Lexicon MC-1 Ver
4.0
by Steven Simon
3-18-2002
Enter Lexicon MC-1
Let me start this review with a little background information on were I have
come from in the world of home theater. My humble beginnings in this hobby
started back in 1992 with a Sony SDR 615 Dolby ProLogic receiver.(It actually
started way before, but this was my entry point into anything substantial in HT)
Back then, I thought the Top Gun VHS tape was the biggest, badest demo one could
play. I threw together 5 speakers from all over my house. Basically I used
anything I could find laying around in the Simon family household. I don’t even
remember the brand names of these speakers. I believe I went to Radio Shack and
purchased 22 Gauge speaker wire for this configuration. VCR used was Sony at the
time. So for around 5-6 years, I lived with this makeshift budget Home Theater.
I thought it was the best thing I had since sliced bread, and had very little
knowledge in the hobby.
Along came the advent of DVD a few years later. At first I didn’t jump on the
bandwagon, and laid back on the format. It wasn’t until 1998, when I jumped into
the Digital Arena. I purchased a Sony DVD player (2nd Gen) for 450 Bucks, and a
Tecnics 915 DD and DTS Receiver. For speakers I went with Advents. They were
around 100 bucks for all 5 speakers. For a sub, I went with an Aiwa 150 Watt
Box. For another year or so, my Home Theater hobby laid dormant, enjoying what I
had, knowing I had an extremely modest setup, and was content at the time. It
was a major upgrade for me going from the ProLogic setup, to a 5.1 discrete
Setup.
Here is where the fun starts. September 15, 1998 I have absolutely nothing to
do. I’m surfing the net and hit Yahoo and do a search for Home Theater. What
comes up, but Home Theater Forum. The site at the time had around 4000 members
and looked to be a wealth of knowledge on the subject at hand. I quickly joined
and started having a blast.
To make a long story short, I quickly upgraded my entire speaker system in my
bedroom (My only theater at the time) to all Paradigm reference speakers. Soon
after, I moved the theater into my furnished basement, and sprung for a
Mitsubishi 46805 16:9 RPTV. Upgrades such as Progressive Scan dvd players, to
super thick speaker wire, SVS Subs, and ISF calibrations from such people like
HTF Administrator Gregg Loewen all proceeded. Enter the world of Separates. I
made the partial dive into this configuration around 1.5 years ago. With the
purchase of 3 Monoblock Amps to power my front Soundstage, I felt I was getting
a taste of what was to come down the road. I used my DENON 4800 as a PrePro for
those front three, and used the amps in that unit for the 4 back Surround
speakers. I was convinced after hearing this setup; this was the best approach
to near sonic perfection in Home Theater. This hardware combination I had
sounded fabulous, and at one point, never could have dreamed to improve it.
Pre/Pro setups have been a huge topic of conversation on Home Theater Forum for
some time now, and after a while, it started dawning on me that I should
probably finish off on what I set out to do; a full Separates system. My first
move was to have all the channels of amps ready to go. I now have a beefy 2
Channel Amp(Parasound HCA1500 205W) powering my Studio 100’s, and 5 Monoblock
Amps powering my Center Channel, and four surrounds speakers, including 2 side
surround speakers(Paradigm Studio ADP Diploes) and two back EX Speakers(Paradigm
Studio 20’s). My next step was choosing the brains behind the entire show, the
Sound Processor. After reading extensive reviews on all the products on the
market, and doing some lengthy driving runs to Audio Stores, and members of HTF,
I came to the conclusion that the Lexicon MC-1 would be a perfect match for my
Config. The MC-1 does fall a tad short on a few key features that some of the
newer Preamps already have such as Component Video Switching, DPLII, and Higher
Resolution Audio Dacs. Needless to say, I only have 2 sources with Component
video in my large theater, hence not needing switching and Logic7 to my ears did
more for 2 Channel and 5 Channel mixes than DPLII ever will do. The MC-1 was a
no brainer for me. Especially since the prices have come down like you can’t
imagine.
I started my journey with this brand new Lexicon MC-1 a few days ago, and what a
journey this is going to be. This piece is a tweekers dream. One could spend
weeks on customizing this unit to there exact specifications. I started by
calibrating all the audio channels to 75 db at 0 on the knob. I then set all the
speaker distances to my needs, as well as setting the Sub Peak Limiter. I then
had to set a few Digital Inputs around and was then off to the races. Let me
state that the Menus on this unit are a dream to work with. Easy as pie, but can
get more than extensive for the advances user.
I started with Gladiator and Phantom Menace as my first strong demo pieces. The
Lexicon teamed up with the rack of Parasound amps simply sounds stunning. My
speakers system has completely become transparent. I no longer can tell where a
Sound Effect is coming from. Localization is gone! The front soundstage in my
opinion is really what sets this configuration apart from what I had before (Denon
4800.) Vocals were heavily weighed in the Center Channel, and music seemed to be
larger than life. The front stage was the deepest and widest I have every heard
my theater. I did some experimenting back and forth with Straight DD and DTS on
these 2 tracks, as well as engaging Logic7 with the respective formats. We’ll
folks, the jury is back. Logic7 is definitely the way to go. Your soundstage
widens tremendously, and your back Soundstage comes to life. You can hear much
more detailed information coming from the rears with L7 on, compared to off with
straight 5.1. I’m hooked on Logic7.
There is so much more for me to review here, I have just hit the tip of the
Iceberg, being this is a work in progress review. One cannot review a stellar
piece of hardware like this, only after having it for a few days. For the last
few years, I have only dreamed of my system sounding this good, and feel like
I’m at the point where I am so close to bar of perfection on the Audio side.
Stay tuned folks. I am one happy Home Theater Enthusiast today.
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Shortly after I wrote this piece I was chosen to be a Post beta tester for Outlaw Audio's new Outlaw 950 Pre/Pro..... I sold the MC1 to make room for the 950... I was given 4 different pieces and tested there finished products....... Here are my Findings....