AudioAficionado.org - McIntosh MVP881 & MEN220

McIntosh Adds Universal Blu-ray Player
McIntosh-branded two-channel room-correction system announced.
Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, August 18, 2009

Binghamton, N.Y. - Sister D&M brands McIntosh and Snell updated pricing and ship dates of previously announced products while announcing plans for McIntosh's first Blu-ray player and a McIntosh-branded two-channel room-correction system.

All of the products, including a new tower speaker from sister D&M brand Snell Acoustics, are part of the brands' fall lineups and will be displayed at Atlanta's Embassy Suites during the CEDIA Expo.

McIntosh's MVP881BR Blu-ray player is a universal player that plays multichannel SACD and DVD-Audio discs as well as DVDs and CDs. It ships in October at a price to be announced. The Blu-ray Profile 2.0 player incorporates decoders for all authorized Blu-ray surround formats and features 7.1-channel analog outputs. It supports 1080p playback at 24/60 fps.

McIntosh held off introducing a Blu-ray player until it could offer a universal model, said Charlie Randall, president of McIntosh and Snell. The player provides "a true McIntosh audio experience," said sales and marketing director Steve Mulnick.

Another new McIntosh product, the MEN220 automatic two-channel room-correction system, ships in October at a suggested $4,500. It features two-way active crossover to biamplify speakers through connected amplifiers. It also comes with subwoofer output. The brand emphasized that the device wasn't designed to hit a target EQ curve but was designed instead to preserve a high-end speaker's unique sound by removing room effects.

A multichannel version of the room-correction technology appears in the brand's previously announced MX-150 12-channel surround-sound preamp/processor, whose ship date has been revised to October. The company announced a suggested retail of $12,000. It is the brand's first A/V processor with decoding of all Blu-ray surround formats, and it features five HDMI inputs, 1080p up-scaling, video up-conversion to HDMI, and second-zone audio and video.

In updating pricing and ship dates of its first desktop audio system, McIntosh said the MX-A60 will ship in October at a suggested $7,500. It features two-channel SACD player, RDS-equipped AM/FM tuner, vacuum-tube preamp, two-way speakers and subwoofer output. It could be many consumers' first exposure to McIntosh gear, Mulnick said.

McIntosh also said it is shipping its $4,000-suggested component HD Radio tuner, which is XM-ready. It complements an HD Radio tuner module that plugs into an integrated amp.

For its part, Snell announced it would now begin production of its tower Phantom speaker at the end of October. Pricing remains at the previously announced $20,000/pair. It brings major design and performance elements of the brand's flagship to a smaller cabinet, which is about 80 percent of the Illusion's size, and to a lower price, which is 40 percent of the flagship's price, the company said. The Phantom delivers almost all of the performance characteristics of the flagship and differs in only two respects: total output and bass extension, the company said.