Any other pre/pros other than Anthem D2v that I should even consider?

[hifiaudio2]

Dont discount the Integra as being "not reference gear" without giving it a thorough check. No problem if you dont like it but it could save you quite a bit of cash and be every bit as good as others you have mentioned. Gear that has a "high end" pedigree often just serves to part you with your money. Go check the review of the $8k McIntosh blu ray player over at hometheaterhifi.com for an example of high end equipment performing poorly.

Also, if the room is really poor, you would never hear the tiny differences in good electronics anyway. I would spend money treating the room before sinking anything extra into electronics.....

Speakers, room setup, and room acoustic treatments are 90% of the final product.

 

[hifiaudio2]

Keep in mind that its biased, since its the 80.2 owners thread, but these two comments give some Anthem vs Integra and specifically Audyssey vs ARC.

I have never personally heard ARC or any Anthem gear.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=20865586#post20865586

 

[runnin17]

Yeah, the 80.2 thread is a bit biased. People are thinking that the ARC in the MRX receivers is the same ARC that is in the AVM50v and the D2v. That is completely wrong. Oh well, I have since placed an order for a new D2v. Can't wait to play with it

 

[GaryG]

Yeah, the 80.2 thread is a bit biased. People are thinking that the ARC in the MRX receivers is the same ARC that is in the AVM50v and the D2v. That is completely wrong. Oh well, I have since placed an order for a new D2v. Can't wait to play with it

Yes, upgrade-itis is difficult to fight. Congrats on the D2v, it is a fine piece of equipment. Your system is now out of balance with a strong nod of superiority going to your processor. That means that upgrade-itis will probalby continue. You mentioned above that the Pass Labs X250 was on your short list. The X250 gets my vote. Your front end with the D2v, X250 and your ML's would be great.

Gary

 

[runnin17]

Yes, upgrade-itis is difficult to fight. Congrats on the D2v, it is a fine piece of equipment. Your system is now out of balance with a strong nod of superiority going to your processor. That means that upgrade-itis will probalby continue. You mentioned above that the Pass Labs X250 was on your short list. The X250 gets my vote. Your front end with the D2v, X250 and your ML's would be great.

Gary

Will have to wait on upgrading the amp for a little while. Promised my better half a trip to Hawaii if she let me buy the Stage center channel and the D2v

 

[runnin17]

A little update. Finally got the D2v all setup and ARC calibration finished. All I can say is wow!

The D2v completely brought out the best in the UPA-5. I initially thought the emotiva amp was a bit bright, but that brightness completely disappeared when the D2v got ahold of the music. I will put it this way, I was seriously looking into getting an upgraded stereo amp (mcintosh, pass labs or rogue audio were an my short list); after having the D2v as the preamp my upgraditis has gone away at least for now

 

[projectormovielover]

Thats so cool that everything worked out for ya bud. I am surprised to hear about the d2 with the upa5 amp and share your thoughts .I am on the look for an anthem avm50 for arc with the logans and I also have the upa5. I have a pioneer elite vsx01 that sounds horrid and when I hooked it up to my upa5 it sounded even worse .The pioneer and the upa5 combo gave me the impression that both were bright and fatiguing but it must just be the pioneer and the upa5 has ...amplified ...this brightness lol. I have more motivation now to pull the trigger on an anthem pre knowing that I may be able to keep the amp for HT usage. I am now very curious to what the amp will sound like with a decent pre pro

 

[runnin17]

I was honestly very surprised at how musical the D2v sounded. I will take a little more time after the OU-Texas game tomorrow to put the D2v/UPA-5 combo through the ringer

 

[Audiophiliac]

I just finished upgrading one of our clients' high end theater system. 8 years ago, we installed a 92" Stewart/Marantz VP12S1 projection system. The audio portion consisted of B&W N800, HTM2, SCM1, ASW825, Krell HTS pre/pro, Krell KAV2250/KAV3250, Marantz DV8400 universal player (he does play SACD and DVD-A), and a few other bits. No need to say that the "old" setup looked and sounded incredible. But the upgrades were immediate and obvious improvements by large degrees.

We upgraded his projector to a new Runco Q750i LED model. Wow! What a projector! Anyone in the market for a projector in the $10-20k range needs to audition this thing. The next major upgrade was the replacement of his Krell HTS with the Anthem D2v. The Krell is a good piece for sure, but when we came back to finish the installation, the client was stunned at how much better he though the Anthem sounded than the Krell. Of course, ARC probably has a lot to do with that since the Krell has no kind of room correction. But overall, the system has been renewed and updated and the upgrades were well worth it. I have been pleased with the Anthem products overall.

Good choice IMHO. The video processor is just as incredible as the ARC FWIW. The amount of adjustments and setup options you have with the Anthem make it so flexible in any situation, it is hard to beat. And the ARC does amazing maths to make it sound so good. Winning!