Thanks for the comments. As usual, a number of "spirited" debates spin off.

A few comments of my own.

Yes, as I mentioned, I still consider the 950 to be a remarkable product for its price point - even more so now that it lists for less than $800. I stand by my statement that I would not have upgraded to anything else out there in the under $2000 category since I couldn't have really justified this. However, the MC-8 is a different story entirely for the reasons I've already outlined.

(Interesting sidelight: I got a personal message from one of the Outlaws once he became aware of my upgrade. His exact words were, "Robert, I would have been crestfallen if you told me that you had switched over to a Rotel. But since you are moving on to an MC-8 I can't really fault you for that.")

I'm still a big fan of the 950 and it will still serve me well upstairs (no delay problem since I use the analog DISH inputs there).

When Gene Lockaby (the 950 Beta Tester with a Lexicon MC-12) stated that the 950 competed favorably with the MC-12 sonically a lot of eyes (ears?) were opened in disbelief. He never did say it sounded better, merely that the sound was very, very close. And factoring in the price differential, the 950 became a "Best Buy." Now that I've lived with my MC-8 a bit I know exactly what Gene was talking about and I echo his statements. Nobody should consider my move to a Lexicon as a knock on the 950. In fact, it shows how good the 950 is in most areas. There is absolutely no substitute for comparing two pieces of equipment in the same room and with the same components, wires, speakers, etc. and I was able to do this in a manner of speaking. (I didn't do a strict A/B test since that would have involved an unfathomable number of connections, etc.) But living with the 950 for longer than most (over a year and a half) I feel confident in my ability even at my advanced age(g) to be able to compare what I'm now hearing on my MC-8 with what I heard on my 950. Lots of familiar sights and sounds.

The Logic 7 thing is relatively new to me and I like it. A lot. It seems to smooth everything out in sound pans and I find myself choosing the L7 option in just about every case (analog bypass, of course, for 5.1 and 2 channel analog sources like DVD-A and SACD would be an exception). It's there, it sounds great, and it's configurable. And for those who wish to use the "final mix on the film" the MC-8 allows you to chose the mode of your choice. You aren't limited to Logic 7. Everything is there, including THX Ultra, Neo-6, ES, EX, you name it, the MC-8 has it. You can even turn all the processing off and customize the sound to anything you want to dial in. And the biggest improvement is that I'm not limited to what's currently in the software. Lexicon has a history of adding new sound modes as they are developed. I already have an RS-232 null modem cable ready for any upgrades. (Let me make a prediction here: The next Outlaw Pre/Pro - and you know there will be one, just a couple of years later than they originally said - will offer SW upgradability and other goodies. But that's in the future, not now.) The bottom line here is that Logic 7 comes with Lexicon products, but nobody is forced to use it. There is a full menu of other options.

Nobody who has chosen a 950 should have any reason to second-guess their decision. It's a fine product and contains many of the features (but not all) of the more expensive products. And, as one of you pointed out, at a $799 price point it can almost be considered disposable for future enhancements.

On the other hand, while the upgradability of the MC-8 is a nice feature in itself, another characteristic of the Lexicon experience is that they have traditionally offered a very generous upgrade path toward new technology (I believe there was an inexpensive way to move from an MC-1 to an MC-8) so this relieves the sting of the original purchase price. Of course, Outlaw's direct marketing approach (avoiding dealer networks) doesn't allow the same degree of flexibility as Lexicon. If this were the case, you wouldn't be able to buy a 950 for $799.

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RAF

My HT (latest update 07/27/03) Now includes Runco CL-710 DLP FP and Lexicon MC-8

[This message has been edited by Robert A Fowkes (edited July 29, 2003).]