HT Receivers?

[rogue]

Not sure if this is the right forum, so I apologizes in advance if it's not.

I'm in the market to upgrade my old HT receiver, a 5 year old HK something or other. It was bought for around $500 so it's quality is probably not quite up to par with some of the bigger boys. I'm also interested in some of that new fangled room correction technology, as my living room is not completely conducive to good sound quality (cathedral ceilings...).

Does anyone have any opinions on Anthem, Integra, or Pioneer Elite gear? I'm looking to spend around $2k and will probably go hear a few of these this weekend. Is there anything else I should be looking at?

Separates would be awesome, but I'm not so sure I can get anything reasonable in this price range. It seems that a new processor alone (I need HDMI switching and the like) would run around my entire budget. Maybe someone can prove me wrong though

[emelius]

I'd give the Arcam AVR400 a listen if you can find a good deal on one...

you should probably check out avsforum.com too...some good info plus someone just put up an Anthem MRX 700 on the classifieds:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/vbclassified.php?do=ad&id=16077

I'd buy that right now if I had the funds...

Edited August 12, 2011 by emelius

[tkam]

I'd take a look at the Denon 4311 as well.

[rogue]

Thanks guys. That Anthem MRX700 is tempting - that's the one I was looking at myself. Hopefully I'll be able to hear it tomorrow.

I've briefly looked at the AVR400 from Arcam, but it seems a bit underpowered for its price. The shop I'm going to may have it as well, so I'll give it a listen if it's there.

I've never been a big fan of the lower-end Denon gear, but the 4311 seems near the upper tier so it could be worthwhile. Spec-wise it seems very similar to the Integra stuff. The shop may have it too, so I'll give it a shot.

Edited August 12, 2011 by rogue

[rogue]

So, I ended up getting the Anthem from my local dealer. While there I also heard the Arcam AVR400, NAD 757 (I think?), and some lower end Denon (3xxx). The Arcam had a nice presence and good soundstaging, but it sounded a bit colder and not as capable for HT duties. The NAD was OK, but it seemed to lack a little something in terms of warmth and refinement, reminded me too much of my current HK unit. The Denon was similar, but perhaps less refined although it certainly wasn't a fair comparison in terms of the price range.

What sold me on the Anthem was it's warmth (excellent midrange!), soundstaging, and musicality/PRAT. It's remote is horrendous but I'll be using my Harmony so that's not a biggie. My decision was also swayed by the (supposed) fact that it's in room correction, ARC, is much better than what the others offer in this price range, since it's the same system as used in its many $k processors. I also got a pretty good deal - $1799 new. Should be here sometime next week hopefully, I'll post some real world impressions then.

Edited August 19, 2011 by rogue