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McIntosh MX121 vs. MX119 for 2-channel

I have recently upgraded from an MX119 to an MX121.
My main question is regarding 2-channel music, in Pure Direct mode (no digital signal processing at all), connected with RCA directly to a McIntosh MVP-871 DVD/CD player.
The music on the MX121 sounds wonderful, with great bass management (with or without a subwoofer) however I feel that the vocals are a bit behind the music and are just tad harsher and less "liquid" than the MX119.
Another big difference I noticed is that with the MX119, at the sweet spot, I hear the singer's vocal coming form the center of the room, where the MX121 sounds more like it's coming from L/R speakers.
I know the MX119 Pure Direct circuit is basically identical to a McIntosh C45. 
Could it be that the sound signature of the MX121 is that different? Maybe it's all in my head?
I'd really like to keep the MX121, so it may be a question of getting used to it. I'll run some more A/B comparisons over the weekend and make up my mind.
Any opinions?


yyman23

Showing 4 responses by yyman23

yyman23 OP
152 posts
 
Hi t3chnobrat, that's exactly what I was thinking all the years I had it. I have since switched to an actual C45 which I love. I do not recall the MX119 having a huge difference in sound between "Pure stereo" and "2-channel" - from memory, "2-channel" activated the subwoofer output.
The main reason I let go of the MX119 was that the controls on the front were intermittent and fixing it would have been too expensive. I prefer the simplicity and looks of the C45 and of course - the sound.
yyman23 OP
152 posts
 
The whole sub woofer activation was weird. It wasn't working for me at all, and then I read somewhere about a firmware update that fixes that issue. I managed to update it myself and it only worked part of the time, and usually on the digital input, but not the RCA one. Go figure. In any case, I agree with a lot of posts out there about the MX119 being a great 2 channel preamp at a very reasonable price.
yyman23 OP
152 posts
 
Hi fmzip,

While I sold mine over a year ago, as far as I remember it worked in 2-channel mode and only through the digital input.
This processor had some software issues. 
I have since bought a C45.
I hope that helps!
yyman23 OP
152 posts
 
Because the MX119 in stereo has the circuit of a C45 and cost less than half while maintaining the same audio quality in 2- channel.
I used mine for surround as well. 
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