McIntosh CD Players & Transports...worth it?

[Timobi]

I didn't feel the Mac MCD was bright. It just sounded a little compressed vs the Luxman. But lots of other factors at play too.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Timobi

I didn't feel the Mac MCD was bright. It just sounded a little compressed vs the Luxman. But lots of other factors at play too.

Timobi, I notice you are running electrostatics. I recently looked the CLX-Arts up. Wonderful speakers, if you like electrostatics.

Years ago when I owned Maxx3's I heard a pair at my dealers. They however were not CLX-Arts but were ML's. I was so impressed that I got in touch with the national sales manager for a purchase of Neoliths. I never heard such resolution and detail.

However, over the course of several weeks I realized there was simply too much of it for me and it came at the expense of other qualities in speakers I hold dear and I decided against a purchase deciding to stick with Wilson.

One has to pay very dearly for the extreme resolution and detail of electrostatics and this is the reason that they have a small but very loyal following. Digital is going to sound very different through your wonderful system, than folks with dynamic speakers.

Best

Charles

[prepress]

Originally Posted by bdowell

Let me throw my two cents in on MAC cd players::::

My old neighbor bought the 7000 brand new many decades ago. It sounded very nice on his vintage MAC system. Unfortunately it is a parts unit only as the drawer does not work.

7007-I bought this one used many years ago and enjoyed the heck out of it hooked directly up to a MAC 7270 power amp. The Phillips double crowns are/were very smooth. After sometime the unit developed a weird pop and then the highs were emphasized and sounded harsh. I sent the unit to MAC for repair. They re- soldered the power supply and replaced some individual components. The unit still had the problem but to a lesser extent after a period of time. I sold the unit.

201-I purchased this cd player in 2012 as part of a larger MAC dealer demo system. Shortly after the 201 stopped reading any and all cd's. MAC admitted they had problems with the tray and as there were no replacements available so they refunded my purchase price. I like the sound of this unit.

301-With $$ in hand I purchased a new 301 from the same dealer. About a year into it the drawer had problems opening-very sluggish. I took it to a nearby authorized service center and had it repaired under warranty. The fix was a belt on the drawer. I was so so on the sound of the unit. I hope not to offend any 301 owners. I sold it to buy the new 1100.

1100-Its expensive but sounds great. A few years ago the drawer had a difficult time opening-drum roll please----you got it---the belt again. It was out of warranty but not expensive to repair. And recently it is showing signs of the drawer opening slowly.

I do live in a warm and very dry environment (and smoggy at times). My house is well air conditioned so I'm not sure what to say.

Overall, I think the MAC cd players are well built and sound good. They offer a lot of features such as various inputs for streaming of which I'm just getting into. Its unfortunate that I've had my share of problems but MAC has taken care of me well.

I'd buy another as I like matched systems. Hope this helps..

I had one too many issues with the drawer on my 301 as well, and similar issues to yours. That led to the 500 I have now. So far, so good after about 3.5 years; got it as NOS from Audio Classics.

Still not a fan of the ESS DAC, necessarily. Don't know if I will look for something that uses another DAC or not, though.

[Timobi]

Originally Posted by Charles

Timobi, I notice you are running electrostatics. I recently looked the CLX-Arts up. Wonderful speakers, if you like electrostatics.

Years ago when I owned Maxx3's I heard a pair at my dealers. They however were not CLX-Arts but were ML's. I was so impressed that I got in touch with the national sales manager for a purchase of Neoliths. I never heard such resolution and detail.

However, over the course of several weeks I realized there was simply too much of it for me and it came at the expense of other qualities in speakers I hold dear and I decided against a purchase deciding to stick with Wilson.

One has to pay very dearly for the extreme resolution and detail of electrostatics and this is the reason that they have a small but very loyal following. Digital is going to sound very different through your wonderful system, than folks with dynamic speakers.

Best

Charles

Hey Charles,

Yes these CLX speakers are very revealing. Some recordings I 'thought' I liked before on my more forgiving speakers now can sound atrocious!

But honestly these are awesome. Having great subs like I do helps. I love the mid-range.

I do notice very minor subtitles in DACS which is why I was kind of down on the MAC ESS dac.

[Charles]

Timobi, I was very impressed by the ML sound.The Neoliths would have been a poor fit for my room but they are still in original production, a testament to the sound engineering of ML. I know they would sound fabulous.

If I had the money and had a Neolith the DAC I would go with would be the Lampizator Pacific. I can't recall who, but someone on AA bought one and was blown away by it.

You have one of the most beautiful systems I have ever seen. A true reference totally capable of evaluating the mettle of any DAC.

Best

Charles