Need advice: Anthem MRX 540 vs Denon X3600H

[JFG98]

Hello, I am extremely new to home audio so any and all help is appreciated. I have the chance to grab an MRX 540 (with ARC and mic kit) for $750 USD or an X3600H (without mic) for $500. I have just started scrounging up components for my setup, which so far is only a pair of B&W 607 S3s, and I was additionally looking at someone offering a combo of a Martin Logan SLMX3 (I was looking at getting this as a center channel purely for dialogue/vocal clarity but I’m not sure if it’s necessary) and Dynamo 700 for $600. So my questions are which of the two AVRs would you choose, and what else should I grab to finish my setup. Additional context: I live in an apartment so I cannot be blasting any setup regardless of how much I spend, but I want to buy something worth keeping for at least another 5 if not more years. Any other suggestions are welcome, thank you!

 

[Miker 1102]

Hello, I am extremely new to home audio so any and all help is appreciated. I have the chance to grab an MRX 540 (with ARC and mic kit) for $750 USD or an X3600H (without mic) for $500. I have just started scrounging up components for my setup, which so far is only a pair of B&W 607 S3s, and I was additionally looking at someone offering a combo of a Martin Logan SLMX3 (I was looking at getting this as a center channel purely for dialogue/vocal clarity but I’m not sure if it’s necessary) and Dynamo 700 for $600. So my questions are which of the two AVRs would you choose, and what else should I grab to finish my setup. Additional context: I live in an apartment so I cannot be blasting any setup regardless of how much I spend, but I want to buy something worth keeping for at least another 5 if not more years. Any other suggestions are welcome, thank you!

Any chance you thought about an rz30? Gives you Dirac, 100 watts, hdmi 2.1, and you can pick one up on accessories for less for a good price. If you are going for used, 3600 all thr way. Its well made. I am using a 4500 and its a beast. The AKM dac was imomented well in this line.

 

[Nondemo01]

I'm biased as I'm a Denon and Marantz guy. I was able to get a great deal on an open box Denon AVR-X4700H and compared it to Anthem's MRX 740. I won't try to compare "sound quality", but will comment on day-to-day usability. The Denon just worked all the time every time. The Anthem would have HDMI handshake issues and drove me crazy. I think they've gotten better with firmware updates, but usability issues made me return it. I will give it to Anthem for their ARC room correction, but for my needs, I kept the Denon and got my room "good enough" with Audyssey. Pretty sure Amir tested the 3600H and recommends it so there's that. Apartments are tricky, but I recommend multiple subs. You can play each at a lower volume and get better coverage. Kinda counter intuitive but try it. I think you'll be happy. Hope that helps.

 

[Chrispy]

This is a nice way of comparing them https://www.zkelectronics.com/compare/denon-avr-x3600h/anthem-mrx-540-8k

For me, I'd take the Denon, find Anthem much more expensive new for no advantage.

 

[JFG98]

Any chance you thought about an rz30? Gives you Dirac, 100 watts, hdmi 2.1, and you can pick one up on accessories for less for a good price. If you are going for used, 3600 all thr way. Its well made. I am using a 4500 and its a beast. The AKM dac was imomented well in this line.

Yeah I’m not sure I’d be able to get an RZ30 for that price since I’m going for used and I think this is the cheapest 3600 I’ve seen, even if it’s missing the mic I’m assuming there are other ways to do room correction(?).

 

[JFG98]

I'm biased as I'm a Denon and Marantz guy. I was able to get a great deal on an open box Denon AVR-X4700H and compared it to Anthem's MRX 740. I won't try to compare "sound quality", but will comment on day-to-day usability. The Denon just worked all the time every time. The Anthem would have HDMI handshake issues and drove me crazy. I think they've gotten better with firmware updates, but usability issues made me return it. I will give it to Anthem for their ARC room correction, but for my needs, I kept the Denon and got my room "good enough" with Audyssey. Pretty sure Amir tested the 3600H and recommends it so there's that. Apartments are tricky, but I recommend multiple subs. You can play each at a lower volume and get better coverage. Kinda counter intuitive but try it. I think you'll be happy. Hope that helps.

Okay this is good to know because I mainly want to use it for video games and movies, and also some music, so if it’s going to have handshake issues I absolutely don’t want to deal with that!

 

[Nondemo01]

Yeah I’m not sure I’d be able to get an RZ30 for that price since I’m going for used and I think this is the cheapest 3600 I’ve seen, even if it’s missing the mic I’m assuming there are other ways to do room correction(?).

You can get a replacement Audyssey mic from Amazon.

 

[JFG98]

This is a nice way of comparing them https://www.zkelectronics.com/compare/denon-avr-x3600h/anthem-mrx-540-8k

For me, I'd take the Denon, find Anthem much more expensive new for no advantage.

Awesome okay, thanks!

You can get a replacement Audyssey mic from Amazon.

Good shout, definitely think I will grab the Denon then, thanks!