McIntosh MC206 and MX134

yeah, but w/ the 206 you get the sentry monitor and power guard wich comes standard w/ all mcintosh amps. the 134 has a similar feature to power guard but for input voltage. if it gets to loud it'll automatically adjust.

I have a MX134 and find it to do all that is claims to be.
The one thing Mc does is give you tone controls with a pure pass through for stereo. This takes the tone controls completely out of the loop when running flat. Also the processors seem to be more than adequate for home theater sound. The other part of the price is the build quality of McIntosh. All electromagnetic sealed switching so it doesn't wear of diminsh with wear. The list goes on there are other processors out there that can be considered better values if price point is the consideration. But if you want to buy now and not replace it in 6 or 7 years you will get a built like a tank product. The 206 is similar to the MC7205 i have and that is a good amp but there are better. The same story the Mc is built but I feel that other amps with more power supplys may be a better sound investment. But if you are looking to buy it and keep it the buy the Mc

The 7106 might be found on the used market quite a bit cheaper than the 206. It is rated at almost, (aurally indistinguisable..) the same output. The 7106 is 160/100 at 4 and 8 ohms repectively, but can be bridged into three 320/8 ohm amps if desired. The 206 is 200/120 at 4/8 ohms. I don't know if it can be bridged as effortlessly.

One of the few HT demo experiences I really liked was with the MX132 and MC7205 playing some ML electrostats. It was very impressive. It wasn't as good as the ML no.40 setup but it was 25% of the cost too. The Mc are really nice and if you want separate power supplies for the amp, you can buy Mc162/202 amps for rear and surround and a Mc402 for the front. That would kick butt! Arthur

I have the MX 132 with Bryston 9BTHX and ML Aeris I Speakers. The Mac is one heck of a machine. More than enough processing for my room. Music is very enjoyable.

I am think of upgrading to a MC 402 for the ML Aeris I and other Mac amp for the Balance of the Speakers.

Can't go wrong with MAC.

Barnes