The McIntosh MX180 is the flagship AV processor, and the most advanced to date. It’s built for those who want a home theater as far from a soundbar as you can get.
It naturally supports 8K video via HDMI, and has a total of 16 channels. That should be enough for a pretty sophisticated home theatre, we think, and you can, for example, set up the sound in 15.1 or 9.1.6 channels.
The prosessor supports HDR and HDR10+ with better picture dynamics, most picture formats and of course also the 3D surround formats Dolby Atmos, Auro-2D and DTS:X Pro.
Some of the features of the MX180:
- Support for 8K/60Hz and 4K/120Hz on all 7 Ultra-High-Speed HDMI connectors (5 in and 2 out)
- All HDMI ports support HDCP 2.3, 4:4:4 Color, 2020, Dynamic Lip-sync, and 3D Video pass-through as well as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Quick Frame Transport (QFT), Quick Media Switching (QMS), and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)
- Full support for higher image dynamics with HDR (static HDR), dynamic HDR, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision
- Two HDMI outputs can transfer to two separate projectors, either from the same or different sources
- One HDMI output has both Audio Return Channel (ARC) and Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC)
- RoomPerfect room correction is integrated
- A range of digital and analogue inputs, plus turntable input for MM pickup
The processor also has an extra output for sound in another room or zone in the house, and a wide range of settings and adjustments for different speakers and speaker placements.
The MX180 is in select stores during spring 2022, priced at $17,000, before duty and VAT.
