MC-1 or Ref 30

I'd advise against the Denon receiver as a processor. I did this for a while w/ separate amps and a separate 2-channel pre-amp for music. When I got my B&K ref 30 I noticed a HUGE difference from the Denon on soundtracks (and the dolby pro-logic decoding in particular). Not just a slight difference -- quite noticable. If you read all the reviews of the Ref 30 every one of them remarks how great it is w/ soundtracks, and my experience has been consistent w/ those remarks.

MC-1 digitizes all analog inputs--that should be all you need to know if you care about music.

B&K has had reliability problems in the past(their A/V receivers were notorious in this regard), but they may be better now as it's been about 3 years since I sold'em. Just something to be aware of--otherwise I hold B&K stuff in high regard.

That said I have to agree with Argent. If you can swing it the SP1 seems to be the obvious choice, especially considering your amps but also 2-channel performance.

There is one other option that is actually what I'd do. You can buy a relatively inexpensive Denon receiver to handle the surround processing duties only(still using your Brystons for amps) that'll do fine for movies and buy a high-quality 2-channel preamp with a home theater passthrough that will seamlessly integrate with the Denon. This way you get the best possible sound quality for critical stereo listening while maintaining upgrade flexibility(just flip out the Denon when surround formats change), and all this at a lower cost than a higher-end pre/pro--best of both worlds, except you've got two boxes instead of one. Excellent solid state stereo preamps with HT passthroughs can be had from Adcom(GFA-750), McCormack(RLD-1), Levinson, while tubes offer Sonic Frontiers, BAT, AR, Rogue, Conrad-Johnson, VAC(or VTL, not sure which). Anyway, just another option to consider. Best of luck.

Tim

Thank you for all of you input folks. Lakerat2124, Arealavfan, Argent, and rmml, it's always good to hear everyone speak well of the unit I was leaning toward. I believe my mind is made up.

Pick up the December issue of Sound and Vision and their's a review of the Lexicon MC1,B&K ref 30 and Meridian 561.
It should give you a good idea on what this particular pre/pros perform. I have a B&K ref 30 myself and pretty happy with it. Happy Hunting.

I owned a B&K Ref-30 for two months, then traded up to the Proceed AVP so that I could get a better pre-amp for 2ch listening. If you like your music, and you really want to let those speakers and the Bryston amps shine, a better pre-amp will let that happen. As for not getting upgrades from Madrigal, they are offering their upgrade early next year after they release the new Mark Levinson Processor. B&K was supposed to offer an upgrade this year as well, but as of yet nothing. The problem is, upgrades cost them money, and unless it can make them some money they are not going to offer one. If 7.1 channel surround is what you want, get the B&K. I has some nice options, a good set of inputs, component video switching. It does not do balanced connections, if that is important to you. As for the Lexicon, a top notch a/v preamp because it essentially does everything under the sun. It is a little lean on 2ch music capabilities so beware. By the way, if you're willing to shell out the cash on the Lexicon, another a/v preamp you may consider is the Bryston SP-1. I've heard that with Bryston amps this thing really shines, it has complete analog pass-thru for music, and it is backed by their same 20 year warranty. Good Luck.

I went through the same decision process, but ended up going with the Ref30. Price and reputation led me that way, but the Ref30 had plenty of positive user feedback, and in my research I never really found anyone who disliked the unit. You usually find more complaints than complements when scouring the newsgroups for research, but I just wasn't finding that with the Ref30. There are better processors, but for the money, B&K gives a lot of value. I would have preferred going with the Proceed AVP, but was unable to spend that much. Most of the opinions I have read on the MC-1 are that it is awesome for HT, but average on music. If your needs are 50/50, then maybe the Ref30 is the way to go. I have also seen people recommending the Classe SSP30 in that same class of processor, might be worth checking out. Opinions are that it sounds great with music. When it comes down to it, Proceed owners have been burnt by Madrigal with dead-end products (PAV) and slow upgrades (AVP), so I went with the best product I could find for the least amount of money, which to me was the Ref30. If any of these "upgradeable" processors turn out to be not upgradeable, my investment and losses are minimized if/when I need to upgrade to a newer model.

Mborner, I have the B&K with Bryston Amps and Hales Design Speakers (similar set up to yours) and it sounds awesome. I haven't had the MC-1 in my system, but did look at it before settling on the B&K. My ultimate decision came to: B&K compared to many other Pre/Pros on the market seemed to offer more for the money. I've auditioned many mega-buck systems in highend shops, but nothing that affected me enuff emotionally to make me want to change my current system. Nothing against the MC1, but I still would buy the B&K all over again. Good luck......LR