Anthem MRX Receivers - 300, 500, 700 Owners Thread & Tweaking Guide - Page 432

Ouch, a square room.... that is a challenge. How high are the ceilings?

A couple of picture would be great. How close to the wall is the screen? Could you put the speaker behind the screen? Most Centers go horizontally because they are going under a TV screen, however vertical like your front L/R is actually better... is the door dead center or slightly to one side. If slightly to one side and you went with a vertical center could you get it close to dead center?

I don't think you want your center to be to far off the center line or things will be very strange.

Can you put the speaker above the door and aim it down at your viewing/listing point?

Quick question.

Does anyone know if the MRX series has the ability to turn off amp sections on a channel-by-channel basis (i.e. today I may need three of the seven on, but tomorrow may only want to use it as a pre/pro)?

No, the unused channels just sit idle.

Guys, i've had feedback from Anthem and it is of the belief that vTuner is updating their servers. You guys probably know this by now.

"We are aware of the issue.

vTuner seems to be updating their servers. They should have this resolved shortly."

Thanks. I didn't get a response back to my inquiry yet. I hope that's all it is, but it sure "feels" more like an Anthem software issue than something caused by external sources. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

+1
My 500 was/is behaving the same. I think if it were a vTuner "issue", the service wouldn't be available at all. To lose the display, and not be able to navigate the screen, seems to be a Anthem "issue". The weird part, the station remained connected. I switched to SAT for a couple of minutes, then back to Media, and the station was still playing.
Has anyone confirmed if the USB part of the Media section is functioning properly? Just curious...I will check mine when I get home tonight.

Anthems code has to be changed due to changes vTuner made. Not sure how long it will take.
John

Will this be a FW update?

I suspect it will be.
John

I'm just speculating, but if a firmware change is required, it would most likely just be to the MM firmware, not the core firmware. So need to worry about all the implications on ARC and everything else

And if it is only MM, it can of course be updated over the USB port

That makes sense. I wonder how much of a priority this is for Anthem. I use internet radio all the time but I'm not certain how common that is in their customer base.

There might be a new FW for the Oppo 103 and MRX. There is a known bug regarding bitstreams. I spoke to Oppo and Anthem and both companies are working on it. I just don't know which end will fix it.

It should be soon since it affects all 500 and 700 units.
John

I suspect that you are correct.
John

Ive been doing some upgrades on my ht gear and ive never tested this out but my question is, what should i be using for best SQ. 7.1 analog out, out of my pioneer bdp320 BD player into my mrx300, or just keep the hdmi to do both SQ and PQ.

HDMI.
John

This is just my experience, but I wouldn't look to the MRX to improve PQ based on my calibration experience. You can always do both HDMI for video and analog for audio. They aren't mutually exclusive. Then you can compare audio from the two inputs and decide for yourself which one you like.
Edited by scirica - 12/4/12 at 7:27pm

Hi all, I know this may have been queried previously but what is the best way to connect say a mobile phone with mp3 files or an ipod to Anthemmrx500 amp.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

i have the mrx set to through for video and leave it via hdmi. But im talking more about sq either analog or hdmi. There isnt a problem now, but i was just curious. I see people say yes to some avrs, but just curious as to the mrx.

I'm just saying you can hook both HDMI and Analog for sound simultaneously and switch back and forth until you decide which you like better. Through is what I use for video as well.

With the MRX line, for audio, it is always recommended to go the digital route when possible. In this case that would be HDMI (as that was the only option you gave and would also give you the best surround sound options).

In addition, going analog will only provide you with stereo (which is possibly appropriate for for music... but not for most movies) as the MRX only has stereo analog inputs.

As for video, this will depend on a number of factors. The video in the MRX is very good, however if you have a very hi-end TV with excellent video processing, the TV's processing is likely equal to the MRX and in some cases may be better than the MRX. If you are connected via HDMI, you can try the MRX using "Through" mode which will pass the video signal untouched to your TV and let it do the processing. Than you can switch between "Through" and "Auto" or one of the predefined settings and see which mode you like best.

If your Mobile Phone or iPod is setup as a USB Drive and the MP3 files are copied onto it, than you can simply attach it to the MRX via USB and the MRX should be able to play the files for you. However, most iPods and iPhones (and likely other Mobile Phones) are not setup to behave as a "USB Drive". For these devices you can either connect them using an HDMI cable (if your device supports it) or an analog RCA to 3.5 Mini Plug adapter that would go from your headphone jack to the analog inputs of the MRX.

Of course if you have an iPhone or other Apple device that supports AirPlay, than an AppleTV maybe the easiest way to go.

vTuner Fixed, no firmware required. It was something at vTuner's end.
John
Edited by jayray - 12/5/12 at 1:15pm

Glad someone's getting a response. I haven't heard a thing!

It reached me first due to my location;)
John

As it should! Mine is still trying to get through Customs!

Yikes!

Posting here as well for advice.

Onkyo SR605 is current reciever
Considering moving up to MRX500.

So I am considering upgrading my receiver to power the following setup.
Paradigm Studio 60 mains.
Klipsch wc-24 Center (an eventual upgrade target but need new AV cabinet first)
SVS SB12
and Quintet IIs for surrounds.

I am not really in need of any features, however I am very interested in moving to a receiver with pre outs. The thought being that I could eventually combine with a 2-3 channel amp to power the mains and perhaps the center.

That is further down the road though.

Right now I just want to know whether the upgrade is worth considering (assuming I never use the preouts).
Will there be a discernible difference in audio quality? How much of a difference will the 20 extra watts per channel make?

thanks in advance
B
Edited by Purpose - 12/6/12 at 3:06pm

Purpose,

Unless I'm missing something, you don't tell us the make and model of your current receiver, so it's difficult to make any sort of determination of whether or not an upgrade might make sense. And, which Anthem receiver are you considering?

With my MRX-300, my plan is to someday add external amps for, at least, the front L/R channels and maybe the Center channel. However, in my 1300 cu ft room, the MRX-300 is driving my B&W Matrix 804/HTM/805's more than satisfactorily, so I don't feel any urgency to add external amplification at the moment.

Regards,

Dan

Sorry,

All that information was in the title of the original post, which I forgot to copy over.

Onkyo SR605 is current reciever
Considering moving up to MRX500.