help-lexicon mc 12v5 vs. mac mx135

Slvrtravel,

To expand on the above comments with my $0.02 worth, I used to own a Lexicon MC-12V5EQ. It's surround processing capabilities are impressive. Mine had both Logic 7 and DPLIIx, which are the premiere processing capabilities for 7.1.

From my perspective, room size is not an issue in deciding on 7.1 verus 5.1. My own room is relatively small, at 13' x 17' x 9.5', and I found a significant improvement in surround envelopment when I expanded from 5.1 to 7.1. However, room layout can be an issue. Your room is relatively large at 16 x 25, but without room behind your listening position, then 7.1 is not a good choice.

However, do you have any flexibility in relocating your sofa so there is room behind the listening position? If so, then I would definitely recommend going to 7.1 as that is a particular sweet spot for the Lexicon.

My former speaker system had tripoles for sides, very similar to using dipoles for sides, and monopoles for rears and that combination does provide a good surround environment. When I recently upgraded my speaker system, the new line did not offer dipoles / bipoles / tripoles, so I was limited to monopoles for both sides and rears. So far, I have not found this be a problem, although if I had the option I would have chosen dipoles / bipoles / tripoles for the sides.

FWIW, I listen to everything in 7.1, independent of source.

Thanks
Bruce

Slvrtravel,

Per the Dolby recommended layouts, I do not think you want your side speakers ahead of your listening position. The side speakers should be at plus & minus 90 degrees from top center, directly to the sides of your listening position.

Sorry, I may not have been clear, but I was asking about moving your sofa a bit forward of the back wall, not to a different part of the room. If, for example, you could move your sofa forward by 5 feet, that would allow you to have rear speakers behind the listening position and side speakers directly to the sides of the sofa.

I don't know if that would impose any challenges in mounting / placing the surround speakers, but there are options to accomodate many situations like on-walls, in-walls, etc.

In my own case, due to room layout, both my sides and rears are mounted suspended from the ceiling using Omnimounts. I have them aimed downward and toward the listening area, and that works pretty well.

Thanks
Bruce

Slvrtravel,

I made my last post before reading you might be able to move the sofa 1' out from the back wall. That might work.

One idea I have seen is to place the rear speakers on their backs, down and behind the sofa, facing up toward the ceiling. That would spread the rear surround information along the back of the room. I would still put the side surrounds to the side of the sofa rather than further forward.

Another point about Lexicon that I don't think has been mentioned is the room correction equalization with the EQ versions. The correction is done in the time domain rather than frequency domain, and is applied at 250 Hz and below. The MC-12 does not try to flatten the FR curve, but instead works to eliminate resonances. By staying in the range of 250 Hz and below, it addresses resonances caused by the room and compensates for those.

I found the EQ in the MC-12 to be very effective, and easy to set up. The bass was cleaner and each note more distinct. In addition, the mid range was cleaner, supposedly because lower frequency resonances were not "hanging around" and muddying up the mids.

I think Lexicon's approach is similar to Meridian's.

Thanks
Bruce