TLP 1 • PVA 2
When I listened to the Tallis Scholars’ rendition of Thomas Tallis’s
[CD, Gimell CDGIM 006], the Anthems’ crisp pre-
sentation allowed me to hear each distinct voice as they interweave
throughout the piece. The Anthems did a good job in the imaging
department as well, though the images were slightly at: I could
place the voices in different locations, but they seemed to all be the
same distance from me. When I played more contemporary music,
such as Erin McKeown’s ne new
[CD, nettwerk 30307 2], the
Grand [CD, nettwerk 30307 2], the Grand
Anthems seemed fast and dry—overall, a very enjoyable sound,
but, as with the Tallis piece, there was a lack of real three-dimen-
sional heft. The baritone sax on McKeown’s “The Taste of You,” for
example, didn’t seem to be the right size.
Overall, the Anthems gave a fast, clean, clear presentation of
whatever I threw at them. For their price and intended audience—
someone wanting a exible two-channel audio/video system—the
Anthems are hard to beat.
“… the TLP 1 will deliver everything you could
possibly need to tailor your system just the
way you want it and the PVA 2 will give you
all the power you could possibly want …
stylish … sophisticated … could be the heart
of your audio/video system for a long time …
the Anthems are hard to beat!”
COMPARISON
Along with my Harman Kardon home-theater receiver, which the
Anthems crushed handily, I had the Rotel RA-02 and the Rogue
Audio Tempest integrated ampli ers. For its price, the Rotel is a
good buy, but it was easy to hear that spending the extra money for
the Anthem combo would not be in vain. The Rotel has no tuner,
lacks the TLP 1’s sophisticated volume and tone controls, and the
Anthems offered more resolution and crisper sound.
The Rogue Audio Tempest had a much fuller, warmer sound, and
was able to more convincingly project a three-dimensional sound-
stage. However, the Rogue costs almost $1000 more than the An-
them combo, it has no tuner, and it’s really a minimalist’s machine:
no tone controls or fancy volume-control settings, and a remote
with only two buttons: volume up and volume down.
The Anthem products, on the other hand, can take on many more
tasks: They let you tailor the sound with tone controls, listen to
the radio, control your whole system from the remote, and listen
through headphones. For most people, the Anthems’ good sound
and array of features will come up the winner.
CONCLUSION
This Anthem TLP 1 and PVA 2 could be the heart of your audio/
video system for a long time. They provided a sharply detailed
and focused presentation of whatever I sent to them, faltering only
when compared to a product costing much more. With all its fea-
tures, the TLP 1 will deliver everything you could possibly need to
tailor your system just the way you want it, and the PVA 2 will give
you all the power you could reasonably want. The sound is enjoy-
able with music or movies.
If you want a two-channel audio/video system, check out the
Anthems. Ever since I sat down to listen to them, I’ve been eye-
ing Anthem’s AVM 20 and PVA 5 for my home theater. Warning:
Anthem gear may be addictive.
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