Emotiva or Anthem or Something Else?

Thanks.  Although I have read a bunch of reviews of people talking about issues with the software on the Anthem products too.  

How would I incorporate a separate 2 channel system via the Preamp outputs on the Anthem?  I was actually trying to figure out how I could do this but wasn't sure if it was a thing.  I almost feel like I need two systems.  A 2.1 system for music and a larger system for movies and such.

That sounds interesting. Would you mind giving me more detail on how that could work? Maybe with some specific components of your choosing? I’m getting all new gear except for the speakers so open to suggestions. I do currently have all of the speakers and one thing that needs to be factored in is that I have four self powered sub woofers that would be shared between the two speaker configurations. And would I need a speaker switch box?

More thinking and maybe I understand...

Are you saying I could take the Receiver and wire up all of the speakers to the out puts on the Receiver except for the Front Left and Right. For those channels I would connect from the Preamp Out Front Left and Front Right on the back of the receiver to a completely separate two channel amp. That amp would then power just those two speakers. So the end result would be that I would not be using the Front Left and Right channel amps on the receiver. In that case would I even need an integrated amp for those two speakers? Seems like I could just use a stereo power amp and control the volume from the Receiver.  What might be necessary is for the receiver to have some sort of speaker configuration profile so that I could turn off all of the speakers except for the Front Left and Right Pre-Out as well as the SubWoofers.  The subs would be used for both speaker configurations.  I think the Anthem has something like that.

Thanks again. Its a good thing I’m asking! What I currently have is as follows:

Receiver: Pioneer VSX 822. (I was going to get rid of this)

Speakers are:

Warfedale Diamond 9.0 and 9.1 for the rear L/R and Front L/R

1 x Martin Logan Motion SLM XL for the center channel

4 x Martin Logan ML 67i in the ceiling

4 x 10" Self powered Sub Woofers that I built. All of them are in the walls and are 10" because that is all I could fit in the walls. They are in their own 1 cu ft enclosures and each one is powered by a dedicated DSP enabled amp.

I also have an old pair of Polk Monitor 5 Jr + speakers that I bought new when I was in High School in the 80’s. I was actually never really all that happy with how they sounded. I always thought that my friends Infinity RS 3000 sounded better. But I’ve had them for years. May tweak them a bit. When I was in college one of my friends got an NAD Amp and a pair of Rogers speakers that sounded really spectacular.

I’ve been considering several options. One is an NAD receiver and then adding on an NAD two channel power amp. That set up would be an NADT778 + an NAD C 275BEE. I would also need an NAD C268 to power one pair of the ceiling speakers as the NAD doesnt have 4 powered channels.

What is tricky is that I want to use the subs for both the stereo listening as well as the home theater listening.

NAD is just one possibility. I’ve heard NAD amps in the past and I was impressed by the sound quality. But open to others.

Similarly, I heard an Anthem 740 at a local shop and it sounded pretty good too.

In the set up you are describing would I have two different pairs of front speakers?

Is it possible to incorporate the subs into the stereo configuration? What I’m really looking to do is a 2.1 set up for music listening. It looks like the Hegel Integrated Amp has line out so thats one way it could work, however how could I have the subs as part of the home theater configuration also?

Questions:

1.) In your suggested set up, when we are watching a movie is the integrated amp powering the two front channel speakers?

2.) When I am listening to the two channel configuration I assume that I am controlling the volume using the volume control on the stereo amp?

3.) For integration of the Subs... yes, I am attempting a 2.2 configuration with two subwoofers.  The subwoofers are self powered and I can set crossover points and filters.   If the stereo integrated amp as a line out L/R then I should be able to plug those subs into the integrated amp and then have a 2.2 system... correct?  For example take this one....

Yes, I stumbled across their Halo Preamp.  It looks like its set up explicitly to address what I am attempting to do.

I also found this list...

@soix I'm looking around to set up a system like you suggested.  There are actually lots of intersting options as well as some deals on what I think are good quality 2 channel integrated amps. For example, there is a Parasound Halo Integrated Amp for sale near me and there are some good deals on Yamaha AS2200's.  I have a question though about getting an Integrated Amp vs just a power amp.  Based on my research as well as our conversation above, it seems like in both HiFi listening mode and HomeTheater Listening Mode you are using the volume knob on the Home Theater Receiver to control the volume that the Front Channel Amp is producing.  If that is the case then what is the point in getting an integrated amp for the HiFi speakers?  Why not get a power amp?  Also, if the volume is being controlled by the Home Theater Receiver then wouldn't that mean that the less than ideal Receiver Pre-Amp is compromising the HiFi Stereo sound quality?

So I’ve been doing some shopping based on @soix suggestions and here is what I have come up with. Note that my set up will have ceiling mounted front and rear speakers so I need a 4 speaker Atmos system. All of these systems combine a HT with an integrated amp. I’m attempting to stick with the same brand for both because a mix and match systems bother me. (I know its not rational, I’m not perfect). Colors and brand have to match... its just a requirement. I’m a product designer and a very visual person. I see all of the details. Another requirement is that I get a good deal on at least one of the components. I think I can accomplish that (with the exception of the Emotiva pair). I’m shopping online audio retail as well as online classifieds. All of these are between $4000 and $5000. All of these will using a Audiolab 6000N streaming player pulling from Amazon HD Music. I’ll be plugging the 6000N into the Integrated Amp so that for stereo listening the HT Receiver is out of the loop.

Use case is the occasional full home theater movie watching experience and also listening to all types of music at a variety of volumes. I listen to everything from 80’s metal to Opera and Jazz. I want to hear detail in the music and I want the system to be able to respond to what ever the music requires while also give incredible sound stage. I’ve heard enough systems that when you are listneing to them its like the singer is in the room.... or you can almost see (with your ears) the spot where the musician is standing on the stage. I want to try to achieve that.

Here is what I am looking at... will any of these get me there?

Option 1 NAD, T778 AV Receiver, C388 Integrated Amp, C268 Power Amp for the rear atmos. I’m looking at NAD because I have friends that have had NAD systems and I was really impressed with the sound quality. Plus I’m nostalgic for NAD because I used to look at them back at in the 80’s when I was a teen.

Option 2 - Yamaha RX-A2080 HT Receiver, A-S2200 Integrated amp. These are from the Yamaha "Aventage" line and so are supposed to be their good stuff. @soix says that he thinks they have surprising good soundstage. Youtube reviews of some of the Yamaha stuff seems to suggest that the sound is somewhat "neutral" but detailed.

Option 3 - Marantz Cinema 50 HT Receiver, Marantz Mod 30 Integrated Amp. A bit more expensive than the Options 1 and 2. The Cinema 50 is loaded with features and supposedly has been built to have good sound. Added bonus is 4 pre-outs for 4 seperate subwoofers. (yes I have 4 subwoofers). Also, the Mod 30 got a really good review from a youtube reviewer. He claims it sounds as good as his McIntosh and now he compares everything to the Mod 30. Only thing is that its a Class D amp... always thought that my dedicated stereo amp should be Class A or A/B.

Option 4 - Emotiva RMC-1L Processor + XPA-9 Gen3 Amp. This is the most expensive option. I’m concerned that the Emotiva stuff has been built more for a big home theater experience than high quality music listening. The system I buy has to do both. I do like how the Emotive product line has been put together and the RMC-1L has all of the features to make it a great foundation to a system... I just get the impression it’s more intended to be used to watch Marvel movies and don’t watch that kind of stuff.

Option 5 - The budget system. Onkyo TX-RZ50 + Parasound Hint 6 Integrated Amp. This is the least expensive option. I’m also the least excited by it. I bought Onkyo when I was in high school and so I’ve already been there. However the RZ-50 is supposed to offer a very "exciting" HT experience by way of how its very "punchy". Its also not very expensive. I’m not too familiar with Parasound except I know they have been around for a really long time and they are made here in the SF Bay area. The Hint 6 also has HT by-pass mode, which means its been specifically equipped to be attach to a HT system and act as a 2 channel amp which can contribute to a HT session or work on its own to power a stereo listening session. Only issue is that I have no idea how it sounds.

Option X - Is there another option I should look at?

Final thought. I’m getting sick of listening to these systems in these shops because they alway use source material thats probably better than I will have. Its seems like a lot of people are buying these rigs and then evaluating them at home and then potentially returning them or selling them if they are not satisfied. Is that the case?

Kind of a long post... but would love to hear comments if any of you have experience with any of this equipment. The room where this stuff will go is almost done so I’ll be pulling the trigger in the next few weeks.

Latest thought after doing more reading reviews...

Option 1 - NAD is out.  I just dont see their feature set being comparable and I'm not seeing any reviews of anyone saying that the products I'm considering are all that amazing.

Option 2 - Yamaha 20280 receiver is the front runner.  I'd like to find a better deal on the integrated amp though.  Also, as much as I've seen good reviews I have yet to see one that says its amazing.

Option 3 - Marantz Still in the running but not by much.  I really want an A/B amp and the Marantz is class D

Option 4 - Emotiva  - Out

Option 5 - Onkyo is out.  I think I can find the Yamaha 2080 for equal to or less than the Onkyo and the Yamaha is better

Option X - Now considering a Rotel RB-1592 MKII as the integrated amp.  I saw a review on Youtube by a guy who reviews a ton of stuff and he really liked it.  He thought that it was as good as the Yamaha A-S3200... while being the same price as the 2200.

@mikelavigne - thanks for the tip on the Trinnov.  I love the idea but it’s quite a bit more than I want to spend.  Even if it could be upgraded into the future I’m not ready to commit to that level of cost.  Very cool product though

@balooo2 - I was really into the Anthem stuff and listened to one at a local shop in 2 channel mode.  It sounded amazing. I’ve just been put off by all of the stuff I’ve read online about the bugs and software issues. 

Thanks @balooo2.  You are not making this easier!  LOL!  It's hard to figure out what to do and I'm looking for reasons to take these off the list.

I pulled the trigger on a Yamaha 2080 to take care of the home theater duties.  Still need to pick the integrated amp to do the two channel work.  I’m now considering either the Yamaha A-S2200 or the Rotel 1592 mkii.  I’m looking for an amp that will create a wide sound stage but also have lots of detail.   A few of the Yamaha reviews I’ve seen/read seem to indicate that the 2200 sound stage isn’t so great but that it’s got a lot of detail.  Also, it’s just an amp, (no DAC) and I like that because I plan to use a dedicated DAC for two channel.  It’s also much better looking than the Rotel.  Any thoughts on the comparison of those two?