Anthem MRX 710 to a Arcam 550

Garry123

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Getting upgrade itus. My MRX 710 is getting on a bit now. So I was think of jumping to an Arcam 550.

Any thoughts? Is it worth the change. Main benefit is the upgraded hdmi and supported audio formats.

Mainly used for movies, but some music.
 
Getting upgrade itus. My MRX 710 is getting on a bit now. So I was think of jumping to an Arcam 550.

Any thoughts? Is it worth the change. Main benefit is the upgraded hdmi and supported audio formats.

Mainly used for movies, but some music.

If it was me, I would either wait for the new Anthems to be released or go for an NAD 778 (just been released). The new Arcam HDAs still have serious firmware bugs and the FMJ series is also quite long in the tooth now, although at a decent price (this is coming from a current Arcam FMJ AVR850 owner). If you like the sound of the Anthem and ARC, you might want to stick with Anthem as a brand.
 
If you are looking for as bargain, however, a brand new Arcam AVR550 with 5 / 6 year warranty for £1500, is pretty hard to beat and won't be available for long.
 
£1500 is what caught my eye. Bargain.
 
£1500 is what caught my eye. Bargain.
It is a bargain as long as you can live with its problems.

Personally I'd look for an Anthem MRX-720, perhaps ex-demo from a dealer with full warranty. If you can find one you might be surprised at the low price.

New models potentially coming in the Autumn, but prices will no doubt be high.
 
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Probably a good idea.
 
There aren't any brand new Anthems available for near that price, unless you can make do with only five channels,

I've not heard an Anthem personally, but plenty of comparisons have been made on these forums and the consensus seems to be that people prefer the sound of the Arcams.

The Arcam AVR550 has been stable for over two years on firmware version 4.14. Me and my family use mine every day with zero usability issues.
 
There aren't any brand new Anthems available for near that price, unless you can make do with only five channels,

I've not heard an Anthem personally, but plenty of comparisons have been made on these forums and the consensus seems to be that people prefer the sound of the Arcams.

The Arcam AVR550 has been stable for over two years on firmware version 4.14. Me and my family use mine every day with zero usability issues.
It has been possible to get a 720 for a few hundred pounds more than the discounted Arcam, so you're wrong.

There are also plenty of members that have preferred the natural sounding Anthem and easier to use ARC. People will always prefer one or the other, but I think suggesting the consensus prefer buggy Arcam is just nonsense.

I'm happy for you, but feel sorry for many other Arcam owners that have suffered with a buggy system and poor customer service.

Enjoy what you have. I'm enjoying my system and glad I chose Anthem instead of Arcam.
 
It has been possible to get a 720 for a few hundred pounds more than the discounted Arcam, so you're wrong.
Do you have a link to that, I did look and couldn't find anything.
There are also plenty of members that have preferred the natural sounding Anthem and easier to use ARC. People will always prefer one or the other, but I think suggesting the consensus prefer buggy Arcam is just nonsense.
I am not getting into a mine is better than yours argument, because I am a grown up. The AVF reviewer, Steve Withers reviewed the Anthem MRX1120 and The Arcam AVR 850 and bought the Arcam for his own personal use. Is one example.
I'm happy for you, but feel sorry for many other Arcam owners that have suffered with a buggy system and poor customer service.
Thanks, bugs and poor customer service is an awful thing wherever it happens, and of course are not exclusive to Arcam. However, for this specific thread and purchase consideration the OP need not worry as the AVR550 is proven to be stable as explained above.
Enjoy what you have. I'm enjoying my system and glad I chose Anthem instead of Arcam.
Lovely. Great news, I am happy for you :)
 
There aren't any brand new Anthems available for near that price, unless you can make do with only five channels,

I've not heard an Anthem personally, but plenty of comparisons have been made on these forums and the consensus seems to be that people prefer the sound of the Arcams.

The Arcam AVR550 has been stable for over two years on firmware version 4.14. Me and my family use mine every day with zero usability issues.

It's good that you don't have any usability issues, but please don't assume that's true for everybody. The Arcam FMJs (don't know about the new HDAs) have an annoying delay at the start of CD replay (and digital music media) that results in a slight loss of sound at the start of a track. If you play from the start of the CD, you just lose the sound on the first track, but if you skip tracks or are using a non-gapless medium, you get the delay at the start of every track. The Arcams are alone in doing that in my experience and the issue is made worse when Dirac is engaged.
 
It's good that you don't have any usability issues, but please don't assume that's true for everybody. The Arcam FMJs (don't know about the new HDAs) have an annoying delay at the start of CD replay (and digital music media) that results in a slight loss of sound at the start of a track. If you play from the start of the CD, you just lose the sound on the first track, but if you skip tracks or are using a non-gapless medium, you get the delay at the start of every track. The Arcams are alone in doing that in my experience and the issue is made worse when Dirac is engaged.
Thanks Steve, I read about that on the owner's thread, not something I have experienced myself. Maybe because I use an external DAC and streamer via direct mode?

All things considered though, I still think that the current RS offering of an AVR550 for £1500 with extended home trial, the option of a 6 year warranty, brand new in box unit, is an exceptional bargain that won't be around for long.
 
Thanks Steve, I read about that on the owner's thread, not something I have experienced myself. Maybe because I use an external DAC and streamer via direct mode?

All things considered though, I still think that the current RS offering of an AVR550 for £1500 with extended home trial, the option of a 6 year warranty, brand new in box unit, is an exceptional bargain that won't be around for long.

Not arguing about the value at all Rambles. It is a good bargain.

However, in an attempt to help the OP, it does need to be kept in mind that the FMJ series is quite old in technology terms and at the end of its development life now that the HDA series has been released (the Anthem 720 will be in a similar state later this year too, so it's not just Arcam).

£1500 is still a lot of money for what is now a superseded model that still has some deficiencies. That was all I was trying to point out to the OP.
 
Not arguing about the value at all Rambles. It is a good bargain.

However, in an attempt to help the OP, it does need to be kept in mind that the FMJ series is quite old in technology terms and at the end of its development life now that the HDA series has been released (the Anthem 720 will be in a similar state later this year too, so it's not just Arcam).

£1500 is still a lot of money for what is now a superseded model that still has some deficiencies. That was all I was trying to point out to the OP.
Yes, fair enough, I don't disagree with that.

Anyone buyng one should be aware of their foibles and have a think about where they want to compromise in terms of money / sound quality / features.

I can't think of anything that would come remotely close to the sound quality of the Arcam for that price, plus you get full Dirac thrown in. There are plenty of £1500 receivers that would have more modern and better features, I'm referring to Denon / Marantz maybe Yamaha, but the sound quality is nowhere near as good, in my experience.

If I was buying new now I would probably be looking at the new Nad T778 that is getting great feedback from new owners, but at £2500, it is considerably more expensive, and only comes with a 2 year warranty compared to the Arcam's five.
 
Getting upgrade itus. My MRX 710 is getting on a bit now. So I was think of jumping to an Arcam 550.

Any thoughts? Is it worth the change. Main benefit is the upgraded hdmi and supported audio formats.

Mainly used for movies, but some music.

If it was me, I'd try to hang on until around the end of the year, or maybe even the start of next year. Is there anything else you can change in the meantime ?
 
Yes, fair enough, I don't disagree with that.

Anyone buyng one should be aware of their foibles and have a think about where they want to compromise in terms of money / sound quality / features.

I can't think of anything that would come remotely close to the sound quality of the Arcam for that price, plus you get full Dirac thrown in. There are plenty of £1500 receivers that would have more modern and better features, I'm referring to Denon / Marantz maybe Yamaha, but the sound quality is nowhere near as good, in my experience.

If I was buying new now I would probably be looking at the new Nad T778 that is getting great feedback from new owners, but at £2500, it is considerably more expensive, and only comes with a 2 year warranty compared to the Arcam's five.

Not sure if the NAD 758 is still available. That is supposedly on par with the Arcam 550 according to people that have owned both models. Sevenoaks may still have stock.
 
Not sure if the NAD 758 is still available. That is supposedly on par with the Arcam 550 according to people that have owned both models. Sevenoaks may still have stock.
I'm afraid the awful review and bench test that it got on ASR put me off of that. :(
 
I'm afraid the awful review and bench test that it got on ASR put me off of that. :(

The same guy has tested other AVRs where that's happened. Not sure I trust his findings as his testing methodology has been called into a question a few times.
 
I've had the Anthem 720 lexicon rv-9 Arcam avr850 marantz SR8012 av7705 and tried the nad t778. I would go for new Anthem when it comes out or the nad t778 that's what I am going for.
 
If it was me, I'd try to hang on until around the end of the year, or maybe even the start of next year. Is there anything else you can change in the meantime ?

I'm looking at changing my sub. Which is where this current upgrade started.

I agree that I should probably wait. Maybe get a bargain mrx 720.
 
If upgrading the Sub is on your mind, that’s were I’d concentrate right now if it were me. If considering another Anthem and budget would allow, I’d wait for the announcement on the new models. As for the older Arcam 550, that wouldn’t be on my list at the moment.
 
If upgrading the Sub is on your mind, that’s were I’d concentrate right now if it were me. If considering another Anthem and budget would allow, I’d wait for the announcement on the new models. As for the older Arcam 550, that wouldn’t be on my list at the moment.
Yes, I agree. Good advice. 👍👌
 
Just deciding on a new Sub should keep you occupied for a good while ;)
 
Just deciding on a new Sub should keep you occupied for a good while ;)

You are right. I have always had sealed subs and was set on getting a svs-sb3000. Now I'm thinking should I go ported for the extra low frequency thump.

To be honest I'm completely confused as to what I should buy.
 
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It's undecided. 😕
 

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