When it comes to A/V receivers, more bells and whistles doesn’t always make for a better experience. Sure, it’s fun to marvel at how manufacturers can cram so much functionality into one box, but when it comes to living with an A/V receiver and using it on a regular basis, we’ve found the best receivers do just a few jobs and do them extremely well. That seems to be the approach Anthem takes with its A/V receiver line-up. They may not be our first choice for driving multiple rooms with radically different configurations (though, to an extent, they are capable) but when it comes to rocking one room with absolutely terrific sound, Anthem ranks as our top pick nearly every time.

It took a while for Anthem to update its first A/V receiver line, but the update that finally did come represented a considerable leap forward from what was an already very solid product offering. The flagship of Anthem’s new line is the MRX 710, an absolute powerhouse with some of today’s more critical modern functions and, perhaps more impressively, the best commercially available room-correction rig we’ve ever used (and we’ve used them all). Essentially, the MRX 710 is about as close as you can get to separates in an A/V receiver. In fact, we think it would make an outstanding pre-amp!

Expect 8 total HDMI inputs, dual HDMI outputs, 4K upscaling and pass-through, speaker crossovers in 10Hz increments, bi-amping for the front left and right speakers, IP and RS-232 for full integration, and remote control apps for iOS and Android among many other useful features.

Check out our gallery above for a close look at the MRX 710 inside and out, and check back with Digital Trends often for our full review of this amazing receiver.