Processor question

If you choose McIntosh MX 123  processor,
maybe you should also choose ´´ lively speakers ´´ like Monitor Audio 
Silver serie.
As @auxinput mentionned ,´´ it might be a just a little bit warmer sounding  ´´ .
The speakers selection may be important 

Moag,

Let me a little more clear on why I commented on separating systems instead of your component choice. You seem annoyed. I do not have an agenda. Seeing someone ask a question that would have a relative minor influence on their desired outcome and realizing another variable would have much much larger impact, making the comment seems the right thing to do. I read posts to see if there is somewhere I can add value. Not annoy people. I personally would rather create my audio system in a large walk in closet rather than combine them. I have learned so much about acoustics over the years. It can be done well, but requires incredible skill and dedication.

ghdprentice....I am not annoyed. Its just interesting that in the "Home Theater" section of the forums, I ask a home theater processor question and I get a few answers that denigrate home theater. That is what I meant by having an agenda. While I appreciate the time you took to respond, it reads as if you think I just fell off the tube truck and am unaware of other options. I have been doing this since 1975 and was looking for answers or responses to my actual question, and not responses from folks that seem to think I need to be educated on the benefits of two channel. This makes my head itch.I do however appreciate your posts. I apologize if I came off as snarky....not my intent.
   Steven

@moag - yes, it is unfortunate that this is the case.  millercarbon pretty much just copies and pastes the same dang paragraph on every new HT thread topic.  Others also have the same kind of opinions.  Some of these comments do have an element of truth - a dedicated high end 2-channel system can generally indeed have a better result than a multi-channel home theater.  However, that's not the same thing as saying that a multi-chanell HT system will never sound good for music.  I own and also have heard some pretty damn amazing HT systems for music (but also have heard crap).  It all depends on what equipment you buy and attention to things such as power cords / fuses. 

I don't think the MX123 or Maestro would be bad choices at all.  I think they might have a slightly different sonic signature.  The Maestro comes in at 29 lbs, so it's definitely not a light weight device (indicates a good linear power supply and transformer, etc.).  the MX123 is 9 lbs heavier, but you also have that heavy glass front as part of the weight.  That being said, McIntosh MX123 also has excellent power supplies.

If I remember correctly, the MX123 uses the Marantz digital/DSP processing section, but uses McIntosh power supplies and analog output stages.  There's nothing bad about the Marantz digital/DSP section.  Generally, that's not the most important part.

I don't know what your budget is.  If you are looking at purchasing these two options as "new", another option to look at is to find a good used MX160.  The MX160 uses the Lyngdorf digital/DSP section instead and has better results and better configurability.  I think the power supplies and analog stages are also better than MX123.  HT Processors tend to drop in value really fast, so you should be able to find a used MX160 in the $8-10k area (there's one on audiogon now for $9995).  They won't be more than a few years old.

Also, do you have a preference of one or the other in a system used for both music and movies?

Rather than ask what someone else prefers, which may or may not have anything to do with what you like, why not share what sonic characteristics you’re looking for and what’s most important to YOU?  Also would be helpful to know the other equipment in your system.  Is 2-channel music important to you or is this strictly a multichannel setup?  The more info you provide, the more targeted, insightful, and helpful the replies here will be.