Undecided btw Mx 122 and MX 160

[zagoras]

Hi All,

I currently own 2 MC 1.2 KW's, 3 MC 601's, MX 150, CA 50, MT 10, Sonus Faber Il Cremonese, SF Amati Futura, Homage Vox.

I am quite puzzled in deciding whether I should go for MX 160 or MX 122 for an upgrade on my MX 150... The main difference seems to be room perfect (which is not so important for me).

On one side MX 122 is a more recent product with lower price, on the other side MX 160 is the flagship of the category which I would normally prefer since I already own the MX 150.

I have read all the forums; people are warning about the chipset in MX 160 (10 gHz compared to 18 in MX 122), about the software problems, about MX 161 coming soon etc. I do not want to make the same mistake again (I am the first buyer of MX 150 in my country and by the time I received the product, it was already outdated with HDMI 1.3).

So I contacted Mcintosh, they indeed very kindly and promptly answered my emails, I have gladly learned that MX 160 is going to support Dolby Vision (I suppose MX 122 also does), and that if 4K is played in its native format there is no problem with 10.8 Ghz, and since 4K BR HD is limited to 4:2:0 at 30 fps no problems there as well.

I cannot wait for every possible 4K format, so I will make my decision within this week...

What would you say;

1. Is there anything (in Video) that the MX 122 can do and the MX 160 cannot do?
2. Should the chipset in MX 160 (10 ghz) be a concern for me in terms of being future proof ?
3. Aside from room perfect, why would a customer prefer MX 160 over MX 122 (question is only concerning video) ?
4. Finally which one would you choose ?

Thank you so so much in advance for your kind and valuable help....

Kind regards,

Yagiz Eyuboglu

 

[twiiii]

Input wise a 160 isn't flexible enough for me so I will stay with the 151. The idea of over head speakers is a real turn off for me. The more speakers you have the more the center channel definition is reduced and the dynmic range is challenged. How many people do you know where the center channel of their system is the strongest and most capable of the entire system. Not one I bet. You can always run the video signal of your source to the dislay directly and the sound to the 150 for decoding. I guess if you want atmos make your choice. I would select the 122 as they will be both obsolete in a few years anyway. The Japanese are already starting to deliver 8K displays. You ready? I have enough trouble finding good analog and digital stereo recordings and you are pushing the envelope? Humm! I know your emphasis is on the picture quality. Have you purchased one of Panasonics professional 4k displays? Or maybe a Runco? If not thats where your money should go not on a HT processor.

 

[zagoras]

Input wise a 160 isn't flexible enough for me so I will stay with the 151. The idea of over head speakers is a real turn off for me. The more speakers you have the more the center channel definition is reduced and the dynmic range is challenged. How many people do you know where the center channel of their system is the strongest and most capable of the entire system. Not one I bet. You can always run the video signal of your source to the dislay directly and the sound to the 150 for decoding. I guess if you want atmos make your choice. I would select the 122 as they will be both obsolete in a few years anyway. The Japanese are already starting to deliver 8K displays. You ready? I have enough trouble finding good analog and digital stereo recordings and you are pushing the envelope? Humm! I know your emphasis is on the picture quality. Have you purchased one of Panasonics professional 4k displays? Or maybe a Runco? If not thats where your money should go not on a HT processor.

Thx for your comments.
I have decided to go for MX 122.
That was a tough decision for me because it felt like goüng down a notch from the MX 150 I already own. However I am tired of the software problems with my MX 150. Recently received the latest firmware update (which was quite outdated by the way), now my party mode disappeared; i cannot select some DSP modes. I am afraid to face similar software issues with MX 160.
You are very right in saying that “whichever device i buy right now, it is going to be obsolete any way”. So i chose the most recent product. This way i will on one side enjoy more recent technology with MX 122; and my losses will be far less in a couple of years compared to MX 160 (the MSRP in my country is US 25 K !).
It is really sad to see that such a successful company with such great audio products is struggling with its video products....
I would never give up my MC, MT, CA units, but this is my last attempt with an MX unit. If it also underperforms this time, i will ruin my rack and go with a different AV processor in my next purchase... Again thx for yout comments...

 

[twiiii]

When my 151 was delivered with the latest updates the tone controls didn't work, so I went back to the previous soft ware. I don't down load music or video off the internet except using iTunes and by using Apple TV have no compatibility issues. If I do start down loading from the internet then I will need a good DAC for sound. But that's along time into the future. It was just a few year ago I went to Blu--ray and hi def. I have had a Hi-def display for 10 years and at 16 ft you can't tell the difference between 480 and 1080. As long as the picture has the same grey scale and color spectrum Now 4k you can recognize right off because of the Kodachrome type quality of the picture. It may measure better in every way, but it just doesn't look right. Its like some of the technicolor movies never looked right. They were enjoyable but never true to the eye.

 

[twiiii]

I guess I should have said something sooner, but I much prefer Room Perfect to the system used in the 122. Odyssey I believe. Odyssey really doesn't under stand what room acoustics can do and just wants to give you a flat response. most of the time its way to bright for me and the bass can be a little dry. So I will stick with either my Crown room EQs or Room perfect. Some times I like just a little more kick or a little less highs and with the adjustable hinge tone controls on the Crown Room Eq's I can further tailor the sound for HT or use a 12 band Graphic EQ for the analog sounds if the controls on the C-34 aren't enough. Remember moderation when using controls. I loved the 1 db steps on my HT processors. The 4 db steps of the C-22, 28 and 29 were just too much..