Despite all the talk about McIntosh gear, I had never had the opportunity to see, let alone hear, one. On a business trip to Shenzhen in southern China, I took a stroll near my hotel along what appeared to be “gadget avenue” – dozens of shops selling all sorts of electronic gadgets.
Buried at the end of one of the bigger shops was a row of audio stores. And inside the last store was a big demo room that housed a full McIntosh system, including a MCD1000/MDA1000 CD Transport and DA Converter; and a C1000 preamp, and others I did not have time to note as I thought I was lost in translation, trying to figure out which preamp was being used. The Chinese guy kept pointing to 3 chassis, one a time, but I wanted to know which one. It was only upon hitting the web site did I finally understand that the preamp does, indeed, have 3 chassis!
(Pardon the poor image quality as I only had my mobile phone with me.)
The amps were 1201s…
…driving the only Sonus Faber speakers I had not yet heard – the Stradivaris…
…and they had enough room to play in…
I had so much fun that I rearranged my schedule so I could go back the next day. By then the speakers had changed…to the even pricier Dynaudio Evidence Temptations.
Quick impressions:
• Though the thread title says McIntosh, I had no point of comparison for sound quality. I did find that their cool blue color created the right mood for listening…and it was quite educational, watching the needle on the amps swing way past 120w and about a third of the way to 1200w on peaks! I can say that the gear certainly had enough resolution and power to give justice to the particular demanding music piece I describe below.
• The only comparison I could make was between the two speakers. The Stradivaris immersed me in the performance, the Temptations made me focus on the audio. There could very well have been setup issues with the Dyns, but I’d be happy (very) with the Sonus Fabers.
• Scheherezade by Reiner/CSO has got to be one of the all-time great demo discs. When Reiner floors the accelerator, the power of the CSO kicks in like a turbocharger. Wham! (Without losing nuance and subtlety, of course.) With both speakers, the orchestra was present, every member accounted for and in his/her proper place! If I had such a system, my diet would consist mostly of such power pieces.
• On the way back, I passed through Hong Kong where I made an appointment to hear the Summits playing the same disc. It pains me to say this, but they didn’t have the majestic sweep of the Stradivaris. Again, there could very well have been setup issues for this kind of music, as they were driven by "only" a CJ MV60 amp (not enough power perhaps?). Smaller room, certainly.
But surely the CLX with subs could effortlessly present this music? If not, well, what are Statements for!
Buried at the end of one of the bigger shops was a row of audio stores. And inside the last store was a big demo room that housed a full McIntosh system, including a MCD1000/MDA1000 CD Transport and DA Converter; and a C1000 preamp, and others I did not have time to note as I thought I was lost in translation, trying to figure out which preamp was being used. The Chinese guy kept pointing to 3 chassis, one a time, but I wanted to know which one. It was only upon hitting the web site did I finally understand that the preamp does, indeed, have 3 chassis!
(Pardon the poor image quality as I only had my mobile phone with me.)
The amps were 1201s…
…driving the only Sonus Faber speakers I had not yet heard – the Stradivaris…
…and they had enough room to play in…
I had so much fun that I rearranged my schedule so I could go back the next day. By then the speakers had changed…to the even pricier Dynaudio Evidence Temptations.
Quick impressions:
• Though the thread title says McIntosh, I had no point of comparison for sound quality. I did find that their cool blue color created the right mood for listening…and it was quite educational, watching the needle on the amps swing way past 120w and about a third of the way to 1200w on peaks! I can say that the gear certainly had enough resolution and power to give justice to the particular demanding music piece I describe below.
• The only comparison I could make was between the two speakers. The Stradivaris immersed me in the performance, the Temptations made me focus on the audio. There could very well have been setup issues with the Dyns, but I’d be happy (very) with the Sonus Fabers.
• Scheherezade by Reiner/CSO has got to be one of the all-time great demo discs. When Reiner floors the accelerator, the power of the CSO kicks in like a turbocharger. Wham! (Without losing nuance and subtlety, of course.) With both speakers, the orchestra was present, every member accounted for and in his/her proper place! If I had such a system, my diet would consist mostly of such power pieces.
• On the way back, I passed through Hong Kong where I made an appointment to hear the Summits playing the same disc. It pains me to say this, but they didn’t have the majestic sweep of the Stradivaris. Again, there could very well have been setup issues for this kind of music, as they were driven by "only" a CJ MV60 amp (not enough power perhaps?). Smaller room, certainly.
But surely the CLX with subs could effortlessly present this music? If not, well, what are Statements for!
