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11 channel advice


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I’m doing some research on 11 channel av receivers to purchase in the near future. 
The 11 channels narrows the field somewhat.

Anthem, Denon, Marantz  or Yamaha seem the only contenders. 

Budget top of 6k. 
Music is important as is HT. 
I’d dearly value the opinion or suggestions people may have on what receiver I should purchase. 
Also Dali Phantom E-60’s. Any thoughts on them? 
Cheers

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I'd personally go with a cheaper avr that can process 11 channels and also get a multi channel amp to run the main floor level speakers and leave the rest to the avr.

My Marantz SR6014 has 9 amps but 11 channel processing future upgrade is to run 11 channels. 

Spend 3k on avr and 3k on amp. Would sound better as well.

Edited by SGS
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Hi & thanks for the reply. 
I have considered the pre-amp option. With my budget I see it as difficult to get both a decent 11 channel processor and the amplification to drive it. 
Would you expect the separate items to sound better then say the Anthem 1140? 

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Can't really comment on the Anthem. General consensus though is that a seperate power amp will always be better than an avr.

 

Pre pro you would need amps for 11 channels which will be costly.

 

The alternative is an avr running heights and maybe rears then a 5 or 7 channel amp running floor level speakers.  Have a look at Elektra amps.

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On 19/02/2021 at 10:38 PM, Herbalointment said:

I’m doing some research on 11 channel av receivers to purchase in the near future. 
The 11 channels narrows the field somewhat.

Anthem, Denon, Marantz  or Yamaha seem the only contenders. 

Budget top of 6k. 
Music is important as is HT.

Ideally, you should be using a stereo integrated for music; an AVR is a compromise.  However, if you must use an AVR, then Arcam, Anthem, NAD and Marantz are the more musical brands.  The other thing that will help with music is good Room Coorection Software (old but still relevant).

 

3 hours ago, Herbalointment said:

I have considered the pre-amp option. With my budget I see it as difficult to get both a decent 11 channel processor and the amplification to drive it. 
Would you expect the separate items to sound better then say the Anthem 1140? 

The MRX 1140 has class A/B amps for channels 1-5 (140W 2 channel driven, 8 ohm) and class D amps for channels 6-11 (75W 2 channel driven, 8 ohm).  Based on what I found in guide to AVR power, you probably can get at least 70% of that power in a multi channel setup.  So, approximately 100W for channels 1-5 and 50W for other channels.  Suggest you get sensitive speakers (better than 88dB), especially for channels 6-11.

 

Agree getting a pre-processor eg. Anthem AVM70 blow up your budget of $6K.  But why not get an AVR with preouts and use a mix of amps on AVR and a multi channel amp.  Have a look at the NAD T758V3 as your "pre-processor" and build from there.  By the way, it has Dirac Live and an easy to use BluOS for stereo playback.

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Guest niterida

NAD T758V3 is only around $2500-3000 I think so that would be a top choice (if I am right about the price).

Anthem MRX1140 has just been advertised on here for $4400 brand new - $1600 off :)

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Yes I see your point and it seems often repeated through these forums thank you. 
Having a rather old but sweet Sansui amp I might be able to run my L/R through it. If I still buy the AVR for processing and some amplification for the interim. 
I can then add further channels of power down the track. 
Anthem Mrx 1140 for $4400? Please tell me more!! 
 

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1 hour ago, niterida said:

NAD T758V3 is only around $2500-3000 I think so that would be a top choice (if I am right about the price).

Anthem MRX1140 has just been advertised on here for $4400 brand new - $1600 off :)

The T758V3 is low $2K.  

 

I think you may be referring to this? A MRX 1120?

 

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8 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said:

The T758V3 is low $2K.  

 

I think you may be referring to this? A MRX 1120?

 

Yep thats the one.

 

Personally I would be buying a T758 at $2k although I believe they are only 7 internal amp channels so you will need 4 external amped channels

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The 1120.....that explains it. 
Your suggestions sit well with me. I’ve now been looking at the NAD T778. It has 11 channel processing/ 9 amplifiers. With Dirac and a modular design there is lots to like. 


It is appearing that the spec sheet on bits of equipment doesn’t seem as important as people reporting the wonderful sound coming through their system. Ie. The Anthem or Marantz  SR8015. V NAD. The 8015 with all the bells & whistles & 140 watts. The Anthem somewhere in between and the NAD with only 60 watts and pretty plane.

Even so, everyone relates to the outstanding NAD sound. 
 

A side by side comparison through my own speakers in my own home would be ideal. 


Is the NAD sound that good? 
Does that sound make up for the power and gizmos on the Marantz or Anthem? 
 
Thanks for your time! 

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17 minutes ago, Herbalointment said:

Is the NAD sound that good? 

Does that sound make up for the power and gizmos on the Marantz or Anthem?

I have had Anthem, NAD and Arcam in that order, and Arcam sounds the best, but is the most expensive.  Anthem and NAD sound about the same. 

 

The NAD T58V3 is the money for value option and is the cheapest "pre-processor".   BluOS is also excellent.  I am also a big fan of room correction software and rate Anthem Room Correction and Dirac Live as the best.

 

The Anthem MRX 1120 or 1140 will work a mid sized room with good sensitive speakers.  In a large room and with high volumes, it may be limited.

 

Marantz is good but the Australian price has been marked up.  Audyssey is good for movies only.  But I think that some newer models have the ability to reassign amps, which will be a big advantage; please check manual to confirm.

 

27 minutes ago, Herbalointment said:

A side by side comparison through my own speakers in my own home would be ideal.

That is ideal, but difficult to do unless you have a good relationship with the retailer. 

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50 minutes ago, Herbalointment said:

It is appearing that the spec sheet on bits of equipment doesn’t seem as important as people reporting the wonderful sound coming through their system.

 

The spec sheet won't tell you if it's going to sound good.  Don't discard it completely, it's an indication of how the unit can perform - but manufacturers lie and deceive on spec sheets to make the units appear better performers than what they are, you need to look very closely at them.  Often the specs only relate to one channel being driven, which is useless when you're buying it for multi-channel purposes.  A good indicator is to see the maximum power consumption of the unit, then divide by how many channels you're driving.

 

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Thanks all for your suggestions & information. 


I believe the Anthem 1140 calls me. 

A few +’s
The pointers Snoopy8 addded suits me fine. 
I do have a small/ medium size room & my Vaf speakers are on the sensitive side. 
I believe I’ll benefit greatly from the ARC processing. 
It meets my criteria and budget. 
I can always add amplifiers in the future. 

Kaynin’s advice also works towards the Anthem. 
The specs look good and people seem to like the Anthem sound. 

In saying that I will install my ceiling speakers first and give Anthem a chance to get rid of some niggles I’ve read about. Having a HDMI 2.1 tv, i would also like to know what Anthem’s add on 2.1 board is going to cost before jumping in! 
Cheers

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16 hours ago, Herbalointment said:

Thanks all for your suggestions & information. 


I believe the Anthem 1140 calls me. 

A few +’s
The pointers Snoopy8 addded suits me fine. 
I do have a small/ medium size room & my Vaf speakers are on the sensitive side. 
I believe I’ll benefit greatly from the ARC processing. 
It meets my criteria and budget. 
I can always add amplifiers in the future. 

Kaynin’s advice also works towards the Anthem. 
The specs look good and people seem to like the Anthem sound. 

Good choice as the 1140 has leeway for more channels in the future if wanted - being a 16ch model compared to the others . The best thing is it has the best amp reassignment of all of them eg you can add a 5ch power amp for the bed channels and reassign its class a/bs and d's to say back surrounds and 6 ceilings or even front wides :)

 

If constrained by your room and speakers though the mrx740 matches the other 7.1.4 layouts and it still has the amp reassign ..

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Thanks CWT. 
You have reaffirmed my thoughts and I will be going the Anthem way! 
I wrote to Anthem re the HDMI 2.1 issue. 
This is because I have a 2.1 capable tv (LG OLED CX) & I am a gamer. 
This is the response I got. 

Hello Lee,

 

They are an optional upgrade option for the unit, the units will not have HDMI 2.1 included in future builds.
 
Chris | Technical Advisor | Paradigm/Anthem Support Team


I have not read anywhere on the availability or price of the said board. 
(Has anyone heard of the update price?)


What it does inform me ( if I’ve read that right) is that there is no point waiting for a modified version of the MRX 1140 to hit the shelves. 

I would prefer to get a unit with the ‘optional ‘new board attached. I will ring around some dealers to try and learn more. 

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3 hours ago, Herbalointment said:

Thanks CWT. 
You have reaffirmed my thoughts and I will be going the Anthem way! 
I wrote to Anthem re the HDMI 2.1 issue. 
This is because I have a 2.1 capable tv (LG OLED CX) & I am a gamer. 
This is the response I got. 

Hello Lee,

 

They are an optional upgrade option for the unit, the units will not have HDMI 2.1 included in future builds.
 
Chris | Technical Advisor | Paradigm/Anthem Support Team


I have not read anywhere on the availability or price of the said board. 
(Has anyone heard of the update price?)


What it does inform me ( if I’ve read that right) is that there is no point waiting for a modified version of the MRX 1140 to hit the shelves. 

I would prefer to get a unit with the ‘optional ‘new board attached. I will ring around some dealers to try and learn more. 

Thats more information on the 2.1 board than we had till now Lee ;thanks . It makes sense as a lot will be be happy enough with the hdmi 2.0 board and there would be 2 separate lines going forward otherwise [which would be no good for stocking and ordering for anthemB)]

 

You never know ; they may swap to a different chip if the panasonic? one isnt fixed soon . The extra delay on the AVM90 shows this board will be on an "Emotiva" like time line maybe ?

 

The upgrade will likely be a dealer installed option as I cant see them letting the end user slotting in the new pcb for warranty reasons . Wont be too dear hopefully unless they start adding new dsp modes to it like denon has in the past ; some of the 2.1 features are backward compatible with 2.0 anyway like E-ARC ..

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Further to the 2.1 issue.

 

I have had several good responses from a few dealers, several have said the same thing.

 

The board is likely to cost $199. The fitting is unknown due to the fact they are not sure how in depth the procedure is,

but more then likely the unit will have to go back to the dealer.

 

They are not expected until much later in the year.

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