I don't really have time to participate on any of the online forums lately. Work and family issues have really hammered me for the past couple of months. What little "free" time I've had has been dedicated to working around my new house (it *IS* different than renting ) or being with friends. Sitting in front of the computer has taken a very distant back seat. And I don't expect it to change for another month at least. Regardless, a friend remembered that I'd gone over to a local HTF members house to A/B a 950 with an Anthem back when the first ones shipped this past spring. So he called and told me about this thread.

The gentleman had bought the Anthem after getting tired of waiting for the 950, but he never cancelled his waiting spot. When he was told it was his turn, he accepted it with the intention of selling it locally. However, since he ended up with both the 950 & Anthem, he offered to hold a little comparision session for any local HTFers. I attended. He had a set of Paradigm Studio 100's and some higher-end boutique speaker cables. His interconnects were a complete package of the Outlaw cables. The amp was the matching 5 channel Anthem amp. We played music from a collection of CD's, SACD's and some scenes from several DVD's. The comparision lasted about 5 hours if I recall correctly. Neither he nor I were able to detect an *obvious* difference in sound. No, it was not a blind comparison. His girlfriend did claim to be able to hear a difference, but wasn't able to describe it while I was still there. He kept the Anthem and sold the 950, primarily due to features ... the Anthem has Balanced connectors which he desperately wanted for future installation in the new home he was planning. It also had the ability to customize the display lables and a few other details that he prefered. But in terms of sound, in a real persons living room ... neither of us could honestly say we truely heard a difference in sound. For me, not needing/wanting the features that he found so compelling, the 950 was all I had hoped.

Jim, I am *not* saying you're wrong. You'll note that this guy's girlfriend claimed to be able to hear a difference. But I do have to wonder, since I've heard both pre/pro's A/B'd, whether there might not be something wrong with the 950 you had? I will say, I'm quite sure you'll be very happy with the Anthem - it looks nice (altho I prefer a dark finish to the light color this other gentleman had), it sounds good and it has a ton of features. It also costs a lot more than the 950. Since I had no need for the Anthems features that that extra cost gets you, and since they sounded so much alike, I found that the 950 was all I had hoped for. When I finally received mine a month or so later ... I was just as happy as I expected. I also seem to have been extra lucky ... I seem to have a system that doesn't demonstrate the verious hiss/noise concerns that others have had. {shrug}

Oh well. Just another 1/2 cents worth of info. G'night. I'll be back ... don't know when, but I will.


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pat----

email: pat@sklenar.info ---===--- home page: Grumpy's Lair