Anthem MRX 1140 vs Denon AVR-X8500H

[ciotime]

Planning to upgrade to a 9.2.4 HT setup. Can't decide between the Anthem MRX 1140 vs Denon AVR-X8500H. Not exactly the same specs and price point but so far have narrowed my picks to these 2. Thanks.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Both are quite capable. It really comes down to the specific features you prefer, and then the processing you'll prefer between the ARC in the Anthem and Audyssey in the Denon... and perhaps the cosmetic look. Since you own Denon, you are already familiar with what it can do, you'll basically just be adding a little more power that you may or may not need. I don't think the Audyssey in the 8500 will be any better than what it is in the 3700.

 

[ciotime]

Both are quite capable. It really comes down to the specific features you prefer, and then the processing you'll prefer between the ARC in the Anthem and Audyssey in the Denon... and perhaps the cosmetic look. Since you own Denon, you are already familiar with what it can do, you'll basically just be adding a little more power that you may or may not need. I don't think the Audyssey in the 8500 will be any better than what it is in the 3700.

Hi again Sonnie...really value your opinion. Since being a lifelong Denon user I've somehow wanted to try other brands. Anyways I also have my eye on the Anthem AVM70. I don't wanna get into a debate as to the merits of AVR vs prepros but what I've always felt was the cost efficient of owing AVRs rather than having to spend extra on amps for a prepro. But if the AVM70 which has great reviews is really worth it then I don't mind spending the extra cash.

I've never tried Anthem but from what I've read the ARC seems to offer more in terms of flexibility and one's ability to tweak. Audyssey MultEQ to me is quite limited.

I had my eye on the new "budget" StormAudio ISP Core 16 coz of Dirac which in my country is about $10K but I just can't seem to pull the trigger on such a high value item.

Also I checked the PREAMPLIFIER specs on the MRX1140 and the Maximum Output (<0.1% THD) is rated at 5.2 VRMS, 7.1VRMS. I don't quite understand why there's 2 values. Is this good enough to drive most power amps? I myself plan to use my McIntosh MA8900 to power the 2 front speakers.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I'm not all that familiar with the newer Anthem gear... owned some of their stuff years ago, but it was nothing like what they have now as far as features are concerned. That voltage output seems a bit high to me... most are 2-4v. 2v unbalanced vs 4v balanced, and not many are adjustable, especially on a receiver. I did not read the manual, but it may be adjustable. Your MA8900 only needs 1.4v to drive it to full power.

The AVM70 is less, but then you might need more amps. If your 3700 has been enough power for your speakers, the upgrade will be more for the features, so that is what I would pay attention to the most.

 

[ciotime]

I'm not all that familiar with the newer Anthem gear... owned some of their stuff years ago, but it was nothing like what they have now as far as features are concerned. That voltage output seems a bit high to me... most are 2-4v. 2v unbalanced vs 4v balanced, and not many are adjustable, especially on a receiver. I did not read the manual, but it may be adjustable. Your MA8900 only needs 1.4v to drive it to full power.

The AVM70 is less, but then you might need more amps. If your 3700 has been enough power for your speakers, the upgrade will be more for the features, so that is what I would pay attention to the most.

Actually after looking at the Denon AVRs again I've decided to narrow my choice to either the X6700H vs the MRX1140. The X6700H is more than good enough for my needs if I do choose to get it.
The one thing I like about the Denon is that it has Auro 3D while in the MRX1140 it's the flexibility to do calibrations using ARC. I'm just at a lost on which one to choose. If only the MRX1140 also had Auro 3D hands down I would choose it right away coz I really do wanna try other brands other than Denon.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Tough choices. That Storm ISP Core 16 is a ton of bang for a lot of buck. You'd probably want to upgrade Dirac to include Bass Management if you go that route. Performance-wise, I think it beats Anthem/Denon just on processing power and, of course, it's HDMI cards. It also has the Digital/Analog volume control, which keeps the noise floor whisper quiet as volume levels are increased.

I held a live chat with Storm about the Core 16. You can watch it, here: https://www.avnirvana.com/threads/l...ived-image-quality-with-av-nirvana-live.9608/

That said, Denon and Anthem are incredible brands in their own rights. Like Sonnie, I don't have a lot of hands on experience with Anthem. ARC is popular with its users... I wonder, though, have you downloaded the Audyssey app? It costs around $25 and gives you quite a bit of tweaking/flexibility (well beyond what you get using the receiver and the Audyssey on-screen menu). The key is to upload your settings from the app to your AVR (its not very evident that you need to do this... but if you don't the settings won't be integrated).

I used the X8500H for a little over a year. It's a BEAST of a receiver. If you aren't gunning for a large-array Atmos setup, I'd probably go to the step-down model.

And, I agree with your interest in keeping Auro. While we have far less access to Auro content here in the US, Auro's up mixer is sensational. I use it to up mix movies with legacy codecs... it's wonderful!

 

[ciotime]

Tough choices. That Storm ISP Core 16 is a ton of bang for a lot of buck. You'd probably want to upgrade Dirac to include Bass Management if you go that route. Performance-wise, I think it beats Anthem/Denon just on processing power and, of course, it's HDMI cards. It also has the Digital/Analog volume control, which keeps the noise floor whisper quiet as volume levels are increased.

I held a live chat with Storm about the Core 16. You can watch it, here: https://www.avnirvana.com/threads/l...ived-image-quality-with-av-nirvana-live.9608/

That said, Denon and Anthem are incredible brands in their own rights. Like Sonnie, I don't have a lot of hands on experience with Anthem. ARC is popular with its users... I wonder, though, have you downloaded the Audyssey app? It costs around $25 and gives you quite a bit of tweaking/flexibility (well beyond what you get using the receiver and the Audyssey on-screen menu). The key is to upload your settings from the app to your AVR (its not very evident that you need to do this... but if you don't the settings won't be integrated).

I used the X8500H for a little over a year. It's a BEAST of a receiver. If you aren't gunning for a large-array Atmos setup, I'd probably go to the step-down model.

And, I agree with your interest in keeping Auro. While we have far less access to Auro content here in the US, Auro's up mixer is sensational. I use it to up mix movies with legacy codecs... it's wonderful!

Thanks Todd. Yep downloaded it and used it. But had to use Ratbuddyssey app since it's quite hard to use fingers to manipulate the curves on the editor app. Plus I used REW + the miniDsp 2X4 HD to integrate my 3 subs while also making my own house curve. Below is my FR with NO smoothing.
Also I'm quite curious as to how Anthem ARC works and if it's as good as they say it is similar to Dirac.
There are rumors though that the Onkyo will release the $3K TX- RZ90 (13.2 channels with Auro3D+ 450$ for multichannel DLBC license) early next year.
Also can you check on the link you provided about the StormAudio chat? When I clicked on it turns out its about bias lighting.
Heck if worst comes to worst might just get the StormAudio...as they say " buy once cry once "

 

[ciotime]

I just had a crazy idea. Bear with me and see if this might work. Since I wanna try both Auro3D and ARC/Dirac
why not go get both Denon X6700H ( has Auro3D ) and MRX1140/AVM70 ( uses ARC ) instead of spending about $11k
for the StormAudio ISP Core 16 which has both Auro3D and Dirac? With both the Denon+Anthem costing about $6k
I still save about $5K. That way I can use the Denon if I want to use the Auromatic upmixer and I can use the
Anthem if I wanna use the ARC room correction.

So if you think it'll work now the question is how do I hook these up while using the same sets of speakers?
Do I need a speaker wire switcher or something?

Is it possible to use the AVM70 or the MRX1140 as a prepro and the Denon becomes the external power amp? If so
then if I wanna use the auromatic upmixer in the Denon the Anthem is OFF while the Denon then acts as the AVR?
And if I wanna watch Dolby Atmos content using the Anthem as the processor the Denon serves as the external amp?
Also if done this way where do I hook up my HDMI sources to ( 4K player/media player ) ?
Also seems like the Denon only as pre outs but no multi-channel inputs.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Thanks Todd. Yep downloaded it and used it. But had to use Ratbuddyssey app since it's quite hard to use fingers to manipulate the curves on the editor app. Plus I used REW + the miniDsp 2X4 HD to integrate my 3 subs while also making my own house curve. Below is my FR with NO smoothing.
Also I'm quite curious as to how Anthem ARC works and if it's as good as they say it is similar to Dirac.
There are rumors though that the Onkyo will release the $3K TX- RZ90 (13.2 channels with Auro3D+ 450$ for multichannel DLBC license) early next year.
Also can you check on the link you provided about the StormAudio chat? When I clicked on it turns out its about bias lighting.
Heck if worst comes to worst might just get the StormAudio...as they say " buy once cry once "



View attachment 47494

Low end looks GREAT. You'd be hard pressed to do much better than that!

Here's the link:

 

[Todd Anderson]

I just had a crazy idea. Bear with me and see if this might work. Since I wanna try both Auro3D and ARC/Dirac
why not go get both Denon X6700H ( has Auro3D ) and MRX1140/AVM70 ( uses ARC ) instead of spending about $11k
for the StormAudio ISP Core 16 which has both Auro3D and Dirac? With both the Denon+Anthem costing about $6k
I still save about $5K. That way I can use the Denon if I want to use the Auromatic upmixer and I can use the
Anthem if I wanna use the ARC room correction.

So if you think it'll work now the question is how do I hook these up while using the same sets of speakers?
Do I need a speaker wire switcher or something?

Is it possible to use the AVM70 or the MRX1140 as a prepro and the Denon becomes the external power amp? If so
then if I wanna use the auromatic upmixer in the Denon the Anthem is OFF while the Denon then acts as the AVR?
And if I wanna watch Dolby Atmos content using the Anthem as the processor the Denon serves as the external amp?
Also if done this way where do I hook up my HDMI sources to ( 4K player/media player ) ?
Also seems like the Denon only as pre outs but no multi-channel inputs.

@Sonnie will have an opinion on this, for sure. But I think you're going to run yourself into circles trying to make a dual AVR arrangement work in that fashion. If the Denon doesn't have multi-channel inputs, you're cooked from the get-go. You'd also end up moving source connections for HDMI.

Out of curiosity, what do you feel like you're missing, room correction-wise, with Audyssey? Are you hearing artifacts or unpleasant playback? Your low-end looks fantastic... perhaps you should stick with Denon and point some coin into room treatments for >500Hz frequencies? (unless you've already done that... ;-)

 

[ciotime]

@Sonnie will have an opinion on this, for sure. But I think you're going to run yourself into circles trying to make a dual AVR arrangement work in that fashion. If the Denon doesn't have multi-channel inputs, you're cooked from the get-go. You'd also end up moving source connections for HDMI.

Out of curiosity, what do you feel like you're missing, room correction-wise, with Audyssey? Are you hearing artifacts or unpleasant playback? Your low-end looks fantastic... perhaps you should stick with Denon and point some coin into room treatments for >500Hz frequencies? (unless you've already done that... ;-)

Yeah room is already treated. Honestly there's no complaints that I can think of. It's just the itch to try something new. And ARC seems to offer users the ability to do more intensive tweaks than what the MultEQ offers. Anyway I've forced myself not to make any rash decisions and for sure I'll come down to my senses.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I get it... based on what you're saying, I'd buy the gear with ARC and give it a try. Why not? If you don't like it... consider it a small loss, and sell it used. Someone will scoop it up and you can move back to Denon.

That said, if Auro is plays a major role in your playback system, I think you know the answer to the question. Go for the X6500H or X8500H ;-)

 

[ciotime]

I get it... based on what you're saying, I'd buy the gear with ARC and give it a try. Why not? If you don't like it... consider it a small loss, and sell it used. Someone will scoop it up and you can move back to Denon.

That said, if Auro is plays a major role in your playback system, I think you know the answer to the question. Go for the X6500H or X8500H ;-)

hahaha...very well said

 

[Aburguy]

I went with the MRX-1140 and have been very happy with it. The out of the box Arc set up is pretty decent. Wondering how many people opted to go with Anthem?