The Apex Club

Well, I've setup the front 3 speakers and the sub - the rears will have to wait until the weekend as I need to drill holes in the wall!

First impression is WOW, WOW, WOW and WOW again!

I bought these to replace a £7,000 stereo setup and was hoping they would be good enough to allow me to sell my stereo gear and all I can say is yes they are!!!

So far all I've been listening to is 2.1 music streaming via a wireless network and the results are astounding. The first song I listened to made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up - a good sign of quality reproduction!

I am really impressed with the build quality and the speakers look and sound stunning. I can't wait for them to be run-in.

I'm very glad I took the punt and bought these excellent speakers.

One thing I did notice though, on the back of the sub, the phono sockets to plug the sub cable into are quite recessed so I can't push the sub lead all the way on to get a good connection - has anyone else noticed this? I can only push the connector on about half way. It looks like all four phono sockets have been pushed back into the sub - is this the same on all of them?

I'll report back once I've setup the other speakers and add some pics too.

Hey ric71 - you could just read the review here online:

http://www.whathifi.com/review/anthem-mrx-700

Glad ARC did wonders for you. Lots of people praise it and obviously I have no reason to doubt them. During the many calibration sessions I did I don't believe I did anything wrong, yet the result with Apex was somewhat anemic and almost 'hollow' in my case. I just sat there scratching my head. I have indeed considered the Onkyo processor, and it's bigger brother from Integra. My issue is the height of both those two as my cabinet has limited space to house a processor AND multichannel amp. They both need to be compact cause I ain't about to change my cabinet.

Can't wait for your feedback! 

Another happy Apex owner! Teriffic, indeed Chord_Freak!  You've only scratched the surface! 

Lucky you having such 'astounding' results already with just 2.1  I can't say I achieve that myself, as I said before I need the whole system to play in order for it to sing. 2.1 just won't do it for me. The RCA sockets on the back of AW-12 are somewhat recessed, that is normal. Fear not.

RickyDeg> I run 6 points Audyssey calibration, i think its enough for my room(small).Maybe i'm wrong?Does 8 points measuring gives better results?

Cheers Ricky,

I did read it on line and a pretty good review although not particularly in depth. They skimmed over ARC which is IMO and many others one of its main if not most important features. I know they said their room is treated and I have actually visited their testing room and know that they have good room treatments but most people don't and this is where Anthem plays its trump card. I suppose it does show how good the MRX is without any EQ engaged. 

Denon (and more importantly Audyssey themselves) recommend running the total of 8 measuring points, and for reasons I tend to agree with. Although in your case those additional 2 points may not offer huge differences the whole idea is to let Audyssey gather as much information about your speakers and your room as possible. Hence a full calibration in carefully selected spots is ideal.

Just like you I also have a small room but the difference between making 3/6 or 8 measuringpoints is noticeable. Simply try it for yourself and listen. Try keep each placement of the mic about 60-70 cm apart, but preferably not too close to room boundaries (walls). Each room is of course different so giving exact recommendations is difficult. You may find yourself learning more about how Audyssey works and continue to experiment with multiple calibrations down the road. I do that myself, especially after changing something in the room. I'm also considering having Audyssey Pro calibration done, although I'm gonna wait til I get something with XT32 until I jump on that.

BTW, may I ask if you used a tripod?

Hello Ricky, thanks for explanation..I'll do calibration in 8 points and maybe something will change.I used tripod

Great greedy - looking forward to more feedback! 

What do you think of music so far? Have you had a chance to listen, and if so; what listeningmode in the AVR-4311 do you think Apex sound best with for music in your case?

Ricky, yes i listened to music with Apex+Denon combination.Apex sound more warm and relaxing, not so sterile like with Pioneer, and squeeze a lot of detail from good source.I always use multichannel stereo mode for music, because this is sub-sat system.In music listening i feel much better sub integration and timing, than LX-83.I think Apex sound as good as sat-sub system can sound.Big, good quality floorstanders can blow Apex away in music, but my room is not big.When i spend little more time with Apex+Denon, i'll tell more

Morning guys and girls

My first post here so be gentle lol.

I am considering buying the apex 5.1 setup for my converted garage projector setup

The front set up is planned to go under my fixed frame projection screen with originally;

2 x Apex 10s L & R fronts and 1 x Apex 40 centre. The Apex 10s on the left and right will sit at the bottom edges of the screen rather than to the sides due to lack of room and being at ear level underneath rather than to the side.

But last night I was dreaming and measured that he total width I have to play with under the screen is around 2m, so would it be a waste to stick 3 x Apex 40s underneath horizontally for L, R and Centre given there wont be much space between the left/ right and the centre channel?

Thanks

Sunil

Hello Sunil  Welcome! Exciting! 

I don't think it would be a waste to use 3 x A40 all in the front under your projector because; 1) you will be guaranteed a completely unified front soundfield 2) will look nicer than mixing A10 and A40

Just my two cents. If I had the choice I'd go for A40's all round, without doubt!

Do you plan on wallmounting these? In my experience, though Apex are suppose to be ideal for that purpose, I think they sound best a bit away from the wall for more air and openness to the sound. 

Hi,

Ive just purchased the Apex 5.1 and will be driving them with a denon 4311, which I also just purchased. 

Im moving from 2 channel stereo set up to surround sound. 

I can't wait to get this all set up in about 2-3weelks after decorating the living room. I'll be wall mounting the A10's with the A40 under the tv and the sub next to the tv. 

Do you guys have any tips on products for hiding the wires when wall mounting? And any on general set up of the Denon?

Thanks Joe

Hi, Joky, i have the same system as you :)From what are made your walls?Is it solid construction?or from gips (Knauf)?

Hey Joe!   Soon we can welcome you to the club then! Exciting! 

In regards to the Denon, since you are moving from traditional 2-channel to full fledged surround, I would strongly suggest you read the manual first (naturally) and excecute the Audyssey calibration procedure with patience and care to get the best out of it. If you have not already done so I'd urge you to get acquainted with Audyssey in general to find out more about it. Although automated, it is somewhat of a powerful calibration tool and reading up on it may prove beneficial. 

http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/multeq

http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/multeq/tour

http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/multeq/how-to

https://audyssey.zendesk.com/home

1) use a steady tripod for the measuring microphone 2) make the room as quiet as possible and with no obstructions for the speakers (leave the room yourself, if possible) 3) place the mic according to the instructions by Audyssey/Denon 4) always utilize all 8 measuringpoints

Those are the basics. The whole idea is for Audyssey to gather as much information about your speakers and the acoustics of your room as possible. The more care you put into the set-up and speaker positioning the better results you'll get. Remember to experiment - every room is unique. But if you follow the basics and possibly re-calibrate a few times you'll understand better how the EQ-system works. Also laborate with the various Audyssey-settings once the calibration is complete ('flat'-setting sounds best in my room, for example). Keep in mind that settings done automatically sometimes need to be tweaked to your liking. Trust your ears. Worth remembering is also to re-calibrate when changing something in the room down the road. This is because things added or substracted to the room can have an effect on acoustics and may yield different EQ-results.

Let us know any other questions that might pop up! Enjoy the brilliance that is Apex!

Hi guys,

I have bought my apex 5.1 and pioneer lx75 setup. I am very happy for this configuration.

Just one question, after full auto mcacc setup, I have selected the speaker sizes to small. FRQ is 80 hz.

 Then i have checked the EQ data on the receiver menu. FULL Auto MCACC does not EQ the 63 hz band while speaker sizes are small, why?

When i change the speaker size to large 63hz band is activating.

Thanx for your advices