Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Anthem 520/720 Denon X4200?

I currently own the RXA-1000 considering replacing it with the 520/720 or the X4200...wondering for both music & movies would it(520/720/4200) outperform my RXA-1000 by a noticeable difference especially for music??...I'm using Axiom M80v3(which I'm enjoying alot!!!) speakers as mains.. VP150 as my center...the Yamaha seems to be fine with the M80's has no problem driving them so the Anthem/Denon shouldn't either? I never use the dsp modes that the Yamaha has looking to improve the sound quality more then "bells & Whistles.Thanks for any help!

Bruce, good to hear that you're enjoying your new M80 refurbs. As to the amplifier changes that you're considering, you should expect no "noticeable difference" in the basic amplified sound with any of these receivers. As with all well-designed modern units, when operated within their designed power limits, noise and distortion are inaudibly low and frequency response is audibly flat across the spectrum. The rating on your RX-A1000 is 105 watts/channel and the others vary between 80 watts(Anthem 520)and 125 watts(Denon X4200). This is only about a 2dB difference in maximum output level and it's unlikely to be significant when listening.

One difference that may affect the sound quality that you experience is the difference in room correction processing. Yamaha uses its YPAO, while Anthem uses ARC(Anthem Room Correction)and the X4200 has the highest grade Audyssey MultEQ XT32. While reports vary, ARC and MultEQ XT32 are generally viewed as superior. So, it's this factor which may be significant, rather than any inherent audible differences in the amplifiers in these receivers.

I have owned Denon since the beginning ( Of my time ) 900, 1802, 3802, 3804, 3808. I then had a lightening strike and took out the reciever amongst others. They replaced it with a Pioneer Elite, that didn't stay long, Marantz was short lived. I got a Anthem 500 and things changed. This out performed them all, and I love ARC.
Do not let the 80w to 125 w fool you either. The Anthem sounds better to me. I have M80v3 speakers also.
My next purchase is either MCA720 or AVM60

I have not used a Denon processor so I can't comment on how they sound. I had my stereo temporarily setup in the front sitting room of my house while I made my own dedicated music/media room in the basement. After moving down, I found that the sound i was getting was not as good with a reduced sound stage and limited dynamics. Turns out that the dimensions of a room does play a big part in what you hear.

I was using a Pioneer that was exchanged for a Yamaha, then went to a Marantz. Throw in there an Integra for a week, trying different external amps to see if that would help. Still just didn't sound right.

I was convinced as the last ditch effort that Anthem has a great unit and their ARC could do wonders so I bought it.

Out of the box with no room correction at all and the sound improvement was clearly noticeable. I have improved the sound again without even applying the room correction just using the ARC software to better understand what is going on for each speaker and how just repositioning them in the room effects their sound.

I did purchase the AVR-60 that is a pre-amp, but believe that the MRX-720 has all the internals that my pre-amp has for sound and does the Atmos if you want better movie sound.

JohnK might be right on paper that "if" they are well-designed then there should be little to no difference. My ears have told me otherwise. Anthem with their current model stripped out many of the bells and whistles that honestly I have never used. I lost Apple AirPlay but for $70 could add it by hooking up an AppleTV. I just wanted good sound and finally found it.

I went from an Onkyo with Audyssey XT32 to an Anthem MRX-1120 with ARC.

Audyssey seemed to yield wildly different results every time I ran it, even when being really accurate with mic placement consistency, etc. Some times I liked it, some times I would just start over after getting a "blah" sound correction. It was good and I gave it a lot of favorable feedback, but when I went to ARC.... WOOOOOW. So much better. More impact, more clarity, just nice clean sound. That is both with and without Atmos speakers.

Shaddup. You guys are going to make me want to spend money.

Believe your ears, not spec sheets, authoritative pronouncements to the contrary notwithstanding.

thanks for the replies so far it is looking like the Anthem is the front runner & the feed back confirms it so far...trying to get as close to "separates" as possible without spending crazy amounts of $$$$.Again thanks so far for the input!!!

Curiosity got the better of me, dangit.... That 1120 looks like a dandy. Must resist.

My Denon 4311 has been working well, with no problems yet. I still have a 3808 in another room, and haven't had any problems with it either.

What I would like to find, is an AVR that would include a variety of video aspect ratios, for use with anamorphic lenses. That way I could get rid of a stand alone video processor. I don't see that happening though. Not enough demand.

I'd also like to see an audio processor that had two separate center channel outputs, for use of two center speakers; one over and one over a screen.

Now that you posted that your Denons are doing fine. you can expect both to explode/implode or simply catch fire, if there's nostalgia involved.

I see an Anthem in your future!