New McIntosh MHA50 Portable Decoding Amplifier

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by 1KW

I want one for when I fly back and forth to Naples as well as for streaming Tidal by the beach. I like the idea of being able to use it with my phone wirelessly without cables. I am not sure how one gets the music out of the iPhone without it using the internal DAC in the phone ? I guess you can only take advantage of the DAC in the MHA50 with a computer ? Ivan, group buy?

David, since iOS7, Apple devices including the iPhone support digital streaming. http://www.musicservertips.com/how-t...-audio-output/

It does say in the product description that "the MHA50 includes wired inputs for Apple® iOS devices, Android devices compatible with USB On-The-Go technology plus Mac® and Windows® computers. It can also wirelessly connect to these devices via Bluetooth® 4.1 with aptX™ technology that ensures you receive the highest possible sound quality from your Bluetooth source device."

[dixon007]

Looks promising.

[tweet]

One of the programmers at work asked me about the new MHA50. He thinks having thousands of digital files available from his phone or iPad is the ultimate audio experience and that modern high-end audio is a stupidly priced hobby for older baby boomers at the top of the food chain. He sounded pretty excited about the possibility of owning a McIntosh piece that doesn't cost multi-thousands of dollars. It it helps McIntosh stay in the race, then I hope it's a huge success.

[djwhog]

I like it!

[Msegal]

Originally Posted by 1KW

I want one for when I fly back and forth to Naples as well as for streaming Tidal by the beach. I like the idea of being able to use it with my phone wirelessly without cables. I am not sure how one gets the music out of the iPhone without it using the internal DAC in the phone ? I guess you can only take advantage of the DAC in the MHA50 with a computer ? Ivan, group buy?

I heard from my AD there is no Tidal compatibility. This is not my information only what I heard. If someone knows more please let me know.
Thanks.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by tweet

One of the programmers at work asked me about the new MHA50. He thinks having thousands of digital files available from his phone or iPad is the ultimate audio experience and that modern high-end audio is a stupidly priced hobby for older baby boomers at the top of the food chain. He sounded pretty excited about the possibility of owning a McIntosh piece that doesn't cost multi-thousands of dollars. It it helps McIntosh stay in the race, then I hope it's a huge success.

Terry
Well I for one think he is correct. This is a stupidly priced hobby. No one ever said spending more for speakers than some spend on a house, or for a pair of amplifiers that cost more than a new car, or cables that cost more than the average workers monthly wages makes any sense to the average hard working stiff. Then again I don't own a boat, a equestrian horse, and said to hell with my golf club membership. I sure can't take it with me.

[tweet]

Originally Posted by Still-One

Terry
Well I for one think he is correct. This is a stupidly priced hobby. No one ever said spending more for speakers than some spend on a house, or for a pair of amplifiers that cost more than a new car, or cables that cost more than the average workers monthly wages makes any sense to the average hard working stiff. Then again I don't own a boat, a equestrian horse, and said to hell with my golf club membership. I sure can't take it with me.

Jim,
Well said.

[ctsooner]

I have the Mojo and am enjoying it, but I like this unit a lot. The looks and size may be a better form factor with my iPhone. I do get bummed that it won't have a balanced output, especially for the money. I assume some Mac dealers will give discounts?? Never owned Mac gear.

[Masterlu]

Slight delay in this model;

Dear McIntosh Dealer:

We have made two changes to our upcoming MHA50 Portable Decoding Amplifier that we want to share with you.
The MHA50 will now come with a 4th USB cable in addition to the 3 we already announced. The 4th cable will be a USB micro-B to USB-C OTG (On-The-Go) cable. The USB-C connector is becoming more common on many popular devices, especially those from industry giant Samsung. To make sure the MHA50 is compatible with as many products as possible from the start, we have decided to hold shipment on all of them until this new cable is ready. We apologize for this short delay but we feel this change is too important not to make.
The Digital Audio specs have been updated to remove DSD256 which was incorrectly listed. The MHA50 is still fully capable of decoding DSD64 and DSD128 files, both of which are much more common than the DSD256 format.
Our website has been updated to reflect these changes. We recommend you update your website and other marketing materials as well.

Please contact your McIntosh representative with any questions.

Best,

McIntosh Laboratory, Inc.

[substance]

I am having trouble with my MHA50 since I upgraded from iPhone 11 Pro Max to iPhone 12 Pro Max. It will only work if I plug my iPhone 12 and the micro usb charger at the same time. Anyone else having trouble with this unit?