Acurus Act 3 vs Lexicon Processor

If you really want to save a lot of money, and you're doing this only for movies - here are some more thoughts:

The B&K AVP3090 is a steal on the used market at <$300, and somtimes close to $200. It sounds great and is reasonably quiet, although may be suseptible to RFI that requires special attention. You can probably get a Ref 20 for under $500, and Ref 30 maybe for a tad more than $500 depending on condition/age. B&K service and support is the best I've experienced from any company. The 3090 doesn't have optical in, but does support DD and DTS.

I don't have experience with the Rotel 1068, but do with other Rotel pre's and it's been good. They're not bullet-proof like B&K, but they are built nicely, and sound great.

The Sherwood-Newcastle AVP9080r can be had for $200 and is quiet. Setup isn't as user friendly or flexible as the B&K nor the Lexicon DC-1. One strength is it has 5.1 inputs.

I tried several Yamaha receivers before finally going to a separate pre/pro, and amp. Don't waste your time and money on them.

I'm not sure if this is a fair comparison, but I had the Acurus Act 1, which is pro-logic only, and while for the money it was nice, it was very noisy and prone to ground loop. It's also a bit bright. I don't know of these traits are common to the Act 3.

Back to the Lexicon DC-1, I went throuh all of the above, still have the 3090, and the Sherwood, and the DCs is my primary HT processor. I frankly can't relate to the comments made above. The sound quality rivals many pure stereo pre's I've tried, including Rotel RC1070, and also Classe CP35. It has its shortcomings, but I really like the flexibility (7.1 capability) 7.1 inputs, Coax and Optical ins (though only 2 of each), and easy, flexible setup. My use is PRIMARILY music videos in a dedicated home theater, so the music quality is important to me. I generally watch movies upstairs in a less critical environment (ie the family room) using the B&K as a pre-pro.

Finally, since you're talking about used here - I'm sure it's not gotten by you that you can buy one, if you dont like it resell it and move on to the next one.

What about the audio refinement pre2? I appreciate all opinions thus far!

Have a ACT-3 with the base management. Can't say a bad thing about. Built well and sounds good. Easy to use as well, an important factor if there are wife and kids in the equation. Have no experience with the Lex.

Good grief! It is so fashionable to dump on the old Lexicon DC-1. Certainly it won't do the job for high resolution playback like SACD,DVD-A, or even vinyl because it lacks any kind of analog bypass. I certainly don't use mine for critical listening. But for television, movies and concert DVD's it does just fine. The best Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks are simply awesome on the DC-1. And it is dirt simple to set up. Lexicon's instructions are even written in a way that anyone can understand and do the setup with ease. Try that with a Denon, Sony, Theta, or EAD instruction book. You can find DC-1's for as little as $500 if you are patient. For that price it is a screaming bargain. Be sure to get at least version 2.1 with Dolby Digital and DTS. I have had mine for around 3 years and have not felt the urge to upgrade even after auditioning the mighty Theta Casablanca III(Yes it is a lot better but for 7 large or more to get one, I'll keep the DC-1). You will have to pry my DC-1 out of my cold dead hands.

"Back to the Lexicon DC-1,...the DCs is my primary HT processor. I frankly can't relate to the comments made above. The sound quality rivals many pure stereo pre's I've tried, including Rotel RC1070, and also Classe CP35."
(bdgregory)
"Good grief! It is so fashionable to dump on the old Lexicon DC-1." (jimburger)

To each his own. I am very glad there are many out there that simply love their Lexicons. I've not only sold them retail, but have been to many a setup, store, home, show, or othewise, and I simply don't care for the sound at all, personally. In the Lexicon's defense, the stearing, channel separation, and overall dynamics are very good indeed. I just think that most it falls flat in the other areas. They're not musical, airy, ultradetailed, or prisine, even high-end sounding, nor refined. I'm just spoiled by better sound. Actually, as mentioned above, even the Rotel stuff betters the sonics of the Lexicon IMO. I know someone who's selling their 1068 in mint cond, if interested. for $600-700, a much better choice I think.
good luck