McIntosh newbie needs help and advice on MX135

[lattiboy]

Hi all,

I’ve never owned a Mac separate until today. I was able to get a heck of a deal on a fully functioning MX135. From everything I’ve read, the preamplifier section is about as good as anything out there, and I do not plan on taking advantage of any of the (now completely outdated) video processing.

I currently have a Chromecast Audio going into the SAT optical input and I’m running it in 2 channel mode. It seems to be performing perfectly, but I wanted to confirm a few quick things.

1) I Cannot get fixed output working. I would like to play around with this using my Denon receiver in pure audio mode, with the MX 135 essentially working as a DAC. Unfortunately, I am only able to get sound when using the RCA outputs that are tied to the volume control of the MX 135. Am I missing a setting?

2) If I do not plan on using the volume control of the MX 135, is it worth getting a replacement remote?


Thanks!

 

[twiiii]

If you mean the Zone B output, then you have to realize only analog inputs can feed Zone B. Similar to my MX 119 and 120 from the past. Some of the surround modes can be fun. And Cinema 2 is balanced for THX discs. And if you do want to use the Zone B you have to go into the input menu and select that option for each analog input. The unit is shipped with the Zone B turned off. In some cases. MY 119 they were turn off on the 120 they were on. Zone B is so easy to use on a 135. Its a pain on the MX 151. Ground your unit and becareful of static electricity it can cause a sorts of issues with 119's, 120's, 134, and 135. I experienced the problem on the 119 and 120, but the 151 doesn't seem to have that issue.

 

[lattiboy]

If you mean the Zone B output, then you have to realize only analog inputs can feed Zone B. Similar to my MX 119 and 120 from the past. Some of the surround modes can be fun. And Cinema 2 is balanced for THX discs. And if you do want to use the Zone B you have to go into the input menu and select that option for each analog input. The unit is shipped with the Zone B turned off. In some cases. MY 119 they were turn off on the 120 they were on. Zone B is so easy to use on a 135. Its a pain on the MX 151. Ground your unit and becareful of static electricity it can cause a sorts of issues with 119's, 120's, 134, and 135. I experienced the problem on the 119 and 120, but the 151 doesn't seem to have that issue.

Thanks! I'm actually talking about the Zone A fixed output. I don't think I'll be using Zone B

 

[Yamaki]

Have you correctly assigned RCA input in the menu?

Have you tried variable output and used the Denon volume control?

I thoroughly enjoyed my MX135's analog pre-amp section. I fed it with several DACs over the years including a McIntosh D100 all digital pre-amp/headphone amp/DAC which I still use.

I had to send the MX135 on as a trade-in on a MX151 at Audio Classics as the DSP/digital side just kept failing and after 3 repairs and a 4th failure I was done.

 

[Bob the Tech]

It looks to me like the fixed output is tapped off the analog listen selection bus, so if you're able to select an analog input source, balanced or unbalanced inputs, and listen to it on Zone A Left/Right then you should find it at the fixed outputs. It doesn't look to me like the digital inputs are passed into this bus, so I don't see a way to get them to the fixed output.

 

[lattiboy]

It looks to me like the fixed output is tapped off the analog listen selection bus, so if you're able to select an analog input source, balanced or unbalanced inputs, and listen to it on Zone A Left/Right then you should find it at the fixed outputs. It doesn't look to me like the digital inputs are passed into this bus, so I don't see a way to get them to the fixed output.

OK, that makes sense. I think what I'm going to do is use the MX-135 for all 3 of my channels (LCR) and use the DAC on my Denon 3600. I have full analog preout from the Denon I can feed the MX-135 with. I think I'll also keep the subwoofer coming from the Denon, as Audyssey is likely a bit more sophisticated in this regard.

Also, re-programmed a chap unviersal remote as the front up/down and select buttons didn't work on the on screen menu.

PS S-Video looks SO BAD I can't believe we all watched it for ages. Looking at what appears to be a VCR menu from the 90s on a 120" 4k projector screen was....weird.

 

[JosephH]

If you mean the Zone B output, then you have to realize only analog inputs can feed Zone B. Similar to my MX 119 and 120 from the past. Some of the surround modes can be fun. And Cinema 2 is balanced for THX discs. And if you do want to use the Zone B you have to go into the input menu and select that option for each analog input. The unit is shipped with the Zone B turned off. In some cases. MY 119 they were turn off on the 120 they were on. Zone B is so easy to use on a 135. Its a pain on the MX 151. Ground your unit and becareful of static electricity it can cause a sorts of issues with 119's, 120's, 134, and 135. I experienced the problem on the 119 and 120, but the 151 doesn't seem to have that issue.

Agreed, watch out for the static! IMHO it is worth getting the remote just be able to interact remotely. I had static fritz out my MX-132 and while AC fixed her up, I do not take chances with my MX-136. You will love it as a 2 channel pre-amp! Some purists scoff at the MX series AV receivers but in direct mode they are great 2 channel units and a tremendous bargain! Congrats!

 

[lattiboy]

As an update, I have worked out most of my issues. I’ll post here for posterity.

1) have the Denon 3600H preouts going to the MX135 analog inputs for both mains. I have the fronts setup as full range in the Denon speaker setup.

2) I have the sub being fed from the MX135 instead of the Denon as in “pure direct” mode the Denon doesn’t output a sub signal.

3) I have the sub crossed over at 70Hz and have “MC Bass Mode” disabled as that outputs the low frequency to the fronts and sub, which creates a boomy mess!

4) you HAVE to have a way to display an analog video output to configure the MX135. I used an rca cable as the s video output to the Denon s video input. It looks ugly as hell but it works.

5) I got a cheap universal remote and it works fine. It’s an old harmony with programmable buttons.

6) I toggled between running a Chromecast audio directly into the MX135 toslink input and using the Denon as a source over the analog inputs. Signal strength is MUCH higher over the direct digital input, but once you balance the levels I didn’t notice a big difference. Pretty sure the DAC in the Denon is better. Pretty much any decent, modern AVR is going to be better for digital conversion.

7) I’m using the variable analog output as I had issues getting the fixed output working correctly. Level matched to 55 volume and it seems to be correct.

8) I have the sub trim at +2, and previously had the bass trim at +2 as this thing is a touch bass shy.

 

[Yamaki]

Good progress!