connection to use between anthemavm20 and cd1

Hey Burnsyl
If you use the digital out, you will bypass the tupe in the CD1. I love the analogue sound of the tube in the CD1, and experimenting with different tubes will yield different results. I cant comment on how good the dac in the Anthem prepro sounds. A comparison of the two would be your best bet. Trust your own ears.

dudeaudio

If you use the digital out on the CD you will bypass the tubes. They are used in the analog stage in much the same way that transistors would have been used. My suggestion would be to try the analog outputs into your AVM20 and then try the digital input into your AVM20 to see which you prefer. There is also nothing (except cabling cost) to stop you from using both output types into your 20 as one may suite different recordings better than the other. Wish I had the bank to by an AVM20 and get rid of my Onkyo receiver. One day...

I have an AVM-20 (v2.10), and have tried both digital-in and analog-in from my CD player. In the analog configuration, I set it up to use Analog-Direct mode, NOT the Analog-DSP mode, because I don't want ANY A-to-D & D-to-A conversion going on.

So, you could setup two inputs in your AVM, say the CD input for Analog-in and AUX for SP/DIF Digital-in, then connect your player to both inputs. This will allow direct, A-B comparison with the same equipment, and will 'probably' convince you that the AVM's DAC's are NOT optimized for 2-channel audio, which were my findings. You have invested in a player with a tube DAC optimized for one purpose, so I really doubt you will disagree once you try this. I was very amazed at the big advantage that my Arcam player's DAC's had over the AVM's.

But here's another kicker -

I just added a Pass X2.5 2-chnl pre to my setup, so I could avoid using the AVM at all for stereo. I suspected the AVM was not passing the signal purely to my Pass amps, even over balanced XLR connections. Well, the difference in dynamics, detail and stage-width that this traditional pre has over the AVM is just staggering.

I have never been a "2-channel VERSUS Home Theater" type, fully convinced that you could successfully use a quality HT pre/pro as a standard pre, but I now know better. If you take your 2-channel sound seriously, I would recommend that you investigate adding a pre to your setup.

Many pre's, like the Pass X-series, have a Unity Gain input (or at least a Tape Monitor loop circuit) to allow the integration of the HT processor back into the 2-channel pre for multi-channel use. I have not completed a major rearrangement of my system yet, but this is the way I intend to configure my setup.

These are just my observations (YMMV, IMHO, of course), but when I told my dealer what I found, he confirmed that this is nothing new. This is not a cut on the Anthem processor, just a confirmation that there is always a compromise in 2-channel performance when using M-channel processors. He also said that most people that take both HT and 2-chnl seriously he deals with will either separate their music and theater systems entirely or do something like I have to get the best out of one room and speaker/amp investment.

I hope that helps.