MB100: turning a sow's ear into a silk purse

[Golucid]

Alright folks. The saga continues but with a positive outcome. First, I want to thank my buddy, Fritz Curtis [fritzcurtis] - my MB100 brother. Together, we transformed the MB100 into what Dan today PM'd me: turning a sow's ear into a silk purse.

You guessed it. Not only did I purchase the Aurender X100, but I went back and purchased all over again, the MB100 and I have to say. What I did to the beast has transformed it into something rather nice...It's stable and up-to-par technologically.

Side note: Unfortunately, with new ownership, McIntosh is solely focused on that bottomline. My thought and my perception alone, is that folks like us that purchase McIntosh are willing to pay a large amount of money for quality. At least, give us the option to upgrade, yes?

In another post, I will detail the hardware upgrade I integrated into the MB100 that is actually making this device somewhat worthwhile. There will be step by step instructions on how to bring your MB100 into the 19th century. [joking]

There are a large number of wonderful things about the MB100 [DAC/Local Library, Plethora of in/out puts, online integration, local library, to name but a few]-- So much potential and it is unfortunately that McIntosh did not see it entirely through.

There is great promise with this device. What they are offering here is something no other, as far as I know, device maker is offering with such start to finish concepts. But it's kinda like those movies we go out to see, it starts out awesome and ends badly... only because it's obvious that production ran out of money and they rushed the ending haphazardly.

I think the folks at the very top of McIntosh are shortly sighted with their greed. Eventually, if they continue this path, Karma has a way of catching up - does it not?

Take a look at the photo: what has been changed are all he drives and RAM. And a few little hacks here and there.

[andytts]

Looks good! What else has changed besides the ram and drives?

How does it compare to the aurender now?

[Golucid]

Originally Posted by andytts

Looks good! What else has changed besides the ram and drives?

How does it compare to the aurender now?

Stay tuned for the other changes. As for the Aurender, I am still waiting of the unit to arrive. I'm just guessing, but hope to have it by end of next week.

[andytts]

A friend brought his aurender x100L to my house to test in my system. In terms of digital transport it is comparable to my Naim NDS/555DR. The bar set by the aurender is really high. I hope the MB100 can match it at least.

[Golucid]

Originally Posted by andytts

The bar set by the aurender is really high. I hope the MB100 can match it at least.

That's my understanding is that the Aurender is awesome: well built, cutting edge USB digital out, great customer service, easy to use, reliable and many other positives.

My only thought, I wish it offered, as the MB100 does, all the output options such as XLR and Optical.

The X100 will work great with my MX70.

[Elberoth]

I can understand why you went with SSD drive (less noise), but why did you deploy more RAM ? I know that it is cheap as chips nowadays, but does it bring any measurable improvement ?

Have you done anything to reduce the fan noise ? I can see that you still use the noisy stock Intel fan. Did you reduce the fan RPM in BIOS ?

[o0OBillO0o]

[Golucid]

Originally Posted by Elberoth

I can understand why you went with SSD drive (less noise), but why did you deploy more RAM ? I know that it is cheap as chips nowadays, but does it bring any measurable improvement ? Have you done anything to reduce the fan noise ? I can see that you still use the noisy stock Intel fan. Did you reduce the fan RPM in BIOS ?

SSD by far faster. Get rid of the bottleneck and heat reduction,possibly. Yes, the RAM is recognized. Thus far, performance is a 360 degree turn. around. Instantaneous performance. No freezing, stutter, etc.

BTW, would you mind posting info about the fan replacement - did you get it from Amazon. As for the noise, I believe the new OS update resolved that issue. I can't hear it. Is it possible that the fan you encountered was just noisy?

[fritzcurtis]

Believe me...David is the brains behind the operation. By far smarted and most computer savvy guy I know. He was inspiration for the breaker on the MB100.

[Golucid]

Originally Posted by fritzcurtis

Believe me...David is the brains behind the operation. By far smarted and most computer savvy guy I know. He was inspiration for the breaker on the MB100.

He dude. We are MB100 brothers. Equal share in the success!