The McIntosh MX123 processor will now leave the US audio firm’s manufacturing facility equipped for 8K processing, with onboard upscaling and new features.
The MX123 A/V processor was originally launched in Oct 2019 and now, almost two years on, McIntosh is giving its mid-range home cinema processor an upgrade in the form of 8K capabilities as the company enacts its philosophy of continuous product improvement. The press release states that the 4K version is no longer available.
The most immediate change will be support for 8K/60Hz and 4K/120Hz video resolutions and refresh rates along with the ability of the MX123 to upscale lower resolutions to 8K.
This 8K support will be applied to three of the ten HDMI ports such that one of the inputs and two of the outputs will have this 8K/60 and 4K/120 support as well as offering many other advanced features including: Quick Media Switching (QMS); Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM); Quick Frame Transport (QFT) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). All ten ports will continue to support 4K/60Hz.
All 10 HDMI ports support HDCP 2.3; Rec. 2020; 4:4:4 colour spacing; Dynamic Lip-sync; and 3D Video pass-through, and all 10 will also now support a range of high dynamic range formats such as HDR10 (static HDR); Dynamic HDR; HDR10+; HLG; and Dolby Vision (including low latency).
Beyond the addition to the video capabilities, the MX123 will continue to offer audio features including: 13.2 audio channels; Dolby Atmos (including Dolby Atmos Height Virtualiser); DTS:X Pro; Auro-3D; Sony’s 360 Reality Audio; MPEG-H Audio; IMAX Enhanced; eARC/ARC; Apple AirPlay 2; Bluetooth; Spotify Connect and Audyssey MultEQ XT32.
To facilitate integration into home automation systems, the MX123 also bears ‘Connects with Control4’ certification from Control4 and ‘Works with Crestron Home’ certification from Crestron.
The MX123 8K units will start shipping from the McIntosh factory in Binghamton, NY to their global dealer network beginning in September 2021 and orders can now be placed with McIntosh dealers.
Replacing the 4K version, which is now no longer available from McIntosh, the new 8K version of the MX123 A/V processor is priced at £10,495.
Source: Press Release
Image Source: McIntosh
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