I have a McIntosh mx132 home theater pre-amp tuner. it's list price was 7k. I see on ebay that many of these, mx130, mx135 and so on doesn't retain their value. is there a reason for this and where doe's mine stand?
Home theater processors get undercut by the rapid pace of video technology. HDMI interface standards (currently HDMI 2.0 going soon to HDMI 2.1), Dolby standards (e.g. Dolby Atmos), 4K video replacing 1080p -All of these upgrades require new hardware (meaning the stuff you have now is outdated, obsolete). I see fabulous bargains in this area that have been replaced by something new.
Probably. McIntosh "house sound" should come through (generally regarded as excellent). I was going to note, in my previous post, how much value is to be had using an outdated HT processor for two channel (or multi-channel) music offerings.
i don't have home theater. i only listen to music. i wanted a pre-amp tuner to match the appearance of my 602. most of the pre-amp tuners are the older models. so this is why i bought the 132.
If you are using the MX132 only for 2 channel listening, I believe you will hear significant improvement in sound quality matching a dedicated McIntosh preamp with your MC602. I tried a MX136 against a C2300 and it wasn't even close for 2 channel.
scorpio1951, i bought my mx132 from audio classics about 3 years ago from audio classics for $1200.00. my son gave me the mc602. i bought the mx132 because it was what i could afford.
mcgal, I am using the MX-132 for home theater, and only occasionally use it for two channel listening. I also own a C2300, and it is superior for two channel listening.
McIntosh MX132, MX121, MX122 aren't that good for two-channel listening to music. You will have to step up to its top of line HT preamp processor such as the MX160, MX151, MX150 to achieve great quality stereo listening to music to match with your MC602 amp. Since you aren't doing HT if I were you I would get a good quality stereo preamp. McIntosh makes good stereo preamp.
McIntosh MX132, MX121, MX122 aren't that good for two-channel listening to music. You will have to step up to its top of line HT preamp processor such as the MX160, MX151, MX150 to achieve great quality stereo listening to music to match with your MC602 amp. Since you aren't doing HT if I were you I would get a good quality stereo preamp. McIntosh makes good stereo preamp.
For the price you paid, you did just fine. The only way you would improve your preamp would be to spend a lot more money on a 2 channel unit. The problem with 2 channel preamps now is a lot of people buy a new one to keep up with the DACs codecs because they also use the preamp as a DAC. If you are just running 2 channel analog with your MX132 the preamp bypasses all the processing circuits.
i am not an audiofile. i'm 65 and bought my first system back in the 4 chanell days which i used all the time from then till 1990 then i took a 10 years vacation from my equipment. in 2000 i did buy a 2205 amp till 2011. then my son gave me his 602 which he bought from audio classics. at that time i used my marantz 4300 as a pre amp tuner. it was always noisy so that's when i bought the mx132. i only use my stereo only once a week. so i'm not really an audiofile!
You do not have to be an audiophile to appreciate good equipment. The MX132 is a huge upgrade from a Marantz 4300 either the 4300 surround receiver, or the classic quad receiver. The gear you have now is better than 99.99% of the systems people listen to music on these days, think a cell phone and ear buds.
hlg3, i did'nt say that my 4 speakers are 4 bose 901 series 2 speakers. i used to visit a mcintosh dealer to look at there products . he told me that he never heard of a mcintosh amp powering these speakers.
G_Nakamoto, take comfort that your MX-132 is a better 2-channel pre-amp than most. As stated earlier use the analog mode and it's essentially a stereo Mc preamp.
If you love music and what it makes you feel than you really are an audiophile. It's not about who has the fattest wallet. The gear talk on this forum is mostly online dick-measuring, and members love to crap on Mcintosh. Be sure to check out audiokarma dot com for more Mcintosh info.
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