Processor question

maxwave....thank you and auxinput. I will consider the suggestion.
    Steven

Your last question was pre answered.

No, it wasn’t. I specifically asked if 2-channel music was important, and especially because as this is the HT forum it’s possible you listen to music in multichannel. My suggestion was for someone who values stereo as much or more than HT or multichannel music, which is why I asked.

If ancillary equipment was uber important in choosing gear, no one would buy anything, as stores do not have the same equipment as the buyer does.

But it’s just your system we’re concerned with here.

Are you suggesting that people with say Focal Sopra 2’s would be better with the McIntosh, but if they have Bowers & Wilkins 803D’s the Audio Control would be the best choice?

Well, since you seem unwilling to share (or maybe don’t know) what sound characteristics you’re looking for it’s really impossible to say one way or the other. But yeah, people who try to make thoughtful recommendations here generally prefer to know what else is in a system as well.

If my post is too vague for you....please feel free to ignore it.

Yeah, if you can’t share what sonic characteristics you’re looking for that’s what I’ll have to do.

I play a lot of chess online. I see a lot of people saying things like "I prefer to play with my rooks" which is a bit goofy. One plays with all their pieces, and moves the one that will improve the position best at the time. In music reproduction, those that ask what sound characteristics others look for are just as misguided. What are you asking....am I searching for a bump in the upper midrange? Am I looking for rolled off frequencies in the treble? If I was I would invest in a graphic equalizer. Here is what I am looking for.....a good sounding (at all audible frequencies) home theater processor that I can use with both music , multi channel, as well as two channel, and movies This is not as complicated as you pseudo experts make it seem..And yes, your question was answered despite your protestations. I will now ask politely....please stop being concerned with my system, that is something I've done for 46 years now. You may continue to parse music into "sound characteristics" and take that idea which is common in these forums to others, but it doesn't hunt with me. And my guess is, unless you work for, or were a part of the design team of either of these processors, you would not have an accurate answer anyway. Your "sound characteristics" question was just designed to make you seem like you have knowledge others do not have. My response to your last sentence is an invitation for you to do as you have written. And as an aside....a" thoughtful recommendation" between the two would need to be based on personal experience with one or both (which you have not claimed), or a general explanation of some possible differences, which a few members here have done and I have acknowledged and thanked them for.
   Steven

moag, if you’re happy with you current stereo preamp does it have a by-pass mode? In my setup analog goes directly from an Ayre DX-5 DSD to KX-5 Twenty preamp for stereo. For surround, HDMI goes to a Bryston SP3 processor that returns analog stereo (the front LR) to a by-pass input of the preamp.

@dbphd - have you ever tried using your SP3 as the preamp?  I would say that the analog input/output sections on the SP3 are at the same level as a high end 2-channel preamp.  I would give it a try.  At that point, the KX-5 would only be used if you prefer the "sound" of the KX-5.