I have an AVM-20, and couldn't recommend it more highly for the price. I looked at the RD-7 equally at the time, which cost over a grand more new compared to the Anthem, and I just could not justify the extra money (especially for a Japanese Onkyo product).
The Sonic Frontiers/Anthem house sound is there, and comes from their experience with hi-end tube products, DAC's, etc. This unit has a very intuitive configuration setup and consistently better software is offered regularly via their website. Each new software rev includes an entire replacement manual, and it is always well-written.
I find it to be a very graceful, feature-filled pre/pro, capable of every potential combo of connections that I could ever think up. I have had Zero trouble out of mine, and it is one of the earliest units around. It has never locked-up or acted quirky at all, which is apparently NOT the case with some well-known (and more expensive) competitors - the Proceed AVP is one example.
The Sonic Frontiers/Anthem house sound is there, and comes from their experience with hi-end tube products, DAC's, etc. This unit has a very intuitive configuration setup and consistently better software is offered regularly via their website. Each new software rev includes an entire replacement manual, and it is always well-written.
I find it to be a very graceful, feature-filled pre/pro, capable of every potential combo of connections that I could ever think up. I have had Zero trouble out of mine, and it is one of the earliest units around. It has never locked-up or acted quirky at all, which is apparently NOT the case with some well-known (and more expensive) competitors - the Proceed AVP is one example.