2. home-theater
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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
internetmin
258 posts
 
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.
sthomas12321
408 posts
 
I have owned both, and I would buy the Integra
internetmin
258 posts
 
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.
saeyedoc
103 posts
 
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.
internetmin
258 posts
 
You may be correct for the integra upgrade. I forgot about the license.
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