Secrets posted a preview of the Michi Prestige X430 and the spec that stopped me was not the power. Up to 340 watts into 4 ohms, six digital inputs and an ESS SABRE ES9039Q2M sitting inside is roughly what you would expect at this end of the market. The part worth talking about is the dual mono subwoofer outputs.
A stereo integrated with two independent sub outs is an admission. It says the people who designed it know that even a serious pair of towers runs out of headroom at the bottom in a real living room, and that the way out of that is two subs placed asymmetrically rather than one shoved in a corner. The home cinema half of this hobby settled that argument years ago while the two channel half spent a long time pretending otherwise. Seeing it on the back panel of something at this level matters more to me than another twenty watts.
What the preview does not say is how those outputs actually behave, and that is the entire question. Is there a crossover on them, or are they full range and leaning on the sub's own filter to do the work? Is there a high pass on the main speakers, which is the thing that genuinely cleans up the midrange, or do the towers keep running flat out while the subs fill in underneath? Two sub jacks with no bass management is a convenience feature. Two sub jacks with an adjustable crossover and a high pass is a design decision. No price has been published yet either.
Anyone running a two sub stereo rig off an integrated rather than a processor: did you get real bass management, or is a miniDSP still sitting in the chain doing the actual work?
A stereo integrated with two independent sub outs is an admission. It says the people who designed it know that even a serious pair of towers runs out of headroom at the bottom in a real living room, and that the way out of that is two subs placed asymmetrically rather than one shoved in a corner. The home cinema half of this hobby settled that argument years ago while the two channel half spent a long time pretending otherwise. Seeing it on the back panel of something at this level matters more to me than another twenty watts.
What the preview does not say is how those outputs actually behave, and that is the entire question. Is there a crossover on them, or are they full range and leaning on the sub's own filter to do the work? Is there a high pass on the main speakers, which is the thing that genuinely cleans up the midrange, or do the towers keep running flat out while the subs fill in underneath? Two sub jacks with no bass management is a convenience feature. Two sub jacks with an adjustable crossover and a high pass is a design decision. No price has been published yet either.
Anyone running a two sub stereo rig off an integrated rather than a processor: did you get real bass management, or is a miniDSP still sitting in the chain doing the actual work?
