Anthem D2/D2v/AVM50/AVM50v/ARC1 tweaking guide - Page 539

Pheew... I am relieved!!!
That was 24 hours without activity on what used to be one of the most heavily traffficed forums around.

Things are stabilizing - I guess.

Either that or everyone has lost so much in the MARKET
they are all out DRINKING. I know I will be in 90 Minutes

I just got a reply back from Anthem that I can get my AVM30 upgraded to an AVM50 with ARC for $2,800. Think I might take the plunge. Will be very difficult to ship my baby off to Canada though.

What about the v2 OPTION?

Good point, but didn't ask.

I'm having too much fun playing with Mac OS X 10.5.5, which is one rootin' tootin' kick-ass of a bug fix release!

(Just finishing up a new, full Time Machine backup. Posting this from my iPhone. )
--Bob

Mark, the v2 version is so close you really should consider holding off. Heck, even if it gets delayed to next year you'll likely be better off waiting than having to pay for two upgrades with two shipments back to the factory.
--Bob

Good point Bob. I've waited this long, what's another few months.

I'd hate to be spending all that money and not get v2.

I have been playing with ARC and I am warming up to it. The sound is much differn't, and can not wait to play with it a little more.

I am still thinking I am going to buy an Intergra 9.9 and do some side by side test.

Michael

This is a strange idea.

I hang out with Lexicon owners, what else should I say?

How many subwoofers can be connected to the D2? I don't care about balanced connections, but am interested in knowing how many can be separately calibrated by ARC.

GCHUVA

2 SUBS , can be connected.

Trev

last time I checked you can connect 4 subs (2 using XLR and 2 using RCA) but they all share the same sub settings.

Between the balance and unbalanced can't you connect more than 2. You would of course have to adjust for the 6dB difference in output. Also you can daisy chain some subs or use splitters and add more.

The question GCHUVA was asking was how many you can independently adjust using ARC and to be honest I don't remember it asking in the sofware how many subs you have but I only have one and therefore might not have looked for it. Also I would think that you would want to adjust the total bass in the room and not as independent sub adjustments, so I think you would want to set the total bass (.1 channel) response to the same reference volume as the mains (75dB - 85dB) and then run ARC.

If you are running subs with some kind of Room EQ (DD, F113/112, B15) or the SMS-1 system, then I would think you might want to run that for each sub to get rid of some of the room issues so that ARC had less to do in terms achieving a targeet response.

In another Forum (HT compnents more than $20000) LEVESQUE gives some more details about the v2 version of the D2 (and I assume D1 & AVM).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...4&highlight=d2

On this forum I have seen quite a few threads that this does not offer much over the D2, however I would like to try and understand that a little more.

It appears to have a new version of the video processor with more capability to improve the picture (noise reduction, etc). Just how much of a change is the new video processor and what does it really offer over the current processor?

It offers 1.3c input and we can debate for ever over in processor audio decoding vs. in play decoding. But this also offers deep color for the future, useful or not, who can tell at the moment.

The thing that I think is most overlooked is the change of the audio DSP chips from the motorola to the dual core with the increased capacity this gives. I think that this might offer more potential in terms of ARC. It appears that ARC currently has to make decisions on what to do in order to try and achieve that target curve, as you increase the max frequency beyond 5KHz it appears to do less correction below 5KHz for instance.

So the question I have is will the new DSP chips allow ARC to better achieve that target curve with the increased processing capability? Any thoughts?

If you're buying new, the D2V2 is awesome.

If you're upgrading, and you want 7.1 LPCM, you have to get the D2V2.

If you're upgrading, and you want the HD audio codecs in your pre-pro, you have to get the D2V2.

Otherwise, it's a lot of nice-to-have's for the upgrader.

A good reason to stay the course. There is nothing more fun in group then being the black sheep.

New DSPs=more processing power that could be use for ARC. I don't believe Anthem is done developping ARC. We shall see further improvement of this.

I am also using multiple subs, and my ARC kit should arrive any day now. Will ARC calculate a single curve for all subwoofers, or will they be treated separately? Also, will the Anthem be able to set different crossovers for each subwoofer?

One last thing. You can adjust phase for the subwoofer in the Anthem. Is it possible to adjust phase for each subwoofer?

All 4 sub output sockets on the Anthem send out the same signal. Always. Any adjustment you make in the Anthem affects all 4 of them the same way -- they can not be adjusted separately. The only difference is the standard, 6dB voltage difference between the RCA and XLR outputs -- see Section 2.2 of the Manual.

ARC does not change that. ARC hears all 4 subs together as one subwoofer and adjusts that "one subwoofer" accordingly.

[IMPORTANT NOTE: When using ARC, set your Speaker Configuration to "1 subwoofer" even if you are actually using more than 1. See Section 3.3 of the Manual.]

[NOTE: See Section 3.9 of the Manual -- "Balanced Out" -- for an alternate way to use the Balanced Center2/Sub2 outputs as balanced L/R outputs for Zone 2.]

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When setting up for multiple subs that means you will need to use the volume and phase controls built into all but one of them -- you can use the Anthem's controls for any one and then adjust the others up or down from that using their internal controls. Generally folks will find it less confusing to just use the internal controls in ALL of their subs and leave the Anthem settings at the default positions.

When setting the sub volumes, you power up only one at a time and then target a lower volume from each so that when they are all powered up you get a combined volume level around 75dB SPL. For example, typically with 2 subs you would adjust the internal volume control on each to achieve a 73dB SPL reading. When they are played together you will get roughly 75dB SPL. [This is assuming you've already set the Noise Level properly in the Anthem for 75dB SPL and have set the sub volume trim in the Anthem to 0dB.] When ARC does its volume trim adjustments, it will set the volume trim for the combined set of subwoofers up or down from 0dB so that the combined subwoofers are together producing the required volume.

Similarly you need to set the phase separately for each subwoofer using its internal phase control. Again you do this with only one sub powered up at a time. Using a phase test tone from a calibration DVD you then adjust each subwoofer in turn to be in phase with the Left Front speaker. When all subs are in phase with the LF speaker then they are also in phase with each other.

Since ARC will hear all of the subs together when it does its Measurement, you must do *BOTH* this volume balancing *AND* this phase adjustment before you do your ARC Measurement.
--Bob

Mike,
The write up LEVESQUE quoted in that post is the official Anthem press release from CEDIA.

To get caught up on what we know so far, read the posts in this thread beginning with this post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6#post14589926

You'll need to read at least several pages beyond that to get the basics.

You'll find what we know on pricing, on the new video processor chip, on new features we think will be offered using that new chip, on the value of 12 bit processing in the chip even if you AREN'T using Deep Color sources or display, on the extra power of the new DSP chips, and on the physical changes in the back panel and internal layout of the v.2.

At this point it is not yet clear what Anthem will do with the extra processing power the new DSPs provide -- beyond bitstream decoding of course. We certainly expect that Anthem will provide enhancements to ARC as time goes on, but no details have leaked out yet.
--Bob

Bob,

Thanks for the info.

I am sure that with the introduction of the v2 it is time for me to upgrade my D1 which I have had for quite some time now. The reason I have not done so in the past was because I did not have any HDMI dependent components, however now I have a new Pioneer TV and a number of components with HDMI out it's time to upgrade, despite having to be without my D1 for a number of weeks.

This is quite a major upgrade (rebuild) for my D1 (more than the previous D1-HD upgrade would have been) and so I wish they would actually do some sort of buy back program so I wouldn't have to be without my D1 while it is being upgraded. I would certainly pay more than the probable upgrade price for that convenience.

Anyway Anthem has my name "on file" so that when the upgrade becomes available they will let me know. They mentioned November, but I am guessing it will probably be more like January for upgrades.

Mike

Although I don't expect Anthem to offer a direct buy back, I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear some Anthem dealers are offering attractive terms for trade-in if you purchase a new D2 v.2.

I'm trying to recall now how dealers handled that when the original D2 launched. My vague recollection is that dealers were all over the map, with some doing aggressive trade-in stuff and others not wanting to take that on at all.

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The actual work needed to convert a D1 to a D2 v.2 is really not much different from that needed to convert a D1 to the original D2. Both require disassembly so that the back panel can be replaced and the new video board mounted (which includes the HDMI stuff). The additional work is the replacement of the DSP board, plus testing.

So I suspect the time "in shop" doing the upgrade would be pretty similar. For most people who have done D1 to D2 upgrades or AVM-30 to AVM-50 upgrades, the time in transit each way was longer than the time in shop actually doing the work. Keep in mind that if you don't live in Canada, this will require a stop in Customs each way -- which can add up to a week each way to the actual shipping time. I suspect all that will be true with the v.2 upgrades as well.

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In the case of the D2, there was a substantial delay before upgrades were offered to D1 customers at all. A somewhat shorter delay occurred between first shipments of ARC bundled with D2 and availability of ARC upgrades for existing customers.

On the other hand, AVM-50/ARC bundles and ARC upgrades for AVM-50 customers happened at the same time just recently.

This time, Nick tells me they are actually trying to fire up the v.2 upgrades at the same time the new units ship. We'll just have to see if they can pull that off. He also says they want AVM-50 v.2 to happen at the same time that D2 v.2 happens.

So far, the only public statement from Anthem has been with respect to NEW (not upgrade) D2 v.2 units. I think we can expect that if any snags develop, new unit shipments will get priority over turning on any upgrade programs. And by the way, that might be ANOTHER good reason to consider a trade-in through your dealer.
--Bob

Reply that I received from Anthem about being able to upgrade my AVM-30 to AVM-50 v.2:

"That's the plan but I don't expect details for 2-3 months, and I suspect the price will be north of $3K (it hasn't been set and likely won't be before production begins). It remains to be seen which would be better for you:

- upgrade the AVM 30 to v2 including ARC. Estimated $3300 including shipping, plus around 4 weeks down time depending on your location.

- trade-in or sell the AVM 30 and use proceeds towards new AVM 50 v2 with ARC. This may not end up costing much more than the above and there's no down time with trade-ins. The faceplate will also have the latest logos."

Say "congratulations". One of the regular posters in this thread (Mark Fishman - FilmMixer) won an Emmy Award last night for mixing the HBO 'John Adams' miniseries.

Sanjay

Whooo hoo way to go Marc.

Dang! And well deserved, too!

The crowd goes WILD!

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--Bob

What about distances? Does the D2 calibrate for the distance of the subwoofer? And if so, only for two?