AVM 20 or AVM 30 vs Mid-Fi Yamaha Receiver

I used to own the AVM 30, and the sound was STELLAR. In fact when I recently built a system again around vinyl, I considered long and hard using an Anthem AVM as the preamp with a phono preamp, but Home theater was just not that important, so I went a different direction. I have not heard the Yamaha, but the sound quality from the Anthem's is comparable to almost any dedicated stereo preamp I have heard.

Anthem.

I have an AVM 20 and it is fine. Good solid AtoD and DtoA converters - you will probably get a little jitter on digital inputs though (just because of the interface) - but the analog direct is clean and the volume control is superb (resistor network on a crystal chip) - I found that a power conditioner helped slightly on digital and I prefer a Benchmark DAC1 for music (edges out the Dto A in the AVM 20 but you got to listen very carefully to notice it). The main advantage of this DSP is its incredible list of features and flexibility - however it is outdated now given the newer HDMI and BD formats.

I love Anthem. I had an AVM-2 for a long time. Even that was far superior to anything Yamaha had. You should consider a Sunfire IV or V or Sherbourne 7010/A also. Your amp and speakers are great. You need to determine if HDMI is necessary, some models can have it added on. If your TV is not HDMI and you don't plan to upgrade for a while, it will save you a lot.

The Anthem AVM 30 is as good as it gets in my opinion, add a panasonic bd-55 blu ray player with built in hd decoding(or other like blu ray players)for under $300 and you are up to date and have everything there is to offer, including stellar 2 channel music. Anyone who doesnt think the Anthem is a top knotch performer is looking at price tags and not using there ears.

If you dont have money coming out of your ears, buy the Onkyo 906 and enjoy 95% or more of the 2 channel performance of the anthem avm30/mca combo. Not to mention all the latest HD formats. Include the fact you dont need XLR/RCA Cables, and it takes up less room, and you got yourself a $1200 receiver worth perhaps much more in value then the $2000 anthem combo in my opinion.(used prices)

I agree with Sthomas12321 100%. I have an Anthem AVM30, Rotel 1075 and Panny bd-55 combo. It's great for HT. We are changing the room around a bit and I will need to go the AVR route to take up less space. I love the Anthem sound and will miss it. Fortunately I have a separate 2 channel tube system. You can pick up the AVM 30 for under $900 on A'gon now which is a steal IMHO. PM me if your interested in a black one.

MB