Time for a new a/v receiver could use some input!


I have an Arcam avr400 which is HDMI 1.4 and need a HDMI 2.0 4K receiver.
I'm using a 5.1 set up, so I looked at Arcam but I'm not happy with problems of handshake
So I decided to get another brand.

I'm down to either the Anthem MRX720 or the Marantz SR7013 
just want to stay around $2,500 its 5.1 but I like the power the Arcam has.
Not sure if they are equal in power ratings but I think they are both powerful enough.

The Marantz has all the gadgets you can think of,  but I'm looking for good sound,
 and a lot of people say that the Anthem sounds better, any thoughts?
Thank you
tesseract86
If you aren’t looking to move to Atmos then a MRX-520 would do the justice. I was in a similar situation and was looking at MRX-520 and a 3 or 5 ch. amp. I already have a Rotel 200w/ ch stereo amp for my L/R, so the 3/5 ch amp would replace my stereo amp. Luckily I was able to get brand new MRX-720 for close to the price of 520 and I bought that. So I still have the Rotel amp and 140/ch to drive my other speakers in my 5.1 esp. the center. The power depends on what speakers you are driving. Either way, 520 or 720 are great receivers and much better than my old Marantz SR5009. The ARC Genesis is simple amazing and that alone is worth Anthem. If I had bought the 520 I would’ve bought an used 3 ch amp. either Anthem MCA 325 or Parasound A31.
badaga,
thanks for your info, my room is 17x19 with 15 feet ceiling its also an open floor plan so the room is open on two sides.
I use Merlin vsm mme and a center speaker that Bobby Palkovic made for me a few years ago I want to have enough power because of the openness of the room. thats why I thought the Anthem mrx720 would be better than the 520 for me.

I'm also interested in a new AVR with HDMI 2.0 4K, since my current AVR requires me to run two HDMI cables from my Oppo UHD Blu-ray player, one to the TV and one to the AVR.  

What I'm looking at is the Onkyo TX-RZ920, which is available for $989 from Onkyo.  I found out about it on Audioholics. Before you turn up your nose, this thing is a power house AVR and has excellent DACs in it.  It also allows you to turn off the front L/R and/or Center channels when using a separate power amp for those channels.  Almost all other AVRs continue to run those channels even if you are using the RCA outputs to connect to a separate amp, which causes the distortion to increase in those channels when you turn up the volume and the heat begins to rise.

https://www.onkyousa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/TX-RZ920_US_20171027.pdf
I made up my mind and I’m getting the Anthem mrx720.
Is Crutchfield a decent place to buy from? any recommendation as to where to buy it from?
Thanks to all for your thoughts and advice.
Is Crutchfield a decent place to buy from?

Yes. Unless you can support a local brick and mortar audio store.