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Anthem processors: AVM20 v. AVM30 v. D1

I am building a new system from scratch for HT and music and have liked what I've read about the Anthem processors. While I can afford to buy the D1, I also don't like paying a lot more for marginal improvements, and from what I've read, the AVM20 with upgrades is so good that upgrading buys some improvement but there isn't a lot of room to improve.

For those of you who have owned or used the Anthems, how do you evaluate the enhancements compared to the added costs, both in 2-channel and HT? What does an upgraded AVM20 used go for and how much more might I pay for the 30 or the D1? Would it be wisest to get the 20 and if I want to upgrade wait until the D1 is replaced and becomes more widely available used?

As an aside, I'm pretty set on getting a DD Velodyne as the sub while my choice in speakers is still wide open (I need to foind more time to listen to speakers).

Also, any suggestions for mating the Anthem pre's to an amplifier?

Thanks for your suggestions.
jonsher

Showing 1 response by chrispdixon0781

chrispdixon0781
1 posts
 
Just to be clear, the blue display is not the only difference between the AVM20 and AVM30. Here are the ones that I know of:

4 component ins and 2 component outs (up from 2 and 1)
Faster processor (more than double the clock speed)
Double the memory on the motherboard
Blue readout and blue/red LEDs
Finer grain on the front panel
Optional rack mount

Also, the PLIIx upgrade is not yet available for the AVM20, but is for the AVM30. I'm not sure about the status of that. The component out difference was the dealbreaker for me when deciding between the two. That and the fact that the MSRP was actually a bit lower for the AVM30 made my choice easy.

Chris
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