[MainAnalog]

I don't think I have a tough room environment but measurements will prove me right/wrong! The MEN220 does look like a swiss army knife of capabilities

I have worked in the semiconductor processor industry for >20 years so have an informed opinion about older processors. System designers are forced to make tradeoffs in a design: $ vs computational precision vs processing speed vs ease of programming. Then there is the point of diminishing returns. The Analog Devices announced the the dual-core ADSP-BF561 back in 2004 which is on the MEN220 motherboard which means it was designed 2001/2'ish. So a 20 year old design, not 10. I'd be stunned if the sound quality could not be improved upon with "modern" processors. I'm assuming very few of us have a 20-year-old CD player or DAC now :-)

My fervent hope is all I end up doing is buying a JL Audio subwoofer and potentially a crossover. IF I have a tougher room than I thought a 220 might be worth an audition

Thanks for your thoughts - I might reach out to my Mac dealer to see if he has a loaner 220