Audio Video Processor

I went with the Proceed AVP. All three are quality Processors, I liked the sound of the Classe and Proceed for both music and HT. The MC1 was great for HT but wasn't as musical as either of the other two.

I listened to alot of pre/pro's including DC-1, Cinema Grand, SSP-50, SSP-75, and the EAD Theatermaster. The one which did it for me was the EAD. Truthfully, they all sounded very similar in AC-3 but different in 2-channel. Not only did it sound better to me, but is the best looking to boot. I have to admit that most of the processors were heard on different gear. Listen to as many as you can even if it requires a good drive. Hopefully it will be a part of your system for years to come.

I have the Cal Audio SSP 2500. I think it is as good as the best in Home Theater. For Analog Stereo it has a bypass mode I like a lot. The video switching is done on a separate box to avoid noise, and it is HDTV compatible with component inputs and outputs. They are comming or it is just out with a line doubler, and character generator.

I have not listened to the Classe, but have listened to the MC-1, EAD, and AVP. I went with the EAD, but it's for home theater only. I would not have chosen this one for 2 channel because I listen to about 50% LPs and everything goes into the digital domain in the EAD. I think the AVP (not 100% sure) keeps analog in the analog domain. If you listen to LPs this is probably a better choice. I don't know about the Classe--if it's anything like their amps it's probably fanatastic and a good value to boot.

The MC-1 is great for HT but too grainy for music. Meridian and Proceed both do a better job for 2 channel and are as good if not better than the MC-1 for HT. I found the Proceed AVP to better match different systems that I had going through my HT as it is very neutral and very easy to use.
If you want a multi purpose processor I would not go with the MC-1. Try a DC-1 then swap it out with an MC-1 and the difference is not staggering at all. You can even call Lexicon and they will tell you that the MC-1 is basically a tweaked DC-2 which is essentually a tweaked DC-1, the differences are a lot more closer than you would think.

You should also consider the Tag McLaren AV32R. Check them out at www.tagmclarenaudio.com Some consider it the best pre/pro under 10K