Yes, MX150 will perform RP on all channels. makes for a great sounding HT setup. Does wonders for in-wall surround or main speakers too!

Focus measurements are for you to use when you sit in the chair where the Focus Position was made. Global is a blending of all of the Focus (up to eight) positions you have put in the system. If you have a favorite listening chair you would want to use that Focus position for critical listening. It will still sound fine in the rest of the room but best in your chair.

Thanks,

__________________
Ron-C

Jim,

For your listening tests, and to see if the MEN220 is really useful in your system,
I would suggest you to focus on bass acoustic instruments :
A good double bass recording should do it.
In my system, the Ray Brown's double bass gets its full dimension and detail with the RP1. The difference is huge with and without. Without the RP1, the double bass is not focused, and very lean. You can't really follow the notes.
Differences for treble and mids are not so high.
This tests are extremely good :
- Alone Together by Tierney Sutton : the difference of the bass reproduction should be night and day...
- The real Blues by Ray Brown trio
- Waters of March by Susanna McCorkle : the voice should be sweeter with the MEN 220
If you don't hear clear differences with those tracks, forget about it, the MEN220 is not for your room / speakers.

Cheers,
Jérôme

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Jérôme

They have convinced themselves that man, the worst transgressor of all the species, is the crown of creation. All other creatures were created merely to provide him with food, pelts, to be tormented, exterminated. In relation to them, all people are Nazis; for the animals, it is an eternal Treblinka. Isaac Bashevis Singer

Well, the dealer who has gratuitously loaned me the MEN-220 for over a week now spent a couple of hours listening to it in my system. This is the first time he has been to my house so it took some time to get accustomed to my gear and room.

The question I was trying to answer for myself, does the significant improvement in "weight" to the music as provided by the MEN-220 override any added "noise" that I hear around the vocals. It took some time and we went thru music off the servers, from vinyl and from disc. There is no doubt that the added weight to the lower and mids made the music more realistic. Vocals also pop out of the mix a bit more. In the end he agreed that when in Bypass there was something "smoother" or "cleaner" around voices, but the added weight with the MEN-220 in the mix offset this issue.

I will be keeping the unit a bit longer and he is going to see about loaning me some longer speaker cable. I am going to try rotating the speakers back to the short wall to see if the MEN unit allows me to get some additional distance from the speakers to my seating position. It never ends.

__________________
AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

I just got mine installed last night and had to make some significant wiring changes as I eliminated the passive networks and changed to an actively crossed system.

It is interesting that almost all of the comments thus far on MEN220 have been on the RP portion.

I have not even gotten that far yet. Have not touched RP yet.

But I already have a big appreciation for the quality of the active crossover implementaiton, useability, and the general sound quality and performance of the unit. It is basically seemless. I was very concerned about the digitizing but not anymore.

I have huge path length differences in my HF and LF horns (55", see avatar). Just going active and adding the delay immediately instilled a stereo image like I have never had before and improved the clarity significantly. So.....I am very happry with all of the features of the crossover and output controls for balancing.

I have some work to do to dial in the balancing further and optimize gain structure......but it's going to be pretty easy with my system.

Then.....on to RP and custom EQ. So far so good.

__________________
McIntosh: C220, MC250 (x3, DeWick'd), MC2100 (DeWick'd). Klipsch MCM-3 Grand

Well. I have decided to keep the MEN-220 for my system. I contacted the dealer this morning and let him know.

Now I just have to figure out how to reconfigure my gear to get it off the top of my C-1000 and into the rack. Guess I will move the APC unit onto an amp stand and drop the MEN-220 down there.

__________________
AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

Congrats, Jim. Thanks for taking us through your review and decision process. You are fortunate to have a dealer who lets you home-audition gear. That is certainly the best way to evaluate a pending purchase decision.

__________________
John

Upstairs - C1000C/T, MX150, MC1.2KW x 4, MC501 x 2, MC252, MVP881, MS750, MCD1100, MDA1000, MEN220, MPC1500, XRT1K's, XCS1K, XLS320's, Gotham, JVC HD-990, Lumagen Radiance XE, Sonos ZP-90, Apple TV, Sooloos Control 15 & MS600
Downstairs - Den (Zone A): MX120, MR88, MCD500, MVP871, MC207, DD18, Pioneer PRO-150HD, Sonos ZP-90, Apple TV, Sooloos MC200, B&W 805 Diamond x 2, B&W HTM4 Diamond, B&W CWM8 x 2; Living Room (Zone B): MC402 & XR200's; Whole House: CR12, MC7108
Study - Marantz 2245, Sonos ZP-90, B&W Nautilus 805 x 2

Jim.......Adona Audio Racks, Modular Audio Video Furniture and Isolation Platforms at Adona Corporation

__________________
Dan


Living Room System: McIntosh C2300, MC601 (2), MCD1100, MS750, MR85, Sony DAT 60ES, Nakamichi BX-300, Micro Seiki DD-40, Ortofon 2M Black, Sonos ZP90, Oppo BDP-83SE Blu-ray, PMC EB1i, Fathom f113 w/ Sound Anchor stand, Power Plant Premier (2), PS Audio Soloist Premier SE (3), Rollerblock Jr.'s, Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's & PC's, Kimber 8TC with WBT Solid Silver Angled Locking Banana Connectors.
Studio System: McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MCD1100, MR88, Michell Gyro SE w/SME 309/Ortofon Cadenza Black, Sonos ZP90, PS Audio Power Plant Premier, PS Audio Soloist Premier SE, Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario, Rollerblock Jr.'s, Wireword Silver Eclipse IC's & PC's, Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cable.
Studio Home Theater System: McIntosh MX120, MC452, Oppo BDP-95 Blu-ray, PS Audio Soloist Premier SE, JBL LSR-6332 (2), JBL LSR-6328P (3), McIntosh XLS112 (2), Sony 52XBR9, Tributaries Silver IC's, Wireworld PC's.
Vintage: McIntosh MA5100, MR74 tuner, JVC XL-Z1050 K2 CD player, Wyred 4 Sound DAC2, Tandberg 3008A and 3026A, JBL4312A , McIntosh 4300V for deck speakers.

John
You are correct, I am fortunate to have this dealer nearby. He knows I do not abuse the process and only ask to audition gear that I am actually considering purchasing.

When I thought about it, I could not think of any other product that would add the weight and body missing from my room for this kind of money.
Jim

__________________
AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

I'm sure you will enjoy it, Jim. I'm still waiting on my dealer to get one in stock, but I'm confident enough I'm going to like it that I have already ordered the new 6 meter (!) pair of balanced interconnects I will need to incorporate it into my system.

__________________
John

Upstairs - C1000C/T, MX150, MC1.2KW x 4, MC501 x 2, MC252, MVP881, MS750, MCD1100, MDA1000, MEN220, MPC1500, XRT1K's, XCS1K, XLS320's, Gotham, JVC HD-990, Lumagen Radiance XE, Sonos ZP-90, Apple TV, Sooloos Control 15 & MS600
Downstairs - Den (Zone A): MX120, MR88, MCD500, MVP871, MC207, DD18, Pioneer PRO-150HD, Sonos ZP-90, Apple TV, Sooloos MC200, B&W 805 Diamond x 2, B&W HTM4 Diamond, B&W CWM8 x 2; Living Room (Zone B): MC402 & XR200's; Whole House: CR12, MC7108
Study - Marantz 2245, Sonos ZP-90, B&W Nautilus 805 x 2

Thanks Dan.

I already have several pieces from my Adona racks left over since I purchased two separate units but joined them in the center.

I sure wish they would have had the reference racks at the time I purchased mine. I really like the look. I am in no mood to try and pack and ship mine, these puppies are heavy. Just a three shelve single system comes in two UPS boxes.

__________________
AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x