Q on Any Improvement: AVR-3805 + 5-ch Amp VS AVM-30 + 5-ch Amp

It's difficult to say weather you would hear a huge difference but I believe there would be a noticeable difference. When I was auditioning separates I came to the conclusion that the AVM 30 / D1 were the most amazing processors that I heard at that price point. I found the AVM to be better than B&K, Rotel, Outlaw, Krell, Adcom, Halo, Sunfire, and shamefully close to Theta and Meridian. I know it's a bold statement to compare AVM with Theta and Meridian but those were my findings. It would be hard to beat the 3805 w/ separate amp with mid-fi separates but I think that the AVM would do it for you. I'm a huge Denon fan but the only upgrade that I would ever make into separates would be the AVM. Truly, an amazing processor.

Good luck.

Thank you for your views.

That answer partly depends on how much you customize it to your room and your tastes. The AVM30 is very "tweakable", and some of the settings make a big difference (notch filter, adjustable cross-overs, lip synch adjustment, bass management on analog ins, separate music vs. cinema settings etc.) Some of the features may be more psychological than anything (like the 1/2 decibal and 1/2 foot increments). If you're willing to put in the time, the Anthem lets you "dial in" the perfect settings and save them (thank goodness!).


Chris

I just received my AVM 30 last night and I can't say enough good things about it. You could spend hours tweaking it. I spent about 3hr on it last night and have really just started. Get it I thing you will be very pleased.

Thank you, Chris.


Notch filter feature looks good. 80Hz cross-over for all my speakers is fine based on their analog audio frequency responses. Bass management is currently done by 3910.

I am actually considering going the other way and getting rid of my Ref 50 for a reciever that has room correction to pair with my Sherborn amp. I have a listened to few recievers now with the feature and think they sound better than my ref 50 with only a notch engaged.


I have some room treatments to take care of first order reflections and my low freq is relatively flat based on where I have placed my sub....i just think that i may get more mileage with Room correct than with higher grade build quality


Any one else do this?

I just went the other way. Granted it is not the best but I had the Yammy 2400 and loved the self calibration. It made set up a breeze and I would always go back and check it and it was pretty much dead on.


The Anthem AVM 30 with only 2hrs of tweaking sounds far superior to Yammy. With only a few hours under my belt with the unit I could not imagine going back.

Quote:
I vaguely remember someone in past on other forum did a similar move. Looks like there are two schools of thoughts: One believes that a good receiver paired with outboard amp gives best of both worlds, the other believes dedicated prepro is the ultimate goal.

The biggest difference between receivers and separates are the amps. Using a receiver as a pre/pro is a very cost effective approach for HT, but won't get you the best in terms of audiophile SQ for music. Only you can decide what is more important, EQ or transparency of SQ.