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Anthem AVM/20 upgrade to Integra or Marantz??

Greetings all,

I've enjoyed and stretched out the life of my Anthem AVM/20 paired with a Lexicon CX-7. My sources are Oppo, AppleTV, Roku, vinyl, and cable if you are interested. These are all being driven through Revel Performa M22 monitors, C32 center and B15 sub and Revel in-ceiling for surrounds. The speakers are in a 7.1 setup in a formal living room, not dedicated HT.

I need HDMI compatibility in my Pre-pro at this point but I don't want to lose or compromise the sonic quality I've had with the Anthem. Given that another, newer pre-pro from Anthem that isn't north of 5k isn't in the near future I'm looking to either Integra or Marantz as sonically they seem to be given top billing.

So here is my issue: I *love* 2-channel and I don't want any sonic compromise at all in soundtage bredth and depth, tonal accuracy, and sheer emotional involvement in the music. In fact, I want *better* performance than my AVM/20 currently offers.

So,will the Marantz AV7005 or Integra 80.3 do the trick? I've read Kal and Michael Fremmer's reviews of the AV7005 and they are excellent. Michael even bought the review sample and I think Kal has the integra 70.2. However the Integra offers the newer Audyssey room correction. The Anthem is just such a well put together piece that I am afraid that my upgrade will be a sonic downgrade. Are my fears justified or not?

Looking for some sage advice and guidance! Many thanks to all in advance.
internetmin

Showing 1 response by gmocnik

gmocnik
4 posts
 
while the integra stuff gets good reviews, my experience has been less than satisfying....bought the 80.1, after afew months noticed it would not pass a 1080p signal...weeks of back and forth with integra..they took the unit back and sent me an 80.2 (for a small upgrade price)....after nine months, the front panel locks up on the 80.3...local dealer says "its a known problem"...after weekes of back and forth...integra says send it back and we will upgrade to the 80.3 for $350...ok.....it has been three weeks since i sent the unit back ups over night...

last night...dealer calls and says 80.3 back ordered until late february....i am done with integra....

is an anthem dv2 the next step up in peformance and quality???

on a seperate customer service note...i also have the revel speakers you mention...they were in the room when i bought the house two years ago (so the speakers are at least 8 years old)...a woofer went out (my diagnosis) on the ceneter channel.....called revel tech support....AT NO CHARGE they sent a full set of drivers and recommended a shop if i did not want to do the repair...thats service...
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