I will be integrating a McIntosh C2XXX into my system and plan on using it for two channel music listening via a D100 that I use as a DAC. My main pre-amp/processor is an MX151.
I've never done a pass through setup before so I'm sort of fumbling around in the dark here not sure what I should do.
I'm thinking I would:
1. Use one of the trigger outputs from the MX151 and connect that to the Pass Through input on the C2200
2. I go to the MX menu and setup that trigger to come on when I select the MX function I want to activate it.
So thinking about how to set this up all I ended up with was a bunch of questions:
1. The C2200 will be set for the correct XLR input from the DAC. Does the XLR output from the C2200 goes to the MX151 XLR input?
2. Or do I have to put the C2200 "between" the MX151 & the MC501 amplifiers?
3. Does that result in the C2200 being on all the time?
The rest of my inputs to the MX151 are digital and handled internally by the MX.
I'd rather not run the tubes all the time if I can help it.
Sorry for the long note. I'm totally confused and scratchin' my head here.
Been down this road with the MX121 and C47 and C220.
The basic idea is you want to use your front two speakers as a stereo system and the expectation for doing that is that the C2200 will sound better than the MX for 2-channel, high-end sources. But you also at other times want to use the front two speakers as part of a surround system controlled by the MX.
For stereo mode, since the idea is that the C2200 sounds better than the MX151, you don't want the MX in the circuit when listening to stereo with C2200. So the C2200 gets connected to the front-channel amps (MC501s) directly. You then connect whatever stereo sources (turntable, DAC, tuner) into the C2200 and for stereo listening, just ignore the MX.
But to run the surround system with the MX, the C2200 is in the way between your MX and front amps (MC501) so for surround listening, you would have to disconnect the C2200 from the amps and connect the front outputs from the MX to the amps - which you could do but it's a PITA.
So the passthrough feature is there in the C2200 to make that reconnection for you - essentially in passthrough mode, the C2200 passes the front channel outputs form the MX through to your MC501s without affecting the sound as if just making the connection.
The manuals for the MX and C2200 should give details on how to hook this up.
My experience with the MX121, C47 and C220 may be different but probably not.
My C220 does not have the passthrough feature so I set it up manually by connecting the MX front channel outputs to a line-level input on the C220. In this mode I always set the C220 volume to "80" (a level I found that does not change the gain from MX so does not throw off the surround sound balance) and set the tone controls to flat. So the C220 passes the MX front signals through mostly unchanged. For stereo mode, I just select the other inputs on the C220 and operate it as a stereo system.
My C47 does have the passthrough feature and so the MX121 / C47 would likely work the same as the MX151/C2200 (but I don't know that for sure).
With the C47 I connected a trigger cable from the MX to the C47, connected the front channel audio from the MX to one of the line-level inputs of the C47 and designated that input as a passthrough using the C47 setup menus. The C47 is connected directly to the power amps.
With this set up, whenever the MX121 is turned on, it takes over the C47 and puts it in passthrough mode - no mater if the C47 was off or doing something else, when the MX121 is turned on it takes over and only passthrough / MX control is operating on the C47. To take control of the C47 for stereo requires that I turn the MX121 off (or remove the trigger cable).
3. Does that result in the C2200 being on all the time?
I think the C2200 will be on whenever the MX is on or (of course) when the MX is off and you turn the C2200 on for normal stereo. But I don't know that for sure, especially for the C2200. It's possible that the C2200 makes a direct through connection without turning on the tubes in passthrough mode but maybe not. That would be a question for McIntosh tech support if it's not mentioned in the C2200 manual.
But the underlying reason for doing all this is the expectation that the MX151 does not sound as good with stereo analog sources as the C2200. But I understand that the MX151 sounds pretty good in this roll such that you may not need the C2200, especially if you don't use a turntable. But that would be up to you to decide. I did decide after awhile that my C220 does sound a bit better than the MX121 for turntable and DAC inputs but your MX151 is more upscale. Anyway.
