Well, similar to at least one other member of this board, I too had purchased an Anthem D2 as my pre/pro. The D2 turned out to be long on promise and short on delivery.

A long and painful saga ensued involving 5(!) defective units, one after the other, and 4 months of wasted time.

My dealer is taking the D2 back (to return to the manufacturer for the last time) and providing me with a MX135, straight across. This is a dealer that you can only say truly backs his customers up. Outstanding! :thmbsp:

The MX135(or MX119) was what I had originally specified for my system only to get seduced by the D2's siren song of HDMI and onboard video scaling. The siren song became a wail as there were numerous HDMI problems, overheating, and on and on.

But, my purpose is not to bash the D2. I am just extremely happy to add the MX135 to my system to go along with my 3xMC501's and MC252. A nice Mc happy family. :banana:

(Just got to figure out how to accommodate the much larger MX135 in my cabinet. Some hardware may have to be transplanted to another location and wired in from there. The candidate for "banishment" is my music server.)

That will teach you to stray away! Enjoy your MX135! :thmbsp:

You'll be very happy with the 135. I have the 119 and love it, not a single issue or problem and it sounds great although I sometimes wish I had taken the next step up to the 135 for the additional inputs. And, this will sound silly, I REALLY like the lights that show which channels are active. See I told you it would sound silly.

Enjoy! :yes:

Great to see you are getting the MX135!!!! I have had mine for about a year now and it has been PERFECT! You made a good choice going with the Mc.

I am very, very pleased with the MX135. And, I do the like the lights that show active channels in/out. Actually quite useful. I used to have to look at my amp meters to get the same information (at least for output) with my other pre/pro.

So far, I am not missing much in terms of bells and whistles compared to my previous "state-of-the-art" pre/pro (Anthem D2). The MX135 does a great job across the board. I actually unearthed my ancient turntable, hooked it up, and played some records. Haven't done that for more than a decade, at least. "Pure Analog Stereo". Great fun.


What I really appreciate is that the MX135 is a piece of equipment that is so competent and fulfilling that I can now concentrate on the enjoyment of the content (music, video) instead of focusing on the equipment.

It was a circuitous route but I got to the right place in the end. The trials and tribulations with the D2 did however make me appreciate even more the quality and enjoyment provided by McIntosh. :music:

I love the lights, it cuts right through the multi-channel confusion currently discussed in another thread. My MX134 is nice, the MX135 is better! However, my C2200 is MUCH better for stereo.

By the way, when you set it in your tight cabinet remember, it does get pretty hot.

JR

I agree with jrsys on the MX heat issue. My MX119 produces more heat than my MC207 amp, and I listen at decent volume levels. I would assume the MX135 would produce a similar amount of heat.

I'm jealous of your channel indicators! :tears:

I am not seeing any heat issues with the MX135. When set in the cabinet there is still 2-3 inches of clear space on each side, with the cabinet open in the front.

I can feel some warmth but compared to the Anthem D2 this thing is downright cool.

One other thought related to heat on the MX135.

The MX135 has very large volume case. Bigger than the MX119. I haven't opened up the MX135 but I suspect from the relatively lightweight that it is not crammed to the gills with electronics. It almost feels hollow. My Anthem D2, on the other hand, was loaded, and with no fan, overheated badly.

Thus, the MX135 perhaps provides a larger air volume(internally) probably with sufficient air channels and movement to help dissipate heat through convection.

In any event, it seems that McIntosh in general does an excellent job with thermal management of its products. My amps (3x501, 1x252) also do not get that warm.

I'd be curious to know if McIntosh does any CFD computer simulation of heat dissipation/flow in its designs. Ron-C?

Another reason to get the MX135! My dealer reads this forum so I'll get the call tomorrow...

3xMC501's and MC252

What other equipment are you runing through you MX135?

Jimmyc
MX135,2xMC501,MC207,MS300

Other Equipment besides 3xMC501 and 1xMC252

Escient Fireball
Marantz DV9600 (audio only). HDMI directly to Fujitsu 50" plasma
Old Dual turntable
DirecTV HD SAT
Plasma TV lift (triggered off of MX135)

Balanced out to:

B&W 802D (L/R)
B&W HTM2D (C)
B&W ASW825 sub
B&W inwall

I don't do HT but any new Mac gear is cause for celebration. :banana:

Hey guys, If I am just wanting to go with 5.1 audio, is there any reason to buy the MX135 over the MX119?

Cheers,

Ed

The only real difference between the MX119 & the 135 is the 135 has more video inputs & 1 more analog Balanced input. It also has some additional cool display lights on the front panel that illustrate what decoding mode its in (7.1, 5.1 etc).

Nkbb
Escient Fireball, Marantz DV9600
How are these items connected to your MX135 analog or optical?
It was suggested to me, Optical is better because the DAC in the MX135
is superior to most components. I changed from analog to optical and the sound was improved
Just a thought
jimmyc

Nkbb
Iforgot to mention my speakers .Our systems are very similar

B&W 802D (L/R)
B&W HTM4SR (C)
B&W ASW825 sub
B&W 4 XTCB's

jimmyc