Anthem AVM/20 upgrade to Integra or Marantz??

"Now, I'm purposely hyperbolizing, but I don't understand why, in theory, a processor with a better DAC would not sound as good as a processor with a lesser DAC. Is there something at play here that I'm missing. " Because there's more to it than the chip. There is the supporting circuitry and the implementation.

Kal, bingo, thanks. That's what I was missing in the equation. So that's where, I would assume, the Carey and Anthem would be justified in both their higher price tags and perhaps better supporting circuitry and implementation?

Seems to me that it's always the sum of the parts... a great set of converters in and of themselves won't make a piece sound great. It's the whole build - both the analog and digital stages, power supply, and even board layout that ultimately contribute to the sound. I think everyone's right about the number of both interior and exterior variables as well - it's really tedious to make sure you're doing accurate apples-to-apples listening comparisons, particularly if you're including any kind of DSP. For me it's been a matter of "trust your ears and take your time." At the end of the day, thank goodness for real audio dealers that will let you audition a piece in your home system so you have some kind of valid reference!

I bought the Marantz AV 7005 pre/pro a couple of months ago and have been pretty happy with it so far. It sounds good - very clean and quiet - and operates flawlessly. It's definitely no match for a comparably priced stereo preamp in terms of sound quality but given all of the I/O and audio/video signal processing built in, I think it's a fair value.

I did have to install a small exhaust fan in my rack, though, as it runs pretty warm. That's been the only concern so far, and successfully resolved. I can't speak to the Integra vs. the Marantz in terms of sound quality because I never had a chance to A/B them through the same system, but given the reliability issues with the Integra I think I made the right choice. Hope this helps.

Audioengineer. Thanks. Yes that does indeed help. I think I'm going to take my time and look up the price line a bit. I've been happy with my anthem over the years and maybe I need to increase my budget and look for a used or demo unit of a higher up Anthem than I currently have or a Carey or similar. I'd rather wait a few and get the right thing than not be happy with it at all

I'm going to need some additional guidance. I want to say thanks to everyone who has posted a review. I think I'm going to forego the Integra and the Marantz at this point and as a different question: if I had 3k-4k and was to buy used or demo what brands should I look for? Am I then considering the Classe, Anthem, and Carey lines at that point? And, based on Kal's the sum is greater than the parts comment, am I going to be getting better quality audio. I don't really care so much about the video, while that's important too but lesser.