"The MRX 700 satisfies on every score" - Daniel Kumin of Sound+Vision on the MRX 700

Daniel Kumin of Sound & Vision reviewed the Anthem MRX 700 receiver and gave it the Sound+Vision Certified and Recommended 2011 stamp of approval!

First Impression
"Given my long history of reviewing A/V gear from up north, I'd expect any Canadian design to feature a no-nonsense feature set, sensible ergonomics, ruggedly attractive industrial design, and brick-lavatory construction, and the MRX 700 satisfies on every score."

Performance
"Despite its compact size and simple appearance, the Anthem receiver delivered impressive real-world power... The MRX 700 may be rated for a relatively modest 120 watts per channel... but its power-amp abilities seemed to me equal, or very nearly, to those of my everyday 150 x 5-channel power amplifier. And critical listening was just as satisfying... As for movies, the Anthem held its own with the best A/V receivers I've auditioned on the latest lossless hi-rez soundtracks"

Ergonomics
"It's clear that Anthem took considerable pains to keep this A/V receiver simple. On the whole, they succeeded admirably. Anthem's onscreen menus and displays are beautifully plain and lucid. The supplied backlit remote is a paragon of simplicity and readability, and its control layout and operation hierarchies are just as thoughtful."

 

Conclusion
"I loved almost everything about the Anthem's maiden AVR effort: its audio, its video, its outstanding usability."
 

Click here! or Pick up the Sound+Vision April-May 2011 issue from the newsstand to read the full review.

www.soundandvisionmag.com

Anthem & Paradigm make Donation to Support Relief Efforts in Japan and Asia-Pacific Region

After a week of global media attention, the mention of the Japan earthquake and Asia Pacific tsunami is no surprise to anyone around the world. But what has very quickly escalated into a historical natural disaster, that has and and will continue to affect the entire world. Non-profit humanitarian agencies and governments internationally are reaching out to lend a hand but the destruction created as a result of such a crisis requires more than that.

Which is why we at Anthem & Paradigm have decided to do what we can to help. Earlier today we donated $2,500 to the Canadian Red Cross and have reached out on our various social media sites encouraging our extended family (Facebook fans and Twitter followers) to consider donating money towards the relief efforts as well.

"Here at Paradigm and Anthem, our hearts go out to the people of Japan and the Asia Pacific region in light of the continuing events in their area of the world. To support the relief efforts, we've donated $2,500 to the Red Cross and encourage our extended family on Facebook to do anything they can." 

- Tim Valters, President & COO

 In response to the March 11, 2011 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami, the Japanese Red Cross has deployed medical tents and over 80 medical teams to the affected area. Volunteers are on the ground providing first aid and search and rescue operations. The Red Cross has started Restoring Family Links activities and emergency relief planning is underway.

 To donate to the Canadian Red Cross please visit: 

www.redcross.ca

To donate to the American Red Cross please visit: 

www.redcross.org

"When it comes to knuckle-whitening, ass-clenching performance, there’s just little else that can compete at anywhere near this price point." - Dennis Burger, HomeTechTell

To start, we'd like to apologize if the headline of this blog offends anyone... sorry. In our defense, it was far too tempting to down-play such a fun compliment when let's be serious, we're just like any parent gushing with pride for our new baby (the Anthem MRX 700 receiver that is).

After having a go with the MRX 700, Dennis Burger of HomeTechTell wrote a favorable review full of playful quotes like the one above - and yes we're proud!  So without further ado, here's a few teasers that we hope will entice you to read the entire review...

"...a significant factor in the MRX 700’s exceptional audio performance—is Anthem Room Correction (ARC for short), the exact same calibration system that ships with the company’s flagship Statement D2v A/V processor... The louder I crank the MRX 700, the more difference ARC makes. And crank it loud I do. A lot. Although the receiver only features 90 watts per channel in surround mode, I would put it toe-to-toe with any of the so-called 125-watt-per-channel receivers I’ve reviewed lately and dare the rest to try to keep up."

"...And it runs that hard, in typical Anthem fashion, without a lick of discernible distortion. Honestly, it’s easy to push the MRX 700 way past the point where you should be able to sit in the room with it."

Comparing Anthem to Corvette, Dennis playfully adds "As the old Corvette ad campaign boasts, 'They don’t write songs about Volvos.' There’s a reason they call the MRX 700 an Anthem."

Click here! to read the full MRX 700 review by HomeTechTell.

"Every Bit an Audiophile’s A/V receiver"

Caleb Denison of Digital Trends reviewed the MRX 700 receiver and concluded that it was by far worth the investment. Here are some direct quotes from this excellent review:

"Sophisticated audio processing and outstanding clarity make Anthem's MRX-700 an ideal receiver for audiophiles without the need for fancy design and legacy inputs"

ARC Calibration 

"In our experience, auto-EQ often turns a natural sounding speaker into an overblown, depthless shadow of its former self. The sound we got with ARC engaged, on the other hand, was quiet, full of space and dimension and brought just the right kind of sparkle to the presentation to make movie watching more immersive."  

But Caleb's new love for ARC wasn't the only thing that made him swoon over the Anthem MRX 700 receiver.  His overall experience was summed up as such:

Conclusion
"It doesn’t cram in as many inputs, outputs and ancillary processors as its competition, but it fills the gaps with hardware that delivers musical, true-to-life sound with an authority and finesse that reels you in and refuses to let go. It’s price tag may seem a little steep when considering its feature set against the competition, but the ARC room correction setup, superior power and super quiet processing will be worth the added expense for those who seek the very best sound available in an A/V receiver."

Click here! to read the full MRX 700 review by Digital Trends

Anthem A/V products named not once but twice in Home Theater Magazine's "Top Picks" of the Year!

Home Theater's March 2011 issue features an exclusive listing of their reviewers' "Top Picks" - in other words most recommended gear. Anthem A/V products made it in two of the "Top Pick" categories...

Midrange A/V Receiver Top Pick:

Anthem MRX 700

Processor Top Pick:

Anthem Statement D2v

Click here! to see the list of Home Theater Top Picks.

MRX 500 receiver scores 5 Stars, the "Editor's Choice" Award and an abundance of High Praise!

Suave Kajko of CANADA HiFi magazine reviewed the Anthem MRX 500 receiver and had more than just a few good things to say about this new product.  Suave gave it a 5 star rating and without hesitation said...

"The MRX is simply a class act and worthy of being distinguished with the CANADA HiFi Editor's Choice badge."

The most exciting feature highlighted by CANADA HiFi was the Anthem Room Correction (ARC) system that ships with every single A/V receiver, which until the MRX line was released only shipped with Anthem's high-end multi-channel preamp/processors starting at over $6,000!

"Following the ARC calibration ... I concluded that the ARC system produced the most balanced sound that I've heard in my room to date... Was the ARC calibration worth the extra effort then? I've been turned into a believer."

After putting the MRX 500 receiver through a "barrage of sonice tests", Suave went on to praise the MRX 500 receiver for it's ability to "produce convincing sonic landscapes", "well reproduced audio", "improvement in the bass" and most notably...

"I'm tempted to say that this is possibly the best sounding AV receiver I've heard at the sub-$2000 price point yet.... Everything sounded just as I would expect it to in real life."

"Overall, you might be tempted to think that you're listening to higher-end separates rather than an AV receiver - yes, the sound is that good."

 Click here! to read the full CANADA HiFi MRX 500 review.