Beautifully integrated, keenly priced home cinema

This home cinema system merges perfectly into the living space and uses the very latest processing from Anthem, to deliver a fully integrated, but powerful home cinema experience.

Recently the Anthem brand launched a whole range of Gen 2 products for processing, powering and controlling the finest home cinema systems. With choices to suit many price points, the brand is delivering the biggest bang for buck ever in the market. This home cinema takes advantage of the brand new MRX 520, the ‘entry level’ of the MRX range which offers competitive pricing and a new attractive design, making it easy to have the product hidden away or on display. Capability wise, this machine packs a real home cinema punch with the latest version of ARC Genesis Room correction on board to deliver the best possible sound, integrated streaming support for music playback, up to 15.2 channels and up to 140W per channel, as well as Ultra HD signal pass through up to 18.2 Gbps with Dolby Vision, HDR and Hybrid Log-Gamma support. The product also has seven HDMI inputs and two outputs, eARC and platform agnostic streaming with AirPlay2, Google Chromecast (Audio), Bluetooth v4.2, and Spotify Connect (coming soon!) and Roon (coming soon!). Placing this reinvented home cinema gem at the heart of this system delivers a rock-solid base enabling the rest of the equipment to reach its full potential.

A Screen Research in-ceiling 120in 16:9 is carefully integrated into the room,so when not in use the screen simply stows away out of sight so the room can return to its resting state, perfect for this multi-use space. Partnering the screen is a Sim2 Domino projector offering high-quality home cinema images and an attractive case which complements the design of the room. This easy to install projector provides strong technical abilities with ease of use, making it the perfect match for this fully integrated system.

Home cinema is nothing without great audio of course and this room benefits from a complete compliment of Paradigm speakers offering a fully immersive Dolby Atmos experience. Woven expertly into the space, the only time the owners are aware of their presence is when they are delivering high-quality audio for movie night or music when just chilling out. Talking of content, this home cinema enjoys access to the best on-line movie system in the world courtesy of Kaleidescape, the perfect match for the high-quality electronics controlling and driving the system. The Kaleidescape system offers access to the world’s best content at the highest level of quality possible.

Protecting much of the equipment in the home cinema are Isotek Evo3 Polaris power bars which clean the power providing the perfect platform for the equipment to reach its full potential, but also protects from power surges or spikes.

A system with this much power needs agile control and thankfully it has exactly that with the combination of an RTI XP3 processor and T3X handheld controller. This combination is particularly strong in delivering control of a home cinema allowing the user to do anything they want with the system intuitively and quickly via personalised interfaces created by the installer. Adding style and drama to this living space, when it is at rest or in home cinema mode, is a Lutron automated lighting system, which also controls the blinds in the room.

Good looks and cutting-edge technology also combine with a full range of Vicoustic acoustic treatments placed expertly around the room. These wall and ceiling treatments control and focus the sound, but have the added benefit of looking fantastic, matching perfectly the rest of the aesthetic. Genuinely combing a high-performance home cinema into a multi-use space and delivering it at a competitive price point is no easy task, however it is achieved here with style and aplomb.