Anthem vs Integra


I am looking for any input on these two ideas; either Integra 70.3 or anthem avm-50 (maybe 50v) with a pva 5 or pva 7. Will be using oppo 93 with either set-up. Mainly used for 75% to 25% movies to music. I have vr-1’s and lcr-10 in front with dipole for surrounds. Have a nht powered sub also. I know that the ibtegra has the latest video and audyssey 32, but the oppo 93 can do the processing and the anthem drc I hear is really good also. Any feedback is fine. I can get the anthem equipment used but the 70.3 would obviously be new. I have a large room with a panny 60’ plasma. Looking at around a $3k budget for all. Kids and family ad economics driving budget. Looking for best buy for the money. Thanks and look forward to hearing from y’all.

Joe in Mobile
magsterone
Grandtech-
First, the number of filters is important, of course, but since the public is not informed of those numbers, one cannot make a choice so simply.

Second, the distribution of filters across the audio spectrum is important and, with XT32, Audyssey has re-allocated them to make more available at the lower frequencies where they are more needed. Note that in the Anthem AVRs, there is a high frequency limit to the correction because the fewer filters are retained where they are necessary.

Third, the advantages of the Pro kit include the ability to edit your target curves and the better measurements due to the calibrated microphone and dedicated mic preamp. The number of filters and number of measurements is determined by the version of Audyssey.

Fourth, there are many sources of detailed information on both Audyssey, AudysseyPro and ARC. The dedicated threads on these at AVSforums is very informative if you can get through them. There have, also, been reviews in magazines and websites. I have reviewed most all of these products in my Stereophile column and you can simply Google the word "Stereophile" along with the product (MultEQ XT32, MulEQ Pro, ARC, etc.) to find the articles.

Kal
So the number of filters that built in the pre/pro, say Onkyo 5509, are basically the same, if so, I would doubt how good this would be compare to Anthem 50v's ARC which saying it has more filters than its younger brother MRX-300/500/700. Any thoughts??
The pro upgrade to audyssey consists of two parts, one is the kit with the calibrated mic, it's $550 and you would need to get it from a dealer. The license is $150. Not all Audyssey XT units are pro capable, there's a list on the Audyssey website.
Once you have it, you then run it on a separate computer instead of on the reveiver/pro itself. There are then ways to tweak the curves. It also measures more points than the std Audyssey
By reading above posts, Audyssey MultiXT/32 Pro seems like available as a retail pacakage which I never came across with. But why there is rarely a review or post in forums about the experience using it, if there is any, I would like to know more of it.
To way oversimplify things, ARC and Audyssey MultiXT/32 Pro are probably in the same league. I'm sure both are great as several reviewers have stated. Some have a bias of one to the other and some don't.

ARC on the receivers does have some limitations. I haven't looked at the frequency limitation and of there advanced setting limits.

What I personally love about ARC is that you can save a particular curve and reload it at any time. So you can tweak and not worry about losing what you did previously.
Will Audyssey Pro have the similar level of room correction achievement vs ARC in MRX300?

ARC in AVM50V will it be superior than the Pro Audyssey?
Best bang for the buck is to use the Anthem MRX300 as a pre/pro. Getting ARC at that price point ($1k) is a real bargain. You can use the amps for surrounds or a second zone if you want.
The ARC version has some limitations compared to the dedicated pre/pros (freq range and # of filters), but you do get the calibrated mic and it uses a PC for the calculations.
The pro version of Audyssey more like $700, I think it's $550 for the kit and $150/device for the license.
Note that with the Integra you do not get a calibrated microphone for room correction. You only get a cheap plastic mic. The better mic for the plus the license for the better version of Audyssey costs an additional $500. You do get a calibrated pro mic, pro stand and base with the Anthem and you get their full ARC system that shows you before and after graphs of your room, custom tweaks, etc. Visually seeing the room correction curves for each speaker is a huge plus. To really simplify things the out of the box Integra Audyssey is not equal to the Anthem system. You need to upgrade Audyssey on the Integra to get that level of performance.
Can't say enough good things about the Anthem products. Unless you are looking at some specific feature in the 80.3 (I assume 70.3 is a typo) then I would look at the Anthem 50v. It is not as feature-rich as the Integra, but boy is it really spectacular in the performance department.