I just tried AirPlay/Roon on my Anthem

I’ve been toying with the idea of minimizing my HT + 2-channel system. The HT is an Anthem MRX 540, while the 2 channel is a Luxman 507ux + Mytek Brooklyn with a Raspberry Pi 4 for a Roon endpoint. The L and R preamp outputs on the Anthem are routed to the Luxman via it’s "separate" function (i.e. HT bypass).

Anthem has, sadly, been advertising Roon support forever without actually delivering (at least up to my unit). It has support for AirPlay though, which you can use as a Roon to Anthem bridge.

Um, OMG was the sound really bad!!! Despite the Anthem having the benefit of my subwoofer I was transported back to the days of small boom boxes. Noisy, limp and veiled.  Is this a bad tape player?

This is a horrible comparison for AirPlay to be sure. The only constant in both of these situations is the amplifier (Luxman) driving the speakers. The preamp, and digital source changed considerably.

I have to say that the Anthem sounds MUCH better with movies than it did using AirPlay.. It may not be perfect, but movies sound like movies. AirPlay sounded like exactly what everyone complains about MP3 music should sound like.