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Old 05-02-2021, 05:45 PM
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Default Looking for experienced MX151 owners

As we continue our slow expansion from Mac stereo to our first surround area, I've done a lot of surround-related reading and corresponding to get a basic grip on what's been going on in the post-stereo entertainment world.

During that research, I ran into a guy who really likes quad recordings and, considering that we now have (4) channels of Mac amplification and (5) B&W speakers, which includes a new center, we should have the foundation for a quad listening experiment. This being the case, we found and purchased some physical quad media and went to work setting up the equipment we presently have for a quad listening session.

Although all of this gear appears in our signature block, I'll list the source equipment in the quad setup I'm referring to herein:

Oppo 105D >>> MX151 >>> MC452 >>> 2 x N802
>>> MC300 >>> 2 x N805

Unfortunately, the MC300 isn't getting a signal from the MX151, so I began checking the interconnects. We've got the appropriate RCA surround outputs form the Oppo 105D running to the commensurate multichannel inputs on the back of the MX151. We also have the MX151's L & R RCA outputs connected to the MC452 and the MX151's LS & RS RCA outputs connected to the MC300.

Although our MX151 looked nearly brand new when we received it, we are, nevertheless, the second owners. We're also new to surround, so we're learning as we go....but I digress. If you take a close look at the photo, below, you can see that the MX151 initializes with a Multichannel input setting...but the part that has me scratching my head are the other front panel indicators. As you can see, both the Input Format and the Output Format indicators [seem] to indicate a 7.1 surround setup. The "ANALOG SIGNAL" indicator also lit...but its the lit "ROOMPERFECT" indicator that really has me thinking.
Assuming that I'm reading the front panel correctly, the MX151 is defaulting to accept a 7.1 analog input signal, which is being processed for output via the Room Perfect treatment feature. Although I'm fairly sure that we could hook the MX151 to our TV, via an HDMI connection, and [somehow] change the default input configuration, I'm beginning to wonder if we should go through the process of returning the MX151 to its factory default settings and start from scratch?

Although it's rather difficult to garner much that's suitable for beginners from the Owner's Manual, I did read -- in the Surround Mode section on pages 39 and 40 -- that "...Up to 16 Custom Surround Mode choices can be added, and the default settings for both 2-channel and Multichannel signal types can be changed."

So if anyone on the Mac board has experience with resetting the MX151 to its factory defaults and/or setting up "Custom Surround Mode" options, we would really appreciate your advice.

Thank you very much for your time...
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Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections
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Old 05-02-2021, 06:19 PM
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Bill... did you view the user/installer menu to see how the previous owner had this unit set up? You will need a video display connected to the MX151 once you select that feature to view it.
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Old 05-03-2021, 01:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Masterlu View Post
Bill... did you view the user/installer menu to see how the previous owner had this unit set up? You will need a video display connected to the MX151 once you select that feature to view it.
Yes, I've tried the various setup menus that one can access via the MX151's HDMI port. This really has me wondering if setting up Room Perfect is mandatory to realize surround sound?
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Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections
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Old 05-03-2021, 08:47 AM
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Have you tried connecting the Oppo via HDMI?
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Old 05-03-2021, 09:37 AM
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Default Looking for experienced MX151 owners

Short answer - yes, you should re-initialize the MX 151 to its factory default settings.

It is the most complicated piece of gear you will ever encounter and has to be set up exactly per the manual or you will have a continuous series of head-scratching issues.

Most of the gear I have I can just kind of wing it for setup. Not the MX 151.

The manual describes a series of steps you must take, in exact order, to properly setup your MX 151.

You will need to connect a TV to the HDMI output to see all the menus. You cannot easily set the unit using the front panel displays and remote.

The setup instructions begin on page 17 with how to enter the installer setup menu and continue on page 22 with detailed setup instructions.

The procedure for re-setting to factory defaults is on page 45.

Once you have reset your unit to factory defaults you MUST follow the manual setup directions, in order. Do not skip any steps.

Good luck!
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Main System:
Amati Futura Mains
Amati Homage VOX Center,
Proac Response 1sc Rears,
Three MC2301's for L,C,R
MC 602 for the rears
C 1100, MX 151, MCD 1100, MR 80
Nottingham Dais with Wave Mechanic
Sumiko Palo Santos Presentation

SurfacePro 3, RPi 4, ROON, WW Starlight Platinum USB, Schiit Yggdrasil, Benchmark DAC3 HGC

MX 151, OppO BDP-95, JVC RS-500 DILA projector, 106" diagonal Stewart Luxus Screenwall Deluxe with Studiotek 130 G3 material.

Lake House:
Ohm F, MC 275V, C2300, MR 77, Rega P3

OnDeck:
McIntosh MAC 4300v

Last edited by W9TR; 05-03-2021 at 09:53 AM.
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Old 05-03-2021, 03:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thughes View Post
Have you tried connecting the Oppo via HDMI?
Yessir, I did. I just finished a rather lengthy reply to a PM about this very issue, so I'll add a post to this thread that summarizes the latest in this regard.

Thank you very much for replying
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Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections
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Old 05-03-2021, 03:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W9TR View Post
Short answer - yes, you should re-initialize the MX 151 to its factory default settings.

It is the most complicated piece of gear you will ever encounter and has to be set up exactly per the manual or you will have a continuous series of head-scratching issues.

Most of the gear I have I can just kind of wing it for setup. Not the MX 151.

The manual describes a series of steps you must take, in exact order, to properly setup your MX 151.

You will need to connect a TV to the HDMI output to see all the menus. You cannot easily set the unit using the front panel displays and remote.

The setup instructions begin on page 17 with how to enter the installer setup menu and continue on page 22 with detailed setup instructions.

The procedure for re-setting to factory defaults is on page 45.

Once you have reset your unit to factory defaults you MUST follow the manual setup directions, in order. Do not skip any steps.

Good luck!
Although it required a lot of moving gear back and forth between our stereo listening area and the room we presently watch TV in [read: they are separate rooms], I managed to get some kind of joy with this issue.

Although I did reset the Mac MX151 to its factory defaults -- as per Pg 45 of the MX151 Owner's Manual -- I still couldn't say whether or not going through its internal step menus (several times), via an HDMI connection to our TV, did any good. To the contrary, I believe that hooking up our source, the Oppo 105D, to the TV (also via HDMI) made all the difference.

We don't own one, but I managed to find the User Manual for the Oppo 105D on the Oppo website. If you study pages 69-70 of said manual, you will come across a major heading called Audio Processing Setup. Under this heading are the subsections "Speaker Configuration" and "Down Mix Mode," which, once configured properly, will have an effect on the source's surround output(s).

The music we're presently experimenting with was mixed for quad listening, so certain considerations have to be made. Nevertheless, I set the Oppo 105D up for 5.1 channels and went through adjusting each speaker -- Left Front, Right Front, Left Surround & Right Surround -- separately to "bring them out" for a quad listening session. Once I moved the 105D back to our music listening area, I finally managed to get some life out of our MC300, which we're presently using to power our B&W N805 surround speakers...and, once that was accomplished, the quad mix I've been dying to hear sounded very sweet indeed.

I plan on hooking the Oppo 105D back up to our TV to do some fine tweaking to each speaker in the setup, but the important thing right now is that, by considering the source (the 105D), we managed to realize some surround sound.
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Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections
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  #8  
Old 05-03-2021, 04:32 PM
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Awesome. Congrats!
__________________
Main System:
Amati Futura Mains
Amati Homage VOX Center,
Proac Response 1sc Rears,
Three MC2301's for L,C,R
MC 602 for the rears
C 1100, MX 151, MCD 1100, MR 80
Nottingham Dais with Wave Mechanic
Sumiko Palo Santos Presentation

SurfacePro 3, RPi 4, ROON, WW Starlight Platinum USB, Schiit Yggdrasil, Benchmark DAC3 HGC

MX 151, OppO BDP-95, JVC RS-500 DILA projector, 106" diagonal Stewart Luxus Screenwall Deluxe with Studiotek 130 G3 material.

Lake House:
Ohm F, MC 275V, C2300, MR 77, Rega P3

OnDeck:
McIntosh MAC 4300v
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  #9  
Old 05-03-2021, 05:45 PM
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Glad ya got it figured out my Berkshire Buddy.
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Old 05-04-2021, 09:55 AM
thughes thughes is offline
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Good for you. Configuring the Oppo involves those steps of determining if its DSS or PCM. The downmixing can be tricky, but, if I remember correctly, it's only for the 2 channel audio outputs where the Oppo does the processing rather than the McIntosh.
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