MX119 In The House

[Yamaki]

After anxiously tracking the shipment, I picked up my MX119 from the local FedEx office this afternoon.

Time for me to RTM, then decide how I want to set it up.

Pardon the crappy cel phone pics. I'll get some better shots after I place it in the rack, connected and operating.

 

[ron-c]

MX119 is a solid preamp.

thanks,
Ron-C

 

[rolltide]

I think you're going to have a good time with it. I had an MX-119 for a couple years as I was sort of transitioning away from home theater and the system was being used mostly for 2ch vinyl playback. Eventually I'd use it as strictly a 2ch preamp, and felt it sounded a hair better then my C41.

6-channel analog in from my Oppo's analog outs was good for HT, but I did find myself missing the Audyssey room correction my previous (much newer) HT preamp had, but it more then made up for it in other areas.

 

[Yamaki]

I think I'm gonna have a problem. I had investigated how many triggers this unit has, which is sufficient, but when I went looking for how to set them up all it says is to plug one into here, one into there, etc...

It appears that there is no way for me to have a certain trigger, or triggers, to come on depending on what function I have selected, i.e., DVD, Tuner, CD, DAC/Music or TV. They are either all on or all off, regardless.

So I'm not sure what to do. I may not even plug this one in if I can't figure out how to control my amp power scheme with the MX119 in play.

 

[Mike Gibson]

You will get many years of enjoyment from it Mike. I can't wait for more pictures of the system.

 

[Yamaki]

Thanks, Mike. I hope one day you can make your way over from Dufur for a BBQ and some music enjoyment. No vinyl here, though...

With some help from a custom installer buddy with loads of experience with McGear, I think I have the amp trigger issue solved.

One more cup of Joe and it's time to swap components.

 

[Yamaki]

After a bit of a struggle interpreting the manual, I got the unit swapped in, up and running.

First impressions:

1. This unit has a very aggressive (and impressive) volume ladder. Listening level in 2-channel pure stereo mode, with my two Emotiva monoblocks feeding the Aerial Acoustic 8's seems to be around 12 - 16 as indicated on the face display. Go past 16 and you are entering block party status 'cause everyone is gonna hear it.

2. At even the lower SPL settings, the clarity is amazing. My old processor seemed a bit "muffled" at the lower volumes. The detail I am hearing with the MX119 is much, much better. At the higher levels, the clarity remains with no distortion. Lovely bit of kit, this.

3. The input settings are fairly easy to figure out as long as you understand the priorities established. My question was just how many inputs can I configure? The same as the number of inputs physically found on the back panel (8 analog + 3 optical + 3 coaxial = 14) or only 8 (0 - 7) found in the Input Setup menu. The answer was I can double up on inputs, one analog + one digital, in the input setup menu. Functionally I just need to turn on the "RC Toggle" function which allows me to hit the source selection button on the remote once for the analog source. If I press it twice, I get the digital source. One more time and I get the analog source back. Not a bad work around but one more input selection in the menu would have been better.

4. Even though the technology of this unit is a bit dated, it has exactly what I need to manage and enjoy my system. I was a bit miffed (actually more than a bit but I won't repeat some of the things I said when the realization it wasn't going to work finally set in ) that I couldn't get a good HDMI handshake between my old processor and the new Sony monitor. That became my impetus (and excuse ) to finally put the Sherbourn aside in favor of a McIntosh. Since I had solved the HDMI issue by directly connecting all the video sources to the monitor by HDMI, with no handshake issues to be found, HDMI connectivity at the processor became much less of a need. In fact, it was a "nice to have" but not a "need to have" factor in my evaluation.

5. It ain't heavy but it is big! Goodness, what a large box. Luckily my double, side by side, Salamander Twin 30 shelves have plenty of room.

6. I'm sure this acquisition will lead me to more McGear soon. Honestly, it's time for that last upgrade and I want some McIntosh amplifiers.

For now, I'll work on a few tweaks, fix a couple of input changes I want to make now that I have it up and running, set some speaker levels, speaker distances and await my friend with the URC MX-880 software so he can re-configure my integrated remote.

It's proving to be a good upgrade, IMHO.