[Mark Hodgkinson]

Renowned audio manufacturers, Anthem, have just introduced us to their new power amplifiers with the Anthem Statement M1. Anthem says 'the M1 annihilates perceptions that Class D amplifiers aren’t suitable for hi-end sound systems'. Now that is a statement!

The M1 is engineered with 'advanced' load monitoring and power factor correction technology to account for fluctuations in mains voltage, even to as low as 120 Volts. Frequency response is load-independent: the difference in response between a 2-ohm load and an open circuit is only a claimed 0.1 dB, and between 4 ohms and 8 ohms there is no change in frequency response at all. The manufacturers reckon the M1 is also a 'true double-down’ amplifier with 1000W into 8 ohms and 2000W into 4 ohms, with total harmonic distortion remaining under 0.1% from 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

Anthem designed the new Statement amplifier with a heat pipe cooling system that allows multiple M1s, with feet removed, to be rack-mounted directly on top of one another and they're fan-less too.

Included in the system is a digitally modelled time constant of the circuit interrupter, which does not trip the instant its maximum current is reached. Similar to slow-blow fuses, this feature allows momentary current surges that do not last long enough to result in excessive heat.

“Anthem has a rich history with traditional hi-end amplifier design,”said Tom Garrett, Technical Sales Manager at Anthem AV Solutions, the UK distributors of Anthem. “It’s easy to be fooled by how slim the M1 is, but we know our installers will be very pleasantly surprised by just how good this power amplifier is, both in terms of sound quality and high output.”

The Anthem Statement M1 is available in the UK from Anthem AV Solutions. It has an MSRP of £3,499 inc. VAT and will start shipping in November.