Which Pre/Pro to buy? (1 Viewer)

[Arthur Vino]

Anthem and Parasound Halo C2 are very good units.. If u have the cash, then by all means - get Lexicon MC-8 Balanced..

 

[Arthur Vino]

+$1000 for balanced version.?



>Ted,

>You should feel out your local Lexicon dealers...4000->4200 might be doable on the MC8 (without any trade-in). >In the 2400-3300 street range, there are several prepros >to choose from. You can also save a few bucks if you buy >used (see audiogon).

 

[Michael Reuben]

Yes, the balanced versions of the MC-8 and -12 cost an additional $1K (list price). However, the general consensus is that the vast majority of users have no need for the balanced versions. I certainly don't.

M.

 

[Arthur Vino]

why not? all other companies include it.. FREE...

 

[Albert Damico]

Ted:

The experiences from people like Mike Peveler and Roger Kaufmann are their opinions on their equipment and, IMO, should have been stated as so, rather than definitive statements that the B&K Ref 50 issues are "unfounded" or "unless you put your ear against the speaker..."

I have a B&K Ref 50 that is less than two months old. In my system the whine is loud and clearly heard when source material is playing. I want to make sure that everybody understands what I said. When watching a DVD movie, or a program on DSS, or listening to music, the whine is clearly heard during actual playback. In quiet scenes it can be quite annoying. And it is very noticible well below reference levels. My system is calibrated with an SPL meter and the whine is loud and intrusive when the system is playing at low volumes. B&K continues to treat me very rudely, and insists that nothing is wrong with my system. My authorized dealer, so far, is unwilling to replace it with a new unit. So, I am pretty much between a rock and a hard place right now, having spent $2K+ on this unit and really don't know what to do right now. This is not a rant, but I just wanted to make sure that you actually heard from somebody with a different story. I am not saying that other people's units do whine, I am only saying that mine does, loud, at all levels, during source playback.

 

[Michael Reuben]

why not? all other companies include it.. FREE...

Why doesn't Lexicon include the balanced outputs in every unit? You'll have to ask them. I presume it's because they know that most customers don't want or need them and don't want (or need) to make the additional extra investment in specialized interconnects.

Your statement that "all other companies" include balanced outputs on their units is patently untrue.

M.

 

[Sihan Goi]

Albert, couldn't you demonstrate to your dealer the whine to prove that its a manufacturer's defect? I don't see why the dealer could possibly refuse to exchange/refund the unit if its a problematic one.

 

[Michael Reuben]

The B&K "whine" issue is already the subject of a lengthy thread that can be found here:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=130686

Please pursue any further discussion of this issue in the existing thread. Thanks!

M.

 

[Arthur Vino]

lemme see:
Anthem - included..
Halo C1/C2 - included
B&K - included..

And balanced putputs = higher quality.. $6000+ pre/pro should have that without adding $1000 to it... IMHO!!!!

 

[Michael Reuben]

But you didn't say that Anthem, Halo and B&K include balanced inputs. You said "all other companies". And that's just inaccurate.

If balanced inputs are a high priority for someone, then by all means they should focus on processors that include them. But they aren't a priority for most people, and not everyone would agree that they produce higher quality except in special situations.

M.

 

[Sihan Goi]

The absurb thing about that is that you said "all", it certainly isn't "all", in fact it might not even be "majority".

lemme see:
Lexicon - not included in all
Tag McLaren - not included
Rotel - not included
Aragon - not included

And balanced putputs != higher quality, neither does balanced outputs

 

[Dave Milne]

Vino,
The unbalanced MC-12 is an outstanding performer. The "potential" extra 6dB noise immunity of balanced interconnects is not justifiable in my installation (enclosed equipment rack with short cables).

Ted,
You might look at the Bryston SP-1.7. Very impressive sound for 2-ch and movies. I would have gone this way if I hadn't stumbled into a great deal on the MC-12 (Don't ask... dealer is out of business). The Bryston doesn't have video switching, but this was not a problem for me. My video scaler has plenty of inputs. High-end TVs probably have the same...

 

[Tom Camlioglu]

Mike [Reuben] - you said this in reference to the MC-8.

How are you certain of this? Have you compared it to the Anthem AVM20? ... If so, I'd be interested to see exactly what the MC-8 does that the AVM20 can't ...

Tom

 

[Shane Martin]

Does the Mc-8 have the room correction stuff that the Krell has? Last I checked they didn't but feel free to correct me.

Arguing over 'ALL" type statements is just arguing semantics and isn't very fruitful IMHO.

Is the Mc-8 a loaded prepro with tons of features and configurations? Yes. Can it be beat? Sure depending on what criteria you put into which prepro. For some it doesn't beat their Outlaw, for others it does easily.

Balanced connections are a condundrum for me. Having them available certainly doesn't hurt IMHO and the possibility of removing loads of noise in my system with them is certainly intriguing especially at the extra dough but it may not be worth it. I'm sure a Lexicon dealer has both and you could compare them in your own system to find out if that is an issue. For $5k-$6k I'd expect it.

 

[Michael Reuben]

If so, I'd be interested to see exactly what the MC-8 does that the AVM20 can't ...

If one were to do a feature comparison between the two units, I'm sure each would do certain things that the other can't.

But I wasn't offering a feature comparison. I was talking about flexibility and configurability. Undoubtedly there are other processors that are the MC-8's equal in that area (and the AVM20 may well be one of them). But it's hard to imagine one that's more so, what with the MC-8's 13 video inputs, 8 digital inputs, one or two 6-channel analog inputs (at the user's option), the ability to assign any of these in any combination to any one of 8 devices, plus a second zone, and the inclusion of every major home audio format currently available, plus Lexicon's proprietary formats.

But as Shane rightly points out, a lot depends on one's criteria (not to mention one's needs).

M.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

How bout the Parasound C2? Anybody know anything about this unit yet? Price? I have not seen much info.

Not much talk about this unit in this thread, but I really think it deserves consideration here. It certainly has mine.

The Parasound C1 and C2 are pretty impressive with their features and specs. The C1 has the 5 inch TFT screen on the front panel. Cool! Retail is $6000.00. It received a completely glowing review in the current issue of Home Theater Magazine.

For $2000.00 less, you can get the C2, which doesn't have the screen, a couple less inputs I think. It has every sound format currently available in the market, including THX Ultra 2 Cinema.

Try this link:

Parasound Halo C2

They don't get much better looking than this either!

Street price appears to be just over $3000.00.

 

[MannyE]

Way back in the dark ages, I was torn between the Anthem and the B&K Ref 30.

I don't know if my experience is still relevant, considering all new products, but the Anthem had the edge when it came to music.

The B&K while not the king of stereo, was IMHO, the king of HT.... which is what this is all about anyway. That's not to say that the B&K was BAD at stereo music...just not as great as the Anthem (I think it was the AVM20...not sure about exact model number)

The best analogy would be that if these were cars..the Anthem would do 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and the B&K in 4.1... if you have ever driven cars this fast you know that the .2 seconds means very little when you are being pushed through the seat back.

When it came to HT, the B&K was far better because it offered more options and, I thought, better performance on multichannel movie sound which for me was the priority.

AS I understand it, Anthem has caught up as far as options go...I do not know if it offers the extensive bass management that B&K does....

Bottom line is to get an in-home demo and listen for yourself in YOUR room with YOUR equipment and then make a choice. I was able to have both the Anthem and the B&K at once and ended up keeping the B&K.

 

[Sihan Goi]

Back in the dark ages the AVM20 wasn't even born yet, I believe you were talking about the original AVM2, which was never really that good. From what I've heard the AVM20 is a huge improvement over it.

 

[Ted Pugh]

Thanks everyone for their replys. I just found out my dealer I deal with just got in the Parasound C2 to determine if he is interested in picking the line back up. I am going today to demo and see what it has to offer. I read the review in Home Theater Mag and they just did a review in the new DVD Etc. Mag about the C2 which also reviewed very well. The Anthem seems to be a nice piece but I do not need all the Bells and Whistles it offers. But I am still up in the air.

Thanks,

Ted

 

[Arthur Vino]

IS DVD ETc available @ Barnes & Noble?