If you’re building a stereo hi-fi system, the amplifier is its heart, combining input switching, volume control, and the amplification to drive your speakers. Serious hi-fi, however, may have separate preamplifier and power amps, splitting their tasks into physically separate boxes with specialist roles and a reduced possibility of interference between the two.
It’s the same if you’re building a home cinema. You may be considering an AV receiver which combines the switching, processing and multichannel amplification required for surround delivery. But if you’re aiming for something spectacular, again you can separate those functions, buying one or several power amplifiers plus an audio-visual preamplifier, more commonly called an AV processor.
Equipment
That’s the role of the AVM 90 from Canada’s Anthem brand, and it’s a job that the company clearly takes very seriously. How many HDMI inputs do you need? Four, five? The AVM 90 gives you seven, all of them HDMI 2.1 (HDCP 2.3) inputs that support the full 48Gbps bandwidth for 8K/60Hz or 4K/120Hz pass-through. And there are no fewer than three HDMI outputs — two mirrored and one independent Zone 2 output that is able to play a different source to that in the main room. All three outputs support an enhanced Audio Return Channel.
How many channels are you planning for your
