Anthem STR Integrated Amplifier

Enjoy maximum sound quality from digital and analog sources

My friend and colleague, Dave Bar, is one of Crutchfield's most knowledgeable and seasoned audiophiles. So when he invited me over to his house recently to check out a new piece of gear, he didn't have to ask twice! As we took our seats in his cozy listening room, I noticed that the new face in his equipment rack belonged to the Anthem STR integrated amp.  

It's a muscular multi-tool of a component, with a complete set of digital audio inputs: Toslink optical, coaxial, balanced AES/EBU, and asynchronous USB. It also provides four analog inputs, plus separate phono inputs for MM (moving magnet) and MC (moving coil) cartridges. These days, Dave listens primarily to 2-channel digital music sources. We listened to a mix of discs played on his Oppo Blu-ray player, and digital files played from his MacBook Pro.

Powerful, "grippy" sound

The STR is one of the most powerful integrated amplifiers Crutchfield has ever carried. Its power amp section is conservatively rated at 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms, or a hefty 400 watts per channel into 4 ohms. The STR can even deliver a whopping 550 watts into a difficult 2-ohm load, which would likely cause most integrated amps and receivers to give up and shut down. These numbers indicate tremendous current output capability, which is just what most high-performance speakers crave.

Dave had described the STR's sound as "powerful" and "grippy," and I could immediately hear what he was talking about. The STR's amplifier section has a high "damping factor," which means it exerts precise control over the stop-start motion of speaker drivers. I heard tighter, cleaner midbass from Dave's stand-mounted monitor speakers than I'd heard previously. And the STR's preamp section seemed to be delivering a wider-range signal to his powered sub, because I was hearing greater bass extension from it, as well.

Tame your system's biggest obstacle: your room

Anthem's advanced ARC (Anthem Room Correction) Genesis speaker calibration system is one of the best we've heard. It effectively tailors the STR's sound to your space, correcting for problems caused by sound reflecting off of the walls, floor, ceiling, and furniture in your specific room. With the effects of these obstacles removed, your system can deliver clearer, more natural sound.

Run the included room correction software on your Windows® PC or Mac®, and measure multiple positions in your room with the included microphone. ARC Genesis takes advantage of your computer's processing power for the best possible results, showing you detailed graphs of the response curve and correction applied to each speaker in your system. 

For quick, convenient room correction, download Anthem's free ARC Mobile app for iOS®. ARC Mobile lets you calibrate your system using the internal microphone of your iOS device or an optional calibrated mic that connects to your headphone jack for advanced room correction.