Hi - I’m looking to upgrade my current setup (Yamaha A-S801 integrated amp w/DAC) to separates. My top two contenders are the Parasound P6 and the Anthem STR. The Parasound is a screaming deal, and the Anthem has the distinct advantage of ARC room correction, and both units have amazing DACs. I’d be super happy with either one.
That said, can anyone weigh in with any views they have on either (or both) preamp?
Room correction will happen after Roon has delivered the audio signal to the Anthem and that might involve resampling; so I"d check that option out in more detail if you were going to use it.
I really like Anthem even though I do not have any system with it currently. The room correction (ARC) is good but I’ve always settled for without with Anthem, Dirac, Roon and any other solution I’ve come to try. Various rooms but always ended up using something like Dirac and then working with the room and speaker placements. (Edit: I’ve measured the room and then used the measurements as a foundation for making changes physically)
For me it’s always a bit lost when room correcting. Some people love it though and it’s almost always “WOW!” an an initial response. And then … better without anyway. Partly because the “wow” is a very limited space and compromised everywhere else. No matter what some will lead you to believe. No magic bullet.
Still like Anthem a lot and the STR is great with or without ARC.
Room correction is available from Home Audio Fidelity as a Roon convolution plugin. That means Roon will handle it before sending it to your DAC. It therefore works with any DAC.
I have an Anthem AVM60 and I like it a whole lot, but I have a Parasound A21 amp and I like that also a whole lot! Hard to choose, really.
Some new contenders:
Thoughts?
Just curious to know if you settled for the P6 or the STR Pre. Im in a similar situation looking for a preamp to go as HT bypass between my AVR and PArasound P21+ Poweramp.