Is there an alternative to the Anthem?

peter the butcher

Peter The Butcher
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Peter Allison
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As the title suggests, in November 2020, is there such a thing as a simple a/v amp that has no bells and whistles on. I purely use a decent 5 .1, I have NO interest in anything else at all. I have an Anthem MRX520, but it went all wrong the other day, put simply the volume has been reversed ( the up is now showing down,  and vice versa) on both the remote and the volume pot on the amp. I have mailed Anthem tech, also my dealer. It was bought brand new in Feb 2019, and worked fine until I had to unplug everything and re plug it. 

I am looking for a new amp, as my faith in this one has been eroded

Thanks people

 

AlmaAtaKZ

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Yes, it is almost impossible to find modern electronics that do not have the latest formats

 

peter the butcher

Peter The Butcher
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Yes, it is almost impossible to find modern electronics that do not have the latest formats
Yes, that seems to be the case, this is why I went for the Anthem in the first place, as it was a no frills amp, and did what it said it would do, its just I have lost my faith in the product, hence looking for something that can do the same job. I do not use any of the usual  streaming suspects apart from the PC music library/Audivarna

 

hifinutt

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yes find a simple av amp is well nigh impossible. they are pretty complex sometimes . as soon as one comes out then another with another bell and whsistle supercedes it   

 

manicatel

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For me, a decent 5.1 or 5.2 system, well set up is good enough. I’ve heard 7.1, Atmos etc but I’m yet to be convinced it’s a major step up over a decent 5.1. Plus, how much Atmos content is actually out there? Not a massive amount really.

Quite a few reports of the newer Arcam AV amps having software glitches & it takes a very brave brand to purposely NOT include every latest facility on a new product range.  I just can’t see the major Japanese brands, Yamaha, Denon etc not including bells & whistles as marketing tools, even if some don’t see the point in them.

I would also guess that for a lot of people, a Sonos set up is easily good enough & more family friendly than a “proper” AV amp with speaker cables everywhere to contend with. So I wonder if decent AV is a shrinking market?

 

peter the butcher

Peter The Butcher
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Aug 19, 2020
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Peter Allison
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For me, a decent 5.1 or 5.2 system, well set up is good enough. I’ve heard 7.1, Atmos etc but I’m yet to be convinced it’s a major step up over a decent 5.1. Plus, how much Atmos content is actually out there? Not a massive amount really.

Quite a few reports of the newer Arcam AV amps having software glitches & it takes a very brave brand to purposely NOT include every latest facility on a new product range.  I just can’t see the major Japanese brands, Yamaha, Denon etc not including bells & whistles as marketing tools, even if some don’t see the point in them.

I would also guess that for a lot of people, a Sonos set up is easily good enough & more family friendly than a “proper” AV amp with speaker cables everywhere to contend with. So I wonder if decent AV is a shrinking market?
this is what I was thinking, and had a chat with the other half and a couple of hi fi friends, they all said just to get my pride and joy fixed, as it was just one of those things, and to get a good Dac, which I would not have been able to do, getting a new amp, and to be honest, I could not justify spending 2-2.5 grand on a new amp just for it to supply audio to centre and rears, as I have a power amp for front speakers

 

peter the butcher

Peter The Butcher
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Aug 19, 2020
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Peter Allison
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How much is the repair?
I will find out when the amp goes back, BUT as its been well looked after, and when I unplugged and re plugged everything I was very very careful, sooooooo it should be carried out under warranty, as the unit is just over a year old, and the warranty is for 3 years

 
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philb36

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Thats what i meant! But! I would not be getting a arcam or a nad, they are very very flaky....i had a nad, sold it the new one doesn't sound any better!

 

peter the butcher

Peter The Butcher
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Aug 19, 2020
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Peter Allison
HiFi Trade?
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Thats what i meant! But! I would not be getting a arcam or a nad, they are very very flaky....i had a nad, sold it the new one doesn't sound any better!
trouble is there are NO basic 5.2 amps out there for about the same budget

 

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