Anthem AV receiver better than Denon as a preamp

Paraneer, when you heard the Anthems were they in your system or somewhere else? If the latter, what equipment were they hooked up to and how was the room/setup? Did you hear the Arcams in the same setup or somewhere else and with what equipment? Just trying to get a sense of context and variables involved in your assessment since they're so critical. Thanks.

You are right Soix - many varibles must be taken to into account. Here are mine based on what I experienced. The AVR's were not in my system. They were lengthy auditions. Maybe some of the Anthem advocates in this thread are actual owners but I doubt if all are. The questions posed was if anyone has experience. Auditions, especially lengthy ones where the agenda is to find what the OP is looking for, is experience.

Listened to the Anthems at a dealer in 2 channel pure direct mode into Paradigm Studio 60's. Listened to Arcams at a different dealer in 2 channel pure direct mode into B&W CM9's (IMO both fairly comparable speakers). Brought along my own music that I know very well. The listening rooms were set up about as well as you can expect at a dealer. I wanted no subs or DSP mixed in so I could get a sense of their performance with as pure a signal as possible.

Again, to my ears, I was not impressed with Anthem. Reminded me of past mainstream AVRs (Denon, Yamaha, Pio Elite) I had and reaffirmed the reason why I went with separates for music. I was impressed with the Arcams but not enough to make a switch from the separate preamp I am using now. To be honest, I am not a fan of using AVR's for music period (looking to upgrade my 2 channel stuff right now for even better performance). But that is the discussion that the OP does not want to get into for whatever reason. I will respect that and stay on topic. The Arcam was as close as I got. Maybe NAD and Cambridge Audio should be checked out too - didn't audition these. Hope my experiences help.

Paraneer - it sounds like you used both the amp and pre-amp sections of the AVR's you tested. The OP has Bryson amps for his mains, which means he is only using the pre-amp section of the AVR and that might be in a Pure Direct mode for stereo. My experience is that the amps can be as important to the sound as the preamp, depending on how they mate with your speakers.

So my suggestion remains, time for the OP to listen to some options in his own setup.

Of course, I had to use the internal amps in the AVRs Dtc. I also know the OP has a very nice Bryston. Try and find and dealer willing to rewire units and hook AVR's into a power amp for an audition. They would show you a 2 channel preamp instead and advise this is what you should really be using!

I am now beyond my personal 3 post limit per thread. Again, good luck to all contemplating the Anthems as a preamp. I hope it works out for you.