McIntosh MX-121 - any thoughts? - Page 5

Thanks! Oddly, too many people are hoping this won't be a success so it's nice to see there are still people on the proper side.


I think most still appreciate hand-built products, but budgets are tight and so we're more tolerant of less expensive methods. Also, we're seeing that cheaper can actually be "better" in many cases, and society as a whole continues to warm up to that concept. I drive a hand-built car (with the sole exception of some of the frame welding), but I'm not so sure that all those hands actually made it "better" than it would have been if assisted by machines.

Certainly not - reps don't want dealers selling any other brands - but dealers can't survive on one brand alone. So they compete against each other, and that's good for us, the buyers.

Rob - dealers are there to help us limit our options down to the best single choice amongst the brands they carry (some will even suggest brands they do NOT have access to). Personally, I want them to push all products equally when I walk in the door, and then, based upon the question they ask and the answers I provide, they should eventually arrive at one single product. If they're really good, that's what will happen. And it's possible that you yourself, through the comments you provided, made it apparent that the 121 would be your best choice.

Or maybe there's a spiff on that item... Who knows.

Good move!

Classic! You joined over 4 years ago and your first and only post begins with "Stupid arguments."

I try to reserve harsh statements for instances that deserve it -- this deserves it: you're an idiot, dancoh.

Traveler's comment was completely fair and appropriate. Your response, on the other hand, is neither.

A bit better correction and a whole slew of hype. Don't sweat the differences - they're mostly relevant on paper.

Higher is better, until it isn't. And in the case of eq, the fewer the better (with each boost or attenuation, you introduce phasing and other disingenuous artifacts. Subtle, yes, but we're dealing with subtlety here, and they're additive, making "more" actually less). Can you point us toward real-world evidence that the additional resolution of XT is "practically" necessary? Again, I understand how it looks on paper, but that's meaningless in our rooms.

I use studio monitors which are nothing short of miraculous when it comes to room correction. Their DSPs have many notch filters available but most people would be surprised by the amount actually necessary, even for rooms with terrible modes. The room where I've installed my home studio is an acoustic designer's nightmare (terrible dimensions, challenging placement of equipment, little spare room to work with), yet, with the monitor's correction software running, I get a nearly perfect response. Looking at a graph of the corrective eq, I was surprised by how little it took.

But let's not forget that these corrective schemes do nothing about poor dispersion and standing waves, which no processor will correct. They have practical limits, and, given the characteristics of the average room, even the best corrective processing is useless against certain common issues.

I believe that, at each step, these processors should be performing at the highest level science has to offer, so I'd want the best correction software available, but, as is always true in a capitalistic economy, the best available isn't always the best necessary for a certain task. The hardest hammers would break the nail, if you catch my drift.

I'm eager to jump on the XT32/Pro bandwagon, but I understand marketing, and I understand acoustics to a much higher degree, so I'd need audible proof that it's worth the effort and not irrelevant, or, worse, counterproductive.

The other night I was told that mine had arrived and I went to pick it up but when I got there they couldn't find it, and now they're unsure where it is or if they can get another soon. And no communication. Ridiculous! I'm leaning towards buying from another dealer. Or perhaps a Krell 1200.

Rest assured, they are already in people's homes. I'd have mine tonight if not for the screw up. They've shipped, stores have them, and some folks have taken them home.

I ordered toward the end of December and made the first cut. I imagine January 3rd/4th would be also, though it might have something to do with the dealer, some being a higher priority for McIntosh (I don't know this, just speculating).

Thanks - I'll check into it.