amicusterrae
Member
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2020
- Messages
- 57
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- 54
I have been very happy with ARC through several generations. I, too, find it very easy to use. I tried Dirac Live and never could get the subs and mains to balance right. Drove me crazy. It felt like I was changing phone operating systemsNot necessarily. I prefer ARC Genesis to Audyssey personally - ARC is a real room correction system that handles bass management internally and has simple but useful target curve adjustments - but with the iOS app you can get good results from Audyssey XT32 too. However, if you go immersive and like to up mix music unfortunately IMO Anthem is out of the running because they have thus far failed to license Auro3D/Auromatic.
I do upmix stereo recordings though and do not care for DTS:X or Dolby Surround for music. FWIW, my last gen Anthem receiver's Anthem Cinema and Music modes, which I like a lot, do utilize my ceiling height speakers. It's subtle and not comparable to the Atmos content I stream from Apple Music. I would love to hear Auro3d/Aromatic in my room, but am not willing to give up ARC for it right now.
Denon is a quality brand, and the stellar measurements in the numerous reviews posted here indicate the company is focused on science. Seems hard to go wrong with any Denon unit that has the features you need.
I don't think about longevity much with A/V receivers/processors anymore. Competent repair technicians are few and far between these days, and I question the durability of such complex devices. The shift to digital amplification and less heat should help longevity, but, it may be a moot point, as the pace of new features has been outpacing lifespan anyway. Then again how much longer can the manufacturers keep marketing upgrades?! I've had six receivers since 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS was introduced, plus a couple of demos. Maybe I am part of the problem