Initial setup needs some documentation tough love, but Bravo Anthem--BRAVO!
After more than a decade of procrastination—and a power amp collecting dust in its box—I finally decided to give the Anthem AVM 70 a home in my system. My motivation? Excessive ground noise that begged for fully balanced XLR connections. The result? Instant transformation. This processor delivers the refinement, control, and musicality that had been missing. My only regret is waiting so long to make the move.
That said, the out-of-box experience was rocky. The initial setup lacked clear instructions (awful documentation), and the default configuration didn’t include all inputs or proper surround mapping. For a product of this caliber, that was a frustrating first impression. Fortunately, once configured correctly, the AVM70 proves its brilliance.
Pro tip for first-time setup: CONNECT THE ETHERNET CONNECTOR FIRST, find the IP address, and browse from a device on the same sub-net, and you will save yourself a TON of effort in learning the system. Anthem’s built-in web interface is an elegant, intuitive control center that makes the entire setup process vastly easier. Discovering that after hours of tinkering felt like finding buried treasure.
I also bi-amplify my front channels, and here the online documentation let me down—some errors in the speaker configuration table caused unnecessary confusion. Once resolved, however, the sonic payoff was immediate: wide, dynamic, and effortless.
Anthem Room Correction (ARC) deserves special mention. The system did an admirable job balancing the room and taming reflections, but I found that it slightly trimmed the deep bass extension—losing about 20 Hz of the “punch” I love (ref. green arrows in photo). For multi-subwoofer systems, ARC would likely be phenomenal; for my single-sub 5.1 setup, I preferred the uncorrected low end and reverted to a manual profile.
In the end, the AVM70 is an extraordinary processor/preamp for the money. Its tonal clarity, separation, and soundstage depth rival far more expensive units. Despite the bumpy start, Anthem has created a piece of gear that truly sings once dialed in.
Five stars, without hesitation. Bravo, Anthem!
