Are Anthem overrated?

JamesP1701

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Hi all,

This is contentious I know but:

I’ve gone from and Anthem 310-510-720 and have had my current 720 since 2018.

About two years ago, HDMI 5 and 6 inputs have had issues with revceiving a 4k signal. Further, in the last few months, I have had issues with it not turning on.

I sent it off to Anthem's UK repair agent, to be told that the board needed replacing. Paid £500 for.

Having just received it back: guess what - HDMI 5 only receives an HD signal (and no sound), now HDMI 6 is fine however HDMI 7 now only receives HD, not 4k.

Whilst it was away, I had a two week trial of a Denon 4700 and honestly: I would say the sound quality was on a par.

I can’t help feeling that Anthem are overrated for what you get. Honestly? I’d like to sell it and go to Denon, but of course I can’t do that whilst it’s not working as it should (all other inputs are fine).

Wondering if I allowed myself to get caught up in the Anthem hype!
James
 
Room correction wise, they to me are one of the best you can buy, but as with everything that corrects the audio sound, in order to do this, they have to manipulate the speakers to remove those unwanted sounds which my peak in your room to create an undesired audio experience.

My wife was always a good judge of who good a system performed with sound and vision as she is sensitive in these areas and the Anthem are one of the only brands where I've just plugged a product in, ran its room correction and never go earache

As with any product, if you get one which does go wrong, then you are unlucky and if it's come back from the repairers with a failure or failing to do something it ought to be able to, then you should be back on the phone as something is wrong and they need to correct whatever they have done which has stopped it from functioning as specified by the manufacturer
 
After sales service is not only dependent on the manufacturer, but also where you live and need that support. As a product it's a decent implementation of the chosen functionality at a sensible price (based on my local CHF prices).

For example, Quad's service department in UK is excellent, over here it is best described as non-existent. Your profile doesn't indicate your home country (you quoted a GBP repair price, but that may simply be because this is a UK board), so it's impossible to comment on whether Anthem would be a good bet for you are whether a "keep well clear" recommendation would be more appropriate. Over here, the agent, who also handles Martin Logan (of importance to me), is reputable.
 
When I have auditioned receivers I would say yes, they are over rated. I would say that Denon are as good as they get. Nad, Arcam and Anthem are over rated. I prefer the Denons and not just because they’re cheaper. They just sounded more exciting, clear and dynamic.
This confused the heck out of me for ages until I discovered Audio science review. Suddenly it all made sense.
 

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