Anthem Audio/Video Master 50v Preamplifier/Processor Preview

Anthem showed the Audio/Video Master 50v preamplifier/home theater processor with a built in tuner and independent source selection for recording at CES this year. This updated version of the AVM 50 combines A/V performance-enhancing technologies with whole-home entertainment control that makes it possible for users to direct audio and video program materials throughout their homes.

The AVM 50v features the latest Sigma Designs VXP broadcast-quality digital video processing to ensure deep color while offering improved noise reduction through block artifact and mosquito noise reduction. Two new dual-core audio Digital Signal Processing (DSP) engines, designed in-house by Anthem, offer a total of 800 million instructions per second (MIPS) of processing power to allow decoding of the new Dolby, DTS and other HD audio standards. Additionally, a free software download for support of Dolby Volume will soon be available via Anthem’s website.

In seeking to accommodate the most advanced input formats available, Anthem has upgraded its pulse-code modulation (PCM) input to support 7.1 channels at 24 bits or 192 kHz. Additional HDMI inputs (v.1.3c) have been added, bringing that total to eight, along with two parallel HDMI outputs, enabling the AVM 50v to be the true high-performance hub of any A/V set-up.

Anthem’s Room Correction System comes standard with the AVM 50v. While equalizing frequency response in a room to achieve some generic (i.e. "flat") response is a common approach to solving problems with room acoustics, it will result in an unnatural spectral balance, since it does not take into account the human hearing system (according to Anthem). Anthem's is a "true audiophile" solution: it differs from other systems in that it uses proprietary processing to compute each speaker's in-room frequency response, and then computes a target frequency response for each to yield the optimal sound. Of course since "optimal" = "non-flat" (at least according to Anthem), your results and satisfaction may vary.

For more information, please visit www.anthemav.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.