Well, i broke down and opened the sealed box and set up the mc152 driving Paradigm 800f. Not a wow event but there's noticeable midrange clarity, more so with acoustic guitar sounds. I like it.
Bass is ok, hope to hear more some more improvement after some burn in hours.
I'm keeping it and aim to get the Heresy speakers later on, but its going to be a toss up where to spend the coins then should a good used MC preamp be found.
Thanks to all who responded.