be purchased seperately and is not cheap, although it IS great value, given what it achieves). - Depending on where in the world you are, the well nigh identical Marantz versions can be very closely price matched to their Denon siblings, or may be more expensive.... (in the EU Marantz and Denon are often priced very similarly, where in other regions, Marantz fetches a premium.... this is primarily marketing, not performance!)

I went from a relatively economical Integra DRX3.4 (which I used with external amps to feed my difficult speakers), to a Denon X4800 (which drives my speakers directly, and has no issue doing so) - mostly so I could step up to Dirac ART...

Telling us what sort of speakers and what size room you have would help in identifying rough orders of magnitude for power amp sizing... also if you have a specific budget in mind that would help too... very good AVR's can be had from under US$1000 to over US$10,000...

Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer often provide fantastic value in the under $5000 range (from around US$700)

If you don't care about things like Dirac ART, and you aren't planning on using height speakers (Atmos, etc...) then there may even be more economical options among the 7.1 channel AVR's (although anything premium is likely to be at least 11 channel nowadays, which does not mean you have to use all of those channels)

Right now I'm just running 2.1 . I'm using some Philharmonic BMR towers and a cheap BIC F12 sub. I'm looking to move away from my old Sony ZA1100ES . I can't get the rest of the Philharmonic set up because the AVR is only 6 ohm rated from what I can find. I am not in a hurry to expand past 2 channel but I probably will eventually. The two channel I have sounds way better than the Klipsch 5 channel I had previously.

I want a set up that will be great for 2 channel music and home theater since this is all in my living room. No space for a listening room.

Not sure the best way to go about it. AVR only, AVR plus an amp, or some kind of switch and running an AVR and a stereo receiver for HiFi etc. I am even considering getting some on wall high SPL home theater speakers. Most of this stuff would be long term plans though.

Then there is the fact I had two old Denon models that died in the past from heat. The brand makes me nervous but always seems the best value proposition.They were always on an open shelf. My gear will end up going into this to make the wife happy in the future. So I want something that won't burn itself up.

So I'm open to all ideas. I am pretty sure I'll be getting the AVR or what ever I decide upon in the next two months. I really want something that will last a long time even if just as a processor eventually.

 

[Mark609]

I use the internal amps to drive all speakers (but 2 subs), 7.2.4. Plenty of power unless you're driving really insensitive speakers.

FWIW, SVS just ran a really big promo on speakers, some new some with blemishes but warranteed. I've got their new SB-5000 Ultra Revolution being delivered today. https://www.svsound.com/collections/outlet-specials

 

[dlaloum]

Right now I'm just running 2.1 . I'm using some Philharmonic BMR towers and a cheap BIC F12 sub. I'm looking to move away from my old Sony ZA1100ES . I can't get the rest of the Philharmonic set up because the AVR is only 6 ohm rated from what I can find. I am not in a hurry to expand past 2 channel but I probably will eventually. The two channel I have sounds way better than the Klipsch 5 channel I had previously.

I want a set up that will be great for 2 channel music and home theater since this is all in my living room. No space for a listening room.

Not sure the best way to go about it. AVR only, AVR plus an amp, or some kind of switch and running an AVR and a stereo receiver for HiFi etc. I am even considering getting some on wall high SPL home theater speakers. Most of this stuff would be long term plans though.

Then there is the fact I had two old Denon models that died in the past from heat. The brand makes me nervous but always seems the best value proposition.They were always on an open shelf. My gear will end up going into this to make the wife happy in the future. So I want something that won't burn itself up.

View attachment 510538

So I'm open to all ideas. I am pretty sure I'll be getting the AVR or what ever I decide upon in the next two months. I really want something that will last a long time even if just as a processor eventually.

I would suggest that you remove the front glass doors, and ensure rear ventilation as well, also plan to provide at least a couple of inches of space above the AVR... alternatively, consider sitting the AVR on top of the cabinet rather than inside it.

Yes current generation AVR's run cooler than the most of the previous generations - but they are still meaty components that can use a lot of power and do generate heat - and you need to move that heat away....

Another option, is to remove the front glass doors and fit an AC Infinity cooler on top of the AVR, blowing forwards out of the cabinet.... The AC Infinity coolers are thermostatically triggered, so they will turn on / speed up as temperatures rise and vice versa - many an AVR has been saved this way!

 

[EWL5]

I would suggest that you remove the front glass doors, and ensure rear ventilation as well, also plan to provide at least a couple of inches of space above the AVR... alternatively, consider sitting the AVR on top of the cabinet rather than inside it.

Yes current generation AVR's run cooler than the most of the previous generations - but they are still meaty components that can use a lot of power and do generate heat - and you need to move that heat away....

Another option, is to remove the front glass doors and fit an AC Infinity cooler on top of the AVR, blowing forwards out of the cabinet.... The AC Infinity coolers are thermostatically triggered, so they will turn on / speed up as temperatures rise and vice versa - many an AVR has been saved this way!

I actually have my cabinet doors completely removed. There's plenty of heat in this setup so I can't imagine the heat buildup were the wood doors to be attached and closed!

 

[Chanur]

I would suggest that you remove the front glass doors, and ensure rear ventilation as well, also plan to provide at least a couple of inches of space above the AVR... alternatively, consider sitting the AVR on top of the cabinet rather than inside it.

Yes current generation AVR's run cooler than the most of the previous generations - but they are still meaty components that can use a lot of power and do generate heat - and you need to move that heat away....

Another option, is to remove the front glass doors and fit an AC Infinity cooler on top of the AVR, blowing forwards out of the cabinet.... The AC Infinity coolers are thermostatically triggered, so they will turn on / speed up as temperatures rise and vice versa - many an AVR has been saved this way!

Supposedly they have venting in the back. I would probably add an exhaust fan or something. I definitely will check out the cooler fan you mentioned and talk to the Wife about no doors.

 

[dlaloum]

Supposedly they have venting in the back. I would probably add an exhaust fan or something. I definitely will check out the cooler fan you mentioned and talk to the Wife about no doors.

If you have an appropriately positioned rear opening, and some space behind the cabinet for airflow, you could potentially fit a rear blower AC Infinity unit... but you might need to provide an air inlet near the bottom, and position the AVR near the top - that way you can get proper airflow happening without being too "obvious" about the engineering involved!