McIntosh Adds ‘True Universal Disc Player’

McIntosh has been busy lately.

Fresh off the the announcement of its MXA60 integrated system — which also marked its 60th anniversary — the custom electronics manufacturer is introducing three home theater components at 2010 CES.

The three new components are flagship products that can be used to assemble a complete system solution or used individually to update specific components within a client's system.

MX150 12 Channel Preamplifier

McIntosh's latest preamplifier/processor incorporates the uncompressed Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio surround sound formats, as well more traditional surround formats like Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS ES.

The pre/pro features HDMI 1.3, analog transcoding to digital, and its RS-232 serial port allows installers the ability to integrate it into a third-party control system.

Additionally, McIntosh has built in secondary zone options, which are controllable through its front panel or via a keypad.


MX150 MSRP is $12,000

MEN220 Room Correction System

With a traditional McIntosh exterior, the MEN220 is a device that installers can use to rectify acoustic problems that result from room dimensions.

The device can be be set up through its DSP processing to provide up to six EQ curves that can be uploaded into the component to enable installers to create customized EQ solutions for a client's movie and music listening habits.

Through the use a PC and the MEN220, installers can measure a room's response to create a model called RoomKnowledge where the processor will then apply DSPs to correct for problematic room modes to provide an improved audio experience.

In addition, the unit incorporates a two-way crossover function, which enables installers to bi-amp a system's loudspeakers, without losing the EQ capabilties of the room correction software.


MEN220's MSRP is $4,500

MVP881 BR Universal Audio/Video Player

McIntosh is breaking into new product territories with this introduction.

Described as the company's first true universal disc player, the MVP881 can play Blu-ray, DVD, CD, DVD-Audio and SACD discs, and it incorporates the BD Live 2.0 standard to enable users to access online content available on Blu-ray discs.

The player supports the latest codecs, including Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio. Its inclusion of four 32-bit/192 kHz internally balanced, stereo digital-to-analog converters (DAC) are capable of outputting 7.1 channels of audio.

Its multichannel outputs decode internally and it includes full bass management to allow the unit to be paired with an A/V processor that doesn't include the latest multichannel audio formats.


MVP881 MSRP is $8,000