Looking for replacement for Anthem MRX 300

[AR2ax man]

Still have my trusty MRX 300, have external amp for fronts off it. Have liked the ARC for Home theater but never liked for music listening, have always turned off for 2 channel. Lookin to get one of the newer AVR that can only adjust low end frequency and has good ability for 2 channel music.

I was looking at the new Denon X1800H, $749, with Audyssey,has front channel pre outs, zone pre outs and 2 optical in, which is my minimal requirements. Rare for a receiver this low of price to have front pre outs. How would Denon sound compare to my Anthem for Music?

Any other recommendations that would meet my needs and not blow the bank?

[curtis]

Would you be interested in a used Anthem AVM 60?

Of course you would need some more external amp channels.

[AR2ax man]

Would you be interested in a used Anthem AVM 60?

Of course you would need some more external amp channels.

Hi Curtis. Thanks, but kind of looking to try something non anthem just to switch things up. Also my surrounds are pretty efficient, thus trying to go the economical route of receiver.

[racrawford65]

From posts I’ve seen, people moving from Denon to Anthem are very satisfied. IMO, the new Anthems are a big improvement for music and are great for movies, at least that’s how I feel about my move from 720 to avm70. I never used ARC for music on the 720 - made it sound dull. Music was good on the 720 w/o ARC. The 70 sounds great for music, even with ARC.

[AR2ax man]

From posts I’ve seen, people moving from Denon to Anthem are very satisfied. IMO, the new Anthems are a big improvement for music and are great for movies, at least that’s how I feel about my move from 720 to avm70. I never used ARC for music on the 720 - made it sound dull. Music was good on the 720 w/o ARC. The 70 sounds great for music, even with ARC.

I just can't stomach the prices of the new Anthem products. Any recommendation for something besides Anthem good at music more budget friendly?

[MusicHead]

In the same price range as the X1800H there are the Yamaha RX-V6A and Onkyo TX-NR6100.

What is your budget? An intriguing option could be the NAD T 758 V3i at around $1,700. I believe it is the lowest cost AVR with Dirac. It is the LE (limited edition), with correction in the 20-500 Hz frequency range. Not a bad thing in my opinion, and it is what you want.

[racrawford65]

Understood - they are a bit pricey.
That said, if you'd consider "used", there is a MRX740 on usaudiomart listed for 1900. Ad doesn't say whether it's 4k or 8k.

[AR2ax man]

In the same price range as the X1800H there are the Yamaha RX-V6A and Onkyo TX-NR6100.

What is your budget? An intriguing option could be the NAD T 758 V3i at around $1,700. I believe it is the lowest cost AVR with Dirac. It is the LE (limited edition), with correction in the 20-500 Hz frequency range. Not a bad thing in my opinion, and it is what you want.

Thanks, checked out the onkyo versions, looks like Onkyo TX-RZ50 would be a good option and is on sale currently. Also if I stepped up on the Denon side to x3800, looks like can load Dirac now or comes stock XT32 audyseey. Do not want to go over 1500. Will look at that nad as well.

[AR2ax man]

Understood - they are a bit pricey.
That said, if you'd consider "used", there is a MRX740 on usaudiomart listed for 1900. Ad doesn't say whether it's 4k or 8k.

Thanks. I started analyzing more, since my room is really not that bad now that I have seating dialed in with room mode areas.I kind of like the bump where I get it, 60-80hz range, and as you stated on the older units without ARC music sounds good. Seems like I might be better just getting a few bass traps just to tame things a bit and keep my MRX until it dies!

Second thought I have always pondered is running a separate integrated for 2 channel and get some smaller fronts for HT duty and keep HT on the MRX. But always struggle with if having two sets of front speakers how to set them up so they do not impact my towers. Since HT is really low on the spectrum for me, figure maybe get 3 HTM-200SE up front and when not watching movies, put the front ones all the way back against the wall and as close to my rack as possible using slim stands.

[racrawford65]

I'm not sure if a few bass traps will help. You might want to talk with GIK or one of the other suppliers and get their recommendations. I do have some GIK bass traps but really haven't measured with/without to see what, if any, improvement they provided.

Instead of another set of speakers for HT, maybe some sort of speaker selector if you do get a separate integrated for HT. Or, thinking out loud, a separate 2 channel pre (unamplified) and maybe run it through the Analog ins (with no processing, e.g. pure analog) of your MRX?