They are both THX Ultra 2 AV preamps and they are both expensive. Lexicon for years has pretty much written the book on this AV product. There is probably nothing on an AV preamp that the Lexicon can't do. It is a tweako's dream.
The Lexicon might be difficult for some people--you could get lost with all the possibilities it allows the consumer to manipulate. Most wealthy engineer-types that want to have the opportunity to alter most anything in video or audio get Lexicon.
For some reason the Halo C-2 left out upconverting to component video. So if you have an S video connection from VHS or other video device it will not upconvert to component and will have to be connected via an S-video cord to the HDTV. The Lexicon upconverts, so you only need one component connection.
If you are a hands on kind of person that wants to make (or to be able to make) a zillion sound and other alterations the Lexicon is for you.
I would go to a dealer for each and see which one you are more comfortable using. You will get excellent performance from both, but as most of your directions and changes go through the AV preamp you better get one that you are comfortable using. Otherwise you will be an unhappy camper, regardless of the excellence of both components. You have to be happy with the remotes and the ease of usage to be very satisfied.
thanks so much for your response very enlightening....i listened today to the mc8 and the z9 and the anthem avm20 and the proceed piece.....i decided that the mc8 had the most "air" and maybe was the more precise piece..however i liked the brightness that the anthem had to offer and i think for the $$ would be just as happy with the anthem piece...however i listend to the proceed on a revel studio/voice setup and was BLOWN AWAY! so confused LOL
Remember, to accurately assess preamps/amps speakers the volume on the electronics have to be about 0.2 db's close to identical. In tests, the louder set-up is always perceived to be better. That, and almost no audio salon will have a blind switcher set-up where he and you don't know what is playing--only a third disinterested person should be in the switcher position.
One almost always gets cues from audio salon salespeople--"Don't you hear the incredible resolution in this set-up?" "The other one is a little more smeary", etc. You'd feel like an idiot if you said no I don't. Almost everyone says --sure I do. The power of suggestion is enormous.
All the electronic pieces you auditioned are capable of playing anything wonderfully. Get the one that has sufficient power for the speakers under all conditions and get the preamp that you aren't intimidated by and find the remote easiest to use. You will spend a lot of time with that darn remote. If you are intimidated by it you won't enjoy your experience no matter how good the music sounds and the video looks.
I've had some fancy separates in my day--and receivers-- and have found that the ones with the better remotes or other controls that give you a better user interface are the ones I always prefer.
All those electronics are capable of making most any speaker sing. It is the speaker and the position of the speaker you are responding to. And it won't sound that way in your room. Count on it. It may be better or worse.
Hopefully you don't have a room that is too alive or too acoustically dead. Although that can be fixed and without things bought at an audio store.
I think you should listen to a few quality speakers. Revels are good. Monitor Audio Gold Reference series are good. The best speaker I ever heard was the Waveform Mach 17--sorry to say, no longer available--unless you are lucky enough to find a used one. They had a wonderful 360 degree egg-shaped tweeter on top and each speaker (Tweeter, midrange, woofer) was individually amped.
Currently Joseph Audio makes some excellent speakers. Great parts, speakers, and infinite slope crossovers. Of current boxed speakers they are my faves. But they reveal everything.
You might want to try listening to Magnepan planar speakers. Very beautiful sound, but tough to place and the better ones are quite large. Also they usually have a low wife acceptance factor. Quite often they need 3-4 feet from walls and need to be moved around more than most any other speaker to get great sound. But my sweet little pile of PMS won't have them around. End of story for me.
I don't know if Floyd Toole would agree, since the Revels are made under his and ex-Snell designer Kevin Voeck's tutelage, but I thik the Joseph Audio speakers in general adhere more to his philosophical ideal. Although the upper-end of the Infinity line "Preludes" and some of the less expensive Interludes approach a nice flat frequency response with low distortion.