First of all, lets dispense with the V.2 moniker. The earlier V.1 units were non-DTS units intended for Beta test and demo pupose. There has been only one "version" of the ACT 3. That said, my review follows:
I placed my filthy lucre on the counter in sept '97 anticipating an X-mas delivery... only to find that the Xmas they had in mind was '98 not '97! The excuses were many and varied, notable not for their verity but more for their originality. I just about got tired of have one deadline pass only to be offered another "firm" ship date. I brought my unit home about 4 months ago with what were, in retrospect, high expectations.

Set-up was a breeze, the manual only marginally useful, (be sure to ignore the bass mode schematic diagrams, they are wrong.) The remote was a quality piece but some of the "smart" coding was wrong. Particularly unforgivable is that one is unable to properly control a Sony S3000 DVD player with the remote. Otherwise, it functions well as a universal, doing an admirable job of controlling an RCA DSS reciever (the AC-3 version). It is unable to properly control an Adcom CD changer. There is an upgrade for the remote as well as a bass management enhancement in the works.
The unit's ergonomics are quite good, as is it's build quality. The silver knob looks better in two dimensions than in three. So, you wonder how does it sound?
The answer: good, almost great. It benefits from neutral interconnects such as PBJs. The sound is very detailed and spacious, i agree with the statement in an earlier review that this is perhaps the best implementation of a rather pedestrian Crystal Semiconducter chipset to date. as to the Hiss, I also have NHTs and find that there is a discernible circuit hiss, (mondial's party line could be paraphrased "suck it up"). I suspect the culprit is the digital stage, possibly thier output stage, I'm not impressed with the quality of output devices used but their circuit is logical and tidy in layout, almost elegant (but not quite). Thier power supply is unshielded and one of the most primitive I've seen in a while (which explains the 60 cycle hum that I and other users notice).
The sound in stereo is suprisingly good. I will not need a second, audio-only preamp. the sound in AC3 mode is excellent, the prologic algorythm likewise has not been ignored. This is truly an excellent choice for the heart of a system with a reasonable (for financial reasons) Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF).
I won't bore you with the details of my system as each is unique in layout and sound. I can advise anyone shopping for a great digital home theater preamp that the ACT 3 deserves a close look. Calling any the best is akin to calling blue the best color, tastes and priorities vary. I am happy the ACT 3 despite its shortcomings.
One final note, if you have nothing intelligent or vaguely useful to say, consider not saying anything. You know who you are. Lest we tell your parents to revoke your computer priveledges!

I have ACT-3 and 125X5 for two months. It is very good sounding combination. If you are looking for sweet and smooth sound, it is not your choose. If you are building them for HT, it do no have enough out put and no no-screen display.
Over all rating:

I've had the ACT-3 for about 6 months now, and I did expereince a hum when I set it up. After contacing Acurus about this, we determined that the my cable TV connection was the casue of the problem.(DSS did not cause this hum in my system, but I've been told it can be a culprit as well) Disconnect the cable form the VCR, and incredibly the hum went away. Tried back to back balun transformers to eliminate the hum, and it eliinated msot, but not all of it. Purchased a MAGIC box ground isolator, and it completely solved the problem. My suggestion, if you have this mysterious HUM in your system is to contact your dealer, or Acurus, because you don't have your system properly setup.
The ACT-3 is set up in Bass Configuration 0, sending a full rnage signal to each speaker, and the subwoofer. I found this configuration worked best for all modes. Many processor will not allow you to set the main speakers for full range, AND have a subwoofer output in stereo and pro-logic(since there is no LFE channel in these modes)
Sonically, the ACT-3 is nothing less than a revalation at this price. I have listened to, in my system, processors such as the Lexicon DC-1, the Angstrom 200, Nakamichi CA-1, and the Theta Casablanca. Music sounded more open, and had tighter bass response with the ACT-3, than others I put in the system. (The Casablanca may have had an edge, but not an $8000 edge by any means) The Music channels from the RCA 5451(with digital output) actually sounded good. I sat back and listened to some Pink Floyd, which I havent done in some time, and it was fantastic.
Dolby digital and DTS are excellent performers as well. Great rear channel separation, and front/rear panning, with extremely intelligeable dialog. I used to have a Lexicon CP-1, and even with the large room I have(35 feet long) I did not find myself missing the side channels that the CP-1 had. The autodetection creates a simple to use unit, and all anyone in my family has to do is insert a disc into the DVD player, press play, select the source(all of which can be performed by the push of a button when you program the MACROS on the remote) sit down and enjoy. Hopefully, the DTS DVD's will actually come out next week, and I will be able to comment on their performance on the ACT-3.

I had always thought that On Screen Displays were a neccesity until I used this piece. Once it is setup, because it does everything automatically, there is no information you need to get from an OSD. Because there is no OSD to degrade the video swithcing, I couldnt tell the difference between going directly to the projector(Runco 770 on a 106" 16:9 ratio screen) and running my video through the ACT-3.

Nitcpicking, and looking for negatives, the DSP modes are not to my liking(except the PARTY mode, which works well for.....Well,parties) but I do not find myself wanting to use them anyway. More S video switching would be a plus too, but at the present time, for me, 2 is sufficient. Finally, although i do not currently own a DAT machine, or MD player(and I have to say I don't find myself ever purchasing one) a digital out would be nice, but again, no use at present.

The ACT-3 is easy to recommend for it's price, superior sound quality, ease of use, and future upgradability, but that's just my $0.02. Don't take my word for it. Find a dealer, and make the comparisons.

Associated equipment:
NHT 3.3 for the mains
NHT VT-2's for the center and rears
Velodyne F-1200x subwoofer
Aragon 8008 BB
Acurus 200x3
Toshiba 2108 DVD player
RCA-5451 DSS receiver
Runco 770

MONDIAL ACURUS ACT 3: A HIGH-END VALUECall me Roquentin. For the past year and a half, I've auditioned most of the preamp-processors curently available. I have heard them all, already heard them all (to paraphrase T.S. Eliot's Prufrock). Yet something kept luring me back to the ACT 3. On November 21, 1998, just hours before I would visit the Lexicon dealer to buy the DC-1 processor, I again decided to audition the ACT 3. Only this time, I bought the ACT 3 at the end of the listening session.
What was it that lured me to the ACT 3? Certainly its performance: the ACT 3 is extremely precise in its tracking of Dolby Digital, DTS, and Pro Logic surround. It's also the most musical processor that my ears have encountered. There is, however, something else...but first allow me to list the components in my system.

SETTING IT UP
Equipment used for this review: Meridian 506 CD player, Sony DTC-2000ES DAT recorder, Toshiba SD-2108 DVD player, Revox B215 cassette deck, Dual CS5000 manual turntable, Pioneer CLD-D501 LD/CD player, Mitsubishi HS-U48 Hi-Fi VHS VCR, Rotel RB985 5-Channel THX amp (100W/CH), Yamaha AX-700U Integrated Amp (used as a phono preamp), B&W CDM7 SE (front speakers), B&W CDM CSE (centre speaker), B&W DM302 (rear speakers), B&W ASW 2000 (subwoofer), Pioneer Elite PRO-107 55-inch Rear Projection Monitor, Power Wedge Power Pack II AC conditioner, Panamax MAX 1000+ AC conditioner/surge protector, Audioquest interconnects and speaker cables.
Set up was simple: the ACT 3's instruction manual shows clear instructions on how to use the internal pink-noise for channel-level calibration. (On the whole, the manual is well written, although a lot of crucial information is buried deep within long paragraphs. Mondial's technical writers could've used more white space, bulleted lists, and diagrams to create an effective page layout.)

STELLAR RESULTS
Sonically, or rather musically, the ACT 3 is a tremendous pleasure. One could spend a lot more for a preamp-processor, come home and sit at the sweet spot with a fancier gadget for one's money, but one might empty the bank account before encountering a preamp-processor with better sound. As Thomas J. Norton concludes in his review of the ACT 3 in the January '99 issue of Stereophile Guide To Home Theater, an audiophile can "spend a great deal more for a surround processor and get only a marginal improvement in sound--or none at all."
I mentioned earlier that there was "something" that lured me to the ACT 3. First, let me say that the dynamics of the ACT 3 thundered in my living room and the depth was outstanding. As for the top end, it was clean and unforced--the vigorous soundtrack of "Tomorrow Never Dies" sparkled, but the ACT 3 never exaggerated it. Indeed, despite the lack of Cinema-EQ, the treble was never tiring. Detail, meanwhile, was clear, even plentiful. But all the while, it remains subtle, never calling attention to itself. Film after film, the ACT 3 disappeared and I found myself amidst the action on screen. The monastery scenes in Scorsese's "Kundun" placed me in the middle of a dark, high-ceilinged chamber where monks chanted Buddhist sutras.
In standard stereo playback, the ACT 3 also functioned as a first class preamp. As a pianist and guitarist, I played mostly music that featured these instruments. I sat back and smiled. Once again, the top end was clean and open; the bass was tight and powerful; and the soundstage has a natural depth. Moreover--and here is that "something," which I alluded to earlier--I experienced an underlying sense of natural liveliness that I haven't yet noticed from other processors. On Larry Carlton's "Those Eyes" (which appears on the album "Discovery"), I "felt" the solidity of his acoustic guitar's fingerboard. On "Nevermind" (a jazz number that appears on Stereophile's Test CD 3), the sustain pedal of Herbie Hancock's piano was so vivid whenever he released it. (Note: if you've read this far, I congratulate you and applogize for the incoherent structure of this review.)
To evaluate the ACT 3's handling of symphonic music, I plopped the CD of Mahler's Sixth Symphony, played by the Vienna Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez ( Deutsche Grammophon), onto the Meridian's tray. Again, I heard phenomenal transparency, spaciousness, detail--and natural colour. Yes, colour. We often desire a "neutral" or "uncoloured" state when we audition an audio component. But, fellow audiophiles, let us recall that music is neither uncoloured nor neutral. For the goal of a good recording (in my view, at any rate) is to capture the full, musical spectrum. With the complex and sonorous work of Mahler's Sixth, the musical spectrum unfolded from the ACT 3. I sensed natural timbres that give instruments their uniqueness.
The ACT 3's video switching is transparent. I haven't noticed a visible difference between using it and connecting either the DVD or LD player directly to the Pioneer Elite monitor. Moreover, the preamp-processor functions effectively in day-to-day use. It automatically detects whether a digital audio signal is stereo, Dolby Digital, DTS, or Pro Logic. All this automated detection and switching is performed without any obnoxious noise, hiss, or crackling.
Just as important, I HAVE NOT heard any hum or hiss from the ACT 3, which some contributors to this site have reported. In fact, before I connected the ACT 3 into the Power Wedge AC conditioner, I plugged it directly into the AC outlet, thus welcoming EMI/RFI pollution to my system. The result: no noise. For the record, Thomas J. Norton did not mention the hum problem in his aforementioned review of the ACT 3. Niether did Jeff Cherun in his ACT 3 review, which appeared in the November '98 issue of Home Theater Magazine. The ACT 3 received excellent reviews from both magazines. In addition, it made the Dream Systems List in the December '98 issue of Home Theater Magazine. Bottom line: the ACT 3 that now occupies the top shelf of my equipment rack remains dead quiet all the way around.
The downsides to the ACT 3: its DSP modes called Club, Hall, Arena, and Party. Each is essentially glamorized reverb that I found distracting. The lack of a digital output also limits the use of my DAT recorder.

CONCLUSION
Of course, the ACT 3 isn't the best. A more expensive preamp-processor will offer better DSP features, better lab test results, and more boasting rights. Nevertheless, after all is said and done, the ACT 3 is a rugged, well-constructed, solid performer that offers both software and hardware upgrades. Mondial has positioned it as a high-end value, to which I say "Jolly good."
Very enthusiastically recommended. This is Roquentin signing off...

I received my ACT-3 a couple of months ago. Overall I have been veryhappy with my decision. I have auditioned my different units in the past
year and have yet to hear a unit in this price range that can compete. My main emphasis is stereo listening using the digital output of my Sony DVD player or
listening to one of the DSS music channels via digital connection. I made a deal
with my wife that if she could not hear a difference between the DAC's in my
Sony S-7000 DVD player and the ACT-3 I would send it back. The improvement was instantly noticable. I could go on about the improvements, but
I believe that music means different things to different people. I will say that you
will never regret connecting your DSS system to the ACT-3 via the digital connection. The difference between the sound has to heard to be believed.
My only areas of concern are the bass management systems. I believe that
they can be improved and I have read that they are being worked on. The
other is the upcoming DVD audio format and the 24 bit/96 hz bit requirement.
Will Mondial offer an upgrade? I hope so, I purchased this piece of equipment
with the hopes of being able to stabilize my system for a while (keeps peace on
the home front). The only other option I would listen to in this price range is the
new Adcom unit but I personnally have not had the chance to review it.

I had this unit 6 months already. It is good sounding pre-amp. However, I have two issues -- 1) Not enough output & 2) Still humming.
One of my best friend have B&K ref 10. It sounds better when you do side by side comparesion, but it do not have DTS function.

If you want me to choose pre-amp again, I will personally take B&K ref 20.

Well, to all of does that keep talking about the Hum I really don’t know what you guys are talking about. I had my units since March last ray in the first batch of units out of Mondial with the up grad. Just to let you guys know per a conversation with Anthony Federici back in Feb 98 he mention that , yes you could get the hum out of the unit by doing a surface mount modification on the board but it was for the very first units. All the new generation had a complete new board modification and re-design. The reason of this was because they had to modify the DTS processor because as you guys know, they did some mayor changes about this same time last year.
On the other hand I can tell you that some times the hum can come from your CTV ( Cable TV) I have a panamax 1000 to my system and solve all the problem.

When it come to compare this units every body talks about the B&K well I just have one thing to say, when the dealer in Austin for B&K got one of this units, it work for about 25 minutes got hot ant never worked again. So that told me right away that it was not the product to go for. I have compare the unit not with the B&K just because I believe that is a product over price and in a different category. I did some compassing with the PAV and with the DC-1 and really I just can’t justify the $3500 price difference.

Know for does talking about 24bit D/A just hold on !!!! Mondial is coming up with the 24bit / 196HZ crystal so I just don’t know what is the DFD!!~!!!! Plus their will be more software available to up grade the unit like the new bass management and a future EQ to be out this year.

My System:

M&K s-150 L&R
M&K sc-150 Center
M&K S-125 Rear L&R
Velodyne VA 12/15X
Sony DVP-7700 ( DTS )
Sony DVP-7000
Audio Alchemy CD player
Audio Alchemy DTI pro 32 Jitter
Sony MZ5 Mini Disk ( Japan Model )
ATI 1505 amp
Audio quest Topaz Audio Interconnect
Monster Video 3 Cables
Panamax 1000
Monster "M" Speaker cables

I have just owned both ACT-III and 125x5 amplifier for 2 weeks. By now, I found that I can't adjust any bass and treble form the front of pre-amplifier or remote control. But the dealer that I bought it from told me that Acurus released a new module(a chip set added in pre-amplifier) which will increase more bass. I suppose that this module is likely to make the sound better. Nevertheless, I confirm that both pre-amplifier and amplifier are valuable compared to their price.
My system:
Pre-amplifier : Acurus Act-III
Amplifier : Acurus 125x5
CD player : Arcam Alpha 8
DVD player : Pioneer DV-606D
Main speakers : Totem Arro
Center Speaker : B&W CC-6
Speaker cables : Nordost Super Flatline Mark-II
Interconnect cables : Silver Cables

I have been waiting to see a review of the Act-3 Advanced Base Management upgrade, but have seen none. Today I went out and had it installed, after a lengthy conversation with Tony F. at Mondial. I have been playing with it for only a few hours, but here are my early thoughts.I personaly was satisfied with the original Base Mangement system, because I used the 0 configuration, which sends a full range signal to all the speakers, which is the original requirement for DD, and still is. The main reason a base management system is needed, is the prolifiration of "Mini Speakers", which can not handle a full range signal. The 4 or 5 hours I have been playing with the new system, has been very enlightening. This IS The most advanced Base Management system I have seen, and I have played with most of them. For those of you that have smaller speakers and a subwoofer, this is the ultimate Base Management System. Not only can you direct the Bass, you can set crossover frequencies, in the critical LF areas in 5 Hz steps 35-40-45-50, then 60-65-70-80-90- 100-125Hz. I found it very easy to intigrate my sub into the system at the 40Hz setting. I don't want to make this a real lengthy review, so I'll just say, that the $200 price tag for the upgrade, is money well spent. I highly recommend it. It also has other software upgrades I don't have time to mention, but I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
ENJOY! Glen

i got the bass management upgrade about a month ago so i thought i would submit a review, because this upgrade did change the overall sound of my unit in addition to giving some much needed flexibility. first a note on how it sounds in stereo. i am running a pair of nht 2.5i's full range for stereo with a bryston 3b-st for amplification, audiquest midnight for speaker cable, audioquest emeralds for interconnectes and an acurus acd-11 for a transport. stereo actually sounds better with the upgrade, especially in the bass. tighter, faster starting & stopping on low notes. my speakers now have flat extension to 30 hz in my room. beethoven's cello sonotas with rostropovich on cello and richter on piano sounds like a live performance in my house. stunningly good. but, the best part of the upgrade is the flexibility it gives you for surround sound. for examply i have my 2.5i's that extent to 30 hz, an nht ac1 for a center, and nht 1.5's for surround speakers. the bass mgt modes allow me to set the crossover for each speaker separately so i can route bass under 30 hz from my front speakers to my sub, bass under 60 hz to the sub from my center speaker, and bass under 50 hz from my rear speakers to my sub. very cool. i still think this is a fantastic unit, one of the best i have heard at any price & an absolute steal at $1800. i was worried about not having 6 analogue inputs because it has not been decided if dvd audio will output a digital signal at all & you could be forced to use the dvd players 6 channel output. obviously if you do not have a 6 channel analogue input on your preamp/processor, you are screwed. so i called mondial with my concern & they said that if it came to pass that there was no digital output, then they would modify my unit to accept a 6 channel analogue input. OUTSTANDING! this gives me great faith that there are some companies out there that really do care about their customers & are not out to screw you & force you to buy a whole new damn piece of equipment when new technology comes out. you certainly cannot say that about companies like yamaha, sony, denon, parasound, etc, etc, ad naseum. sorry about my little rant, but i really am tired of the electronic black box swap out musical chairs i have been forced to play until now. BRAVO MONDIAL! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!! 5 stars for the Act-3, 100 stars for Mondial's philosophy of designing real value in to their products & standing behind them 100%.