John,
Don't know the price of the Mac, but you may want to look at the recently announced Lexicon RV-8 receiver for an all in one box solution. MSRP is in your range. Don't know what the selling price will be.
The Lexicon amps are rated at 140 watts per channel at 8 ohms while the Mac's rating of 140 watts is at 4 ohms. The Mac does have 8 channels of power amps versus 7 in the Lex, but if you have a powered sub that should not be an issue.
Lex has Logic 7 so I would say it provides better surround processing. I also believe Lex is software upgradebale while the Mac web page says the MHT200 is not.
The Lex can have a by-pass for 5.1 high rez analog audio inputs. Optionally, it can digitize those inputs to apply bass management, speaker distance, level calibration, Logic 7, loundness compensation, etc. processing. In this respect, the Lex receiver has an advantage over the MC-8 Prepro.
Bruce
Don't know the price of the Mac, but you may want to look at the recently announced Lexicon RV-8 receiver for an all in one box solution. MSRP is in your range. Don't know what the selling price will be.
The Lexicon amps are rated at 140 watts per channel at 8 ohms while the Mac's rating of 140 watts is at 4 ohms. The Mac does have 8 channels of power amps versus 7 in the Lex, but if you have a powered sub that should not be an issue.
Lex has Logic 7 so I would say it provides better surround processing. I also believe Lex is software upgradebale while the Mac web page says the MHT200 is not.
The Lex can have a by-pass for 5.1 high rez analog audio inputs. Optionally, it can digitize those inputs to apply bass management, speaker distance, level calibration, Logic 7, loundness compensation, etc. processing. In this respect, the Lex receiver has an advantage over the MC-8 Prepro.
Bruce