Anthem STR pre-amp

[GD Fan]

Well, you had the 520 with a much never version of ARC.

The MRX300 came with an older version, that was not quite as straight forward. I was allways a bit sad that ARC wasn't upgraded on the MRX300.

I find the latest versions of Dirac fine to work with (note that Dirac got a major overhaul about a year ago), and the sound quality is very good.
Whether its as good as ARC genesis, thats another question altogether, that I cant answer.

I think both are valid choices.

If Savage ran ARC with his phone that seems to me to be a distinct convenience advantage over Dirac, which still (if I'm not mistaken, which frequently I am) requires a laptop or nearby desktop computer.

 

[Sal1950]

If Savage ran ARC with his phone that seems to me to be a distinct convenience advantage over Dirac, which still (if I'm not mistaken, which frequently I am) requires a laptop or nearby desktop computer.

I don't know about that, never used ARC but with the Audyssey Editor app where I can make adjustments to the FR by grabbing the graph anywhere I like and raising or lowering that point, I'd much rather work on my 26" monitor and a mouse than my finger on a tiny cell phone screen.

 

[Frank Dernie]

It is weird that the STR integrated costs just a little more than the preamp. Are the preamps of the two things the same?

Well by far the most expensive parts will be the casing and the power transformer so putting it all in one enclosure and having a big shared power supply will save a huge amount of BOM cost.

 

[KarVi71]

If Savage ran ARC with his phone that seems to me to be a distinct convenience advantage over Dirac, which still (if I'm not mistaken, which frequently I am) requires a laptop or nearby desktop computer.

You can run Dirac of an Android or iOS device. There are apps for and they work quite well.

I prefer the desktop version, as there are more options and its easier to import / export things (target curves and old projects). Its also easier to manipulate the curves precisely, you can even load the targetcurves into a txt editor, and modify them with that.

 

[veeceem]

Well by far the most expensive parts will be the casing and the power transformer so putting it all in one enclosure and having a big shared power supply will save a huge amount of BOM cost.

I can literally lift the Anthem STR preamp with little effort it's super lightweight and have a cheap look, but connectors / buttons / led screen seem reliable -_- I expected more from a $4000 unit (though I had it for $2500). But something this good with all kinds of inputs plus DSP, also has good measured specs, is a bargain, imo

 

[Sparky]

I can literally lift the Anthem STR preamp with little effort it's super lightweight and have a cheap look, but connectors / buttons / led screen seem reliable -_- I expected more from a $4000 unit (though I had it for $2500). But something this good with all kinds of inputs plus DSP, also has good measured specs, is a bargain, imo

Will the STR Pre-amp accept a 5.1 signal via toslink and strip it down to 2.1? If it will, then this will tick the final box for me.

 

[veeceem]

Will the STR Pre-amp accept a 5.1 signal via toslink and strip it down to 2.1? If it will, then this will tick the final box for me.

You can ask Anthem directly for confirmation! They know their products better Just email them

 

[Thomas savage]

If Savage ran ARC with his phone that seems to me to be a distinct convenience advantage over Dirac, which still (if I'm not mistaken, which frequently I am) requires a laptop or nearby desktop computer.

It's better on a desktop or laptop but if you just want to rely on the automatic calibration your phone will get you there.

It comes with a calibrated mic that works with a laptop and a cheap mic for your phone.

For full benefits use a laptop.

I can't see how having phone support is a negative, it's a added convenience.

 

[Sparky]

You can ask Anthem directly for confirmation! They know their products better Just email them

Good call.

 

[Sparky]

Except, I have to wait all weekend for an answer as it mon-fri service only. And, with me being UK based, it'll be late into next week.

 

[Sparky]

"This preamp can allow a user to configure up to a 2.2 channel audio system with either stereo or mono subwoofers."

A quote from the many repeated reviews of this product. This obviously doesn't confirm anything.

 

[veeceem]

It has L/R front and L/R subs which makes it 2.2 at most. U ask if 5.1 optical in can be accepted by the preamp and output as 2.2. Two difference questions, but I assume it's possible, still better to ask Anthem

 

[Sal1950]

Well by far the most expensive parts will be the casing and the power transformer so putting it all in one enclosure and having a big shared power supply will save a huge amount of BOM cost.

Got to give kudos to Anthem for passing some of that savings along to the customer. Some others would have just added the cost of the individual pieces together and then maybe discounted that by 5-10%.
The power output of the integrated is half that of the standalone amp but the price is only 1/2 that of the separates. Not bad.

 

[Spocko]

Any updates Spocko?

I'm still on the fence about this STR Pre-amp as I'm trying figure out how I'll integrate my AVR (which handles all my HDMI and audio decoding) with the STR and a pair of Purifi monoblocks.

Forgot to update thanks for the reminder!
To get straight to the point, out of the box both DACs are excellent and literally indistinguishable to my ears after level matching. BUT the RME is much better for me because (1) volume knob (2) equalizer (3) IEM output. The D90 was rock solid to use, I fed it via USB/Roon directly from my PC. As many here have observed, competently engineered DACs set to neutral (no intentional distortion or colorations) should all sound the same. Comparing both DACs with REW, my in-room (above 250 Hz) and gated window curves for both were identical.

 

[pjug]

Well by far the most expensive parts will be the casing and the power transformer so putting it all in one enclosure and having a big shared power supply will save a huge amount of BOM cost.

I'm not following you. Isn't the big power transformer an additional cost for the integrated and not for the preamp?

 

[JDragon]

I can literally lift the Anthem STR preamp with little effort it's super lightweight and have a cheap look, but connectors / buttons / led screen seem reliable -_- I expected more from a $4000 unit (though I had it for $2500). But something this good with all kinds of inputs plus DSP, also has good measured specs, is a bargain, imo

I'm interested in the Anthem STR preamp so I'm curious - what do you mean by cheap look? The photos look pretty nice - doesn't convey in person?

 

[direstraitsfan98]

I'm interested in the Anthem STR preamp so I'm curious - what do you mean by cheap look? The photos look pretty nice - doesn't convey in person?

Compared to the amp that came before it, the Anthem 225 integrated, its lacking in fit and finish. The front plate isn't metal. The volume knob isnt metal. It's clear corners were cut to keep costs down and keep manufacture in Canada. At least it is made in Canada, though, I am going to take a wild guess and assume that almost all of it's components are shipped over from Malaysia or China, and the amp is simply assembled in Canada.

 

[JDragon]

Compared to the amp that came before it, the Anthem 225 integrated, its lacking in fit and finish. The front plate isn't metal. The volume knob isnt metal. It's clear corners were cut to keep costs down and keep manufacture in Canada. At least it is made in Canada, though, I am going to take a wild guess and assume that almost all of it's components are shipped over from Malaysia or China, and the amp is simply assembled in Canada.

Thanks. I assume the front plate and volume knob are plastic then? Sucks to see that on a $4K MSRP product.

 

[veeceem]

I'm interested in the Anthem STR preamp so I'm curious - what do you mean by cheap look? The photos look pretty nice - doesn't convey in person?

The case is not as thick as other brands, but everything else is fine. Only feel kinda weak when u lift it up or touch it it looks nice from seat

 

[direstraitsfan98]

Thanks. I assume the front plate and volume knob are plastic then? Sucks to see that on a $4K MSRP product.

I don’t think it’s plastic but I don’t think it’s a solid piece of metal, either. The anthem 225, you could literally stand in it and it wouldn’t flex at all.