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#1
09-05-2009, 04:58 PM
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Mx120 / MC207 Combination
I spent about 5 hours today ripping apart my home theater system, running new cables, installing the pre amp and amp. then programming the pre amp and then had a chance to listen. In stereo mode my Paradigm speakers sounded better then ever. I used to have to set audio on my digital cable box to high compression to get the volume up with my old Yamaha RXV1. I turned the compression on the cable setting to none, optimal stereo and WOW ! With the fiberoptic out from the cable box to the MX120 this sounds pretty good as a source. My wife came down and started dancing when I had all 6 speakers going in music 1. She said we have disco in here
 . My wife always like disco what can I say. I wanted to see what the MX120 could do for video, so I purposely hooked a component cable from the output of the cable box instead of a HDMI cable and attached it to the component input on the MX120. I then programed the MX120 outputo to 1080i through the HDMI cable to my projector. I also hooked a component cable to my projector from the MX120 so I could do a A/B comparison. The video processor in the MX120 does a great job scaling 720p from the component up to 1080i, the lettering comes in crystal clear at 1080i compared to the 720P. Watching Tennis and Football this way is crystal clear. Watching a non-hd channel from HBO, Journey to the Center of the Earth looked much better as well. The surround set to dolby prologic II sounded Fantastic as well, the subwoofer seems to blend better as well using the MX120 then it did with my Yamaha. I was always aware when the sub. would kick in, with the MX120 bass is present when called for without increasing the overall volume. The bass just seems to be part of the speakers. The MC207 heat sinks stayed just warm to the touch even when 5 channels were running for a hour at 50 on the pre amp. In summary bass management on the MX120 works great, surround sound and stereo sound wonderful. The MX120/MC207 is a fantastic combination and highly recommend it to anyone looking to go to go up a few levels from a AVR. I have no idea what the other modes do as I have not read the whole manual, only the parts to get me to this stage. More impressions to come as I try a few more things out and install my Magnepan MGIII's as the front L/R.
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#2
09-05-2009, 05:11 PM
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David,
Glad to hear you like it - can't go wrong with a combination like that. You've got a lot of flexibility there and it will see you years of great service. All you need is the MVP881 to round it out.
__________________
Sources: Vinyl: Clearaudio Innovation Wood turntable with 9" Universal tonearm, Da Vinci V2 cartridge, Stillpoints SS & Stillpoints clamp, McIntosh MVP 901, Apple Mac mini via Benchmark DAC 1, Aurender N100C via Schiit Yggdrasil Control: McIntosh C1100, Mcintosh MX151 Power: Mcintosh MC2301s (front), McIntosh MC501 (center), Mcintosh MC402 (rear) Speakers: Sonus Faber Amati Futura (front and back), SF Vox center Power/connections: PS Audio Power Port receptacles, RGPC 400 pro (2) WireWorld interconnects and speaker cable
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#4
09-05-2009, 08:44 PM
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David.......Nice mini review. I never doubted that the MX120 and MC207 were a match made in McIntosh heaven. You made the right choice. Even your wife thinks so. So now that you have a great home theater and disco, you will be needing one of these next. Come on.....you know she wants one.
__________________
Dan  STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A
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#5
09-05-2009, 10:27 PM
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Quote:
:smileysex: 
__________________
MC7300 x 2; MG 3.6R; Marchand XM-44; C-38; Linn Genki; Transparent Plus; RG400Pro
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#6
09-05-2009, 10:28 PM
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I have to say even with the pre amp set to 55, the watt meters on the MC207 are just above the 20 watt mark. I know masterlu will yawn at this remark but so far 200 watts/channel seems like enough power and I still have a channel I'm not using. Sunday I plan to get a few more HDMI cables and run them from the blu ray player and the cable box, then sit down and watch some movies. Later I will hook the analog outs from the blu ray to compare the lossless codecs to the native MX120 codecs. Stay tuned more to come.
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#7
09-05-2009, 10:46 PM
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Come clean, what are you using for cables?
__________________
Ivan FLORIDA MX136, MC1.2KW(10) MC2KW(2), MCD1100, MS750(2) MVP881, C1000C/P/T, MPC1500, HT-2 SUBS(2) HT3F(2) WS350(2) XRT2K, XCS2K, XR27(2) XCS350(2) JL GOTHAM v2 SUBS(2) SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, LUMAGEN RADIANCE SCALER, SONY VPH-G90U 4K PROJECTOR, STEWART 120" MOTORIZED SCREEN, CINEMA-TECH SEATING, WW PLATINUM CABLES Reference System: ACCUPHASE A300 AMPS, C3900 PRE-AMP, DP1000 CD/SACD TRANSPORT, DC1000 DIGITAL PROCESSOR, DG-68 DIGITAL EQUALIZER, T1200 FM STEREO TUNER, PS1230 POWER SUPPLY, HRS-SXR CUSTOM RACK w/ M3X SHELVES, TAD REFERENCE ONE MK2 LOUDSPEAKERS, WW PLATINUM CABLES CAPE COD MX150, MC501(2) MC1.2KW(10) MC2301(2) MR88, MVP881, MCD1100, MDA1000, C1000C/P/T, MPC1500, ESOTERIC K-01X 30th ANNIVERSARY (BLACK) SACD/CD PLAYER, G02-X CLOCK, HT3F(2) XRT2K, XCS2K, XR27(2) JL GOTHAM v2 SUBS(2) JL FATHOM F113v2 SUBS(4) SOUND ANCHOR STANDS(2) KALEIDESCAPE STRATO & TERRA SERVERS 80-TB, LUMAGEN RADIANCE SCALER, SONY VPH-G90U 4K PROJECTOR, STEWART 120" SCREEN, SONUS FABER STRADIVARI, SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, FORTRESS SEATING, WW PLATINUM CABLES Analog Rig: CLEARAUDIO INNOVATION WOOD, UNIVERSAL ARM w/ Da VINCI' CART, 2nd UNIVERSAL ARM w/ GOLDFINGER STATEMENT CART, HRS-MXR REFERENCE RACK-GLOSS BLACK w/ M3X SHELVES, AESTHETIX RHEA SIG PHONO-PRE, BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMP, WW PLATINUM CABLES Reference System: BURMESTER 911MK3 AMP(3), 088 PRE-AMP, 089 CD PLAYER, 100 PHONO PRE-AMP, 948 POWER CONDITIONER, ACCUPHASE DG-68 VOICING EQUALIZER, AVID ACUTUS REFERENCE SP TT, GRAHAM PHANTOM II SUPREME ARM, BENZ MICRO LP-S CART, GRANDIOSO P1X/D1X STACK, G1X RUBIDIUM MASTER CLOCK, N05 NETWORK PLAYER, SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, HRS-SXR CUSTOM RACK w/ M3X SHELVES, SONUS FABER AIDA SPEAKERS, JL FATHOM F113v2 SUBS(2) SOUND ANCHOR STANDS(2) WW PLATINUM CABLES Library System: GRANDIOSO M1 MONOBLOCK AMPS, C1 LINESTAGE PRE-AMP, K1X CD/SACD PLAYER, G1 MASTER RUBIDIUM CLOCK, E02 PHONO-PRE, SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, AERIAL ACOUSTICS 20T V2, AERIAL SW12 SUBS(2), CANTON REF K1’s, VPI HRX TT w/ SDS POWER SUPPLY, ORTOFON CADENZA BLACK CART, KLAUDIO RCM, SHUNYATA DENALI 6000/S v2, SHUNYATA OMEGA QR’s, WW PLATINUM CABLES Esoteric/Bryston System: ESOTERIC C02-X PRE-AMP, P-02X TRANSPORT, D02-X DAC, G02-X CLOCK, BRYSTON 28B3 CUBED MONOBLOCK AMPS(4), BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMP, SHUNYATA DENALI 6000/S v2(2) EVEREST 8000 POWER CONDITIONER(2) ALTAIRA CG & SG HUBS, AMR-DP777-SE DAC, SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, TAD REFERENCE ONE MK2 LOUDSPEAKERS, QUADRASPIRE RACK, WW PLATINUM CABLES Accuphase/Canton System: ACCUPHASE E800 INTEGRATED, DP570 CD/SACD PLAYER, T1200 FM STEREO TUNER, DG-68 VOICING EQUALIZER, PS530 POWER SUPPLY, CANTON REF K3’s, CANTON REF K5’s, SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, HRS MXR REFERENCE MAHOGHANY RACK w/ M3X2 SHELVES, WW GOLD CABLES
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#8
09-05-2009, 11:22 PM
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David,
When I went from five MC501's to the MC205 I was sure it was going to be a big let down, it wasn't. At the levels I listen to movies at the MC205 has proved to be a very good performer. You've made good choices for your HT system. And, run one of the Sonos through the MX120 and see how good it sounds.
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#9
09-05-2009, 11:43 PM
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Quote:
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#10
09-12-2009, 08:31 AM
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Quote:
I am curious about your comparative impressions between the MC501's to the MC205 ? What are you using for speakers in the HT ?
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