Mcd500

[1KW]

This is transplant from somewhere else, but it might stir up some conversation: Thanks to Ryan at Audioclassics I received my MCD500 . I have not had much time to listen to the MCD500, however I want to share some of my initial impressions. First off let me say that I tend to be skeptical when it comes to certain upgrades and I have not been bashful at time with my opinion so why start now. I wanted a DAC for the sonos which led me to this upgrade. To digress for a minute I was totally brain washed about the merits, on this forum, about the whole cable upgrade debate. I must admit I have not noticed any improvement in my system with my cable upgrade. I don't want to start a fight here about cables, I only mention it so you know where I am coming from with being able to hear subtle differences with upgrades. Meaning if I can hear a difference it must not be subtle.

First off the MCD500 is really heavy, built like a tank; it feels much heavier and more solid than the MVP861. I know this has nothing to do with performance but the shear weight of this thing made an impression so I had to mention it. The metal tray is much sturdier then the tray on the MVP861 which may or may not make a sonic difference. This mentioned again merely as a observation and would not make me switch my player over this alone.

Second, I played the MCD500 through the same analog cables, power cord as the MVP861. I only had a few minutes before heading to the office so I played a favorite of mine: Eagles-Hotel California from the Hell Freezes Over CD. My MVP861 sounded very good to me, I would even say it sounded excellent. As the song started to play on the MCD500 I thought ok drums , guitars.... I started to think ok I was brain washed again, I do not hear a big difference... but then the drums started to kick in and I noticed not only were the drums and guitar playing from the left speaker but I could hear that the drum player was behind the guitar player. I sat and listened and thought am I imagining this or is this real. No I was hearing a level of imaging that I did not hear with the MVP861. It is not that the guitar or drums sounded better but rather I could now tell where people were standing on the stage. I heard stereo before ie the voices were coming from the center as before but now I could tell where the microphones were on the stage. I wanted to listen more but duty called and I had to go to work.
I am interested to see if the DAC input will have the same effect on my sonos playing both music wifi from my computer hard drive, Pandora and Rhapsody. If it does then the upgrade will have been very worthwhile. I also have a old minidisk player and about 30 disks that I may hook up to the DAC input. Last but not least I am curious to see how the MCD500 sounds in my room as a pre amp without the C220 in the loop. Going by what Alberto has said I expect that I will want to keep the C220 in the loop but it will be a interesting comparison.

I will get back to everyone on how SACD sounds, how the sonos sounds A/B comparison of analog vs digital out to the MCD500. My ears may not be as discerning as others on this forum, but if I can hear a difference then that is saying alot coming from a skeptic. Nice job Mcintosh Labs. David

[Yardbird]

David,
The MCD500 is a player that can make a believer out of many a skeptic! I have had mine for 9 months now, and it still suprises me at times with its degree of detail, imaging and refinement. I only owned the MCD301 I had before it for 3 months, but I've never regreted that trade. Enjoy!
Ted.

[jdandy]

David.......What can I say? I told you it was a great player. I knew you would hear the difference from the MVP861 you were using. The MCD500 is the best source I have ever owned. I liked my first one so much, I bought a second one. That's the best recommendation I can offer.

[PHC1]

I've only heard the MCD500 once and that was over David's house. While it is difficult to compare to say an MDA1000 since David's system is very different from mine and I was not familiar with most of what he has, the C220, MC252 and SF Cremona speakers vs my system of MCD/MDA1000, C500P, MC501s and SF Guarneri M's. I can attest to that the system sounded very well balanced with no obvious or gross flaws. The tonality was to my liking and fairly accurate with adequate amount of resolution without sounding lean or fatiguing. The balance of bass, mids and highs was very good. The mids were especially great making vocals seductive and expressive as they usually are with Sonus Fabers. Overall, a very enjoyable system. Once we optimized his speaker positioning, the system really opened up and started to get down to business with a spacious soundstage, crisp focus and palpable imaging. Since the source is responsible for much of what you hear when the rest of the system is up to snuff, I'd say the MCD500 is a very, very good CDP for the price.