McIntosh MHT200 vs B&K AV508 Vs Separates?

Go for the MAC

I own an MHT-100 and its a keeper! Absolutely competant in every respect from SACD multichannel to FM reception to 2-channel. It drives an MC-252 for the front L&R.

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

I have had two Mac receivers and I liked some things they did, but they are just too expensive for what you get. The MHT 200 is way under-powered for the money and I feel you will be wanting to add more power and considerable expense by acquiring more Mac gear (its all gotta look the same, right?) The recent reviews on the B&K pre/pro in the The Absolute Sound were not very favorable. They liked the amp but not the pre, said it was a bit white sounding, kinda dry and sterile. So I would recomend the big Rotel seperates, I know you stated that a receiver is what you could probably use, but do it right and get all the power you need and high quality sound at the same time. I currently have the RSP 1098 pre/pro and the RMB 1095 200 watt amp and have stopped my search for better. I would not propose that these are the best out there, but I will claim they are the best I have heard and not spend silly money. To top it off, Rotel has a special synergy with B&W speakers, that can be seen on many chat forums. I personally am runnig mine with B&W 803's and the B&W CDM line of speakers, and the sound is phenomenal. The total price for both with your dealer discount (10%) would put you right around $4500.00, well within budget. HTH