MX 121 or MX151's built in graphic equalizer

[mweston]

I had a recording engineer friend of mine listen to my system (B&W 801 Nautilus speakers, HTM 1 center channel speaker, Velodyne ULD 15 II subs with Mcintosh MX 134 pre/proc, MC 602, MC501 and Oppo BDP 95 Blu ray player) and his opinion was that the mid range frequencies had a problem with a room interaction. At first he recommended an equalizer, but on further deliberation thinks the MEN220 would be a better choice. I have read accounts on this site where opinion was split about the MEN220. Would the MX 121 be a better choice for my system as a home theater/high end stereo or the MEN220 as a part of the home theater? JohnJ's opinion and experience with Nautilus 801's would be most welcome.

[mbovaird]

In my opinion, the room perfect in the 151 and the 220 is far superior to the Audyssey. I've had both and it's no contest.

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRingsEE

1. Anthem Room Correction
2. Audio Return Channel
3. Automatic Room Calibration

-----------

Here's what I was thinking of:
1. Audio Research Corporation
2. Audio Return Channel
3. Audio Rate Control

Clearly, ARC can mean many things and, therefore, can mean nothing.

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by nycjazz

Yup, mine was number 3...

Hah! I thought you meant Audyssey Room Correction.

[nycjazz]

Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson

Hah! I thought you meant Audyssey Room Correction.

Actually I meant Audio Room Correction, but that works...I need new glasses...

[JJinID]

Originally Posted by mbovaird

In my opinion, the room perfect in the 151 and the 220 is far superior to the Audyssey. I've had both and it's no contest.

Which version of Audyssey?

[mbovaird]

MultEQ XT32.

[JJinID]

Originally Posted by mbovaird

MultEQ XT32.

Interesting...what processor? I've used both also, and "far superior" and "no contest" is much too strong to describe the differences. Room Perfect has a more gentle hand, especially with regard to not messing with the high frequencies, but it does not blow away XT32 IMO. It does blow away XT, which is likely why McIntosh did not put XT32 in the MX121.

[mbovaird]

Out of curiosity, have you heard both in your room? I have heard both in my room. It is truly no contest IMO. Even the folks at Mc will tell you the exact same thing....and they have SSP's with both systems. Audyssey (in my opinion) is complete rubbish. I played with it for almost a year and in every case with two different SSP's (Onkyo 5508 and a 121 demo, which eventually caused me to upgrade to the 151), it made my system sound way worse. I mean, way way worse. I worked with tech support and it made no difference. Room Perfect is a far superior technology (am radio to CD).. My room has gone from a 2/10 to a 10/10 with RP. With Audyssey, it went to a 1. Perhaps Audyssey works better in a few circumstances, but I doubt it. The MEN220 is the best audio component purchase I have made in 30 years. End of story. Full stop. The MX151's RP did the same for my HT as the MEN220 did for my 2 channel listening room. Amazing results. Incredible. Highly, highly recommended. My opinion is: don't believe the bunk. RP really works. For me, Audyssey was a frustrating 12 months! If it works for others, great! It didn't work for me (and many others I've talked to).

[JJinID]

Yes I have, but not apples to apples as so many changes have taken place with my system since then. My dad has a MEN220 and I did briefly hook it up in my system (along with his C46 preamp) after he first received it. It did make a positive improvement, but for me it was not enough to make me want to spring the $$ for one of my own, and I was focused on other priorities/improvements for my system. Also, the amount of room correction was only around 11% if memory serves. Since then I have added ceiling panels, so the correction % might even be less. The MEN makes a bigger difference in my dad's system that has ZERO room treatments. Now, if I had a MX151 to demo in my system, I might change my opinion, however I have opted for the higher performance 2 channel preamp with HT bypass route instead, and am happy with my decision.