McIntosh MCD301 vs: MCD500 Shootout

[jdandy]

I thought some might find this review of two older McIntosh CD/SACD players of interest. Of course the MCD301 does not have digital inputs and the MCD500 has three digital inputs. It was fun to read this six year old review again.


Reprint from July 2008









I carried the MCD301 upstairs this morning and placed it on top of the C2200 preamp (see photo). The MCD500 is the in the rack directly above the top MC501 amp, and under the MCD205. Both the MCD301, and the MCD500 players were connected to the preamp with identical Tributaries Silver Series balanced interconnects (soon to be replaced with Wireworld Silver Eclipse 5.2 balanced cables, but that’s another story). I energized all the equipment and let it warm for 30 minutes. Now the fun begins.

Each CD or SACD was played first in the MCD500, and then again in the MCD301. My first CD choice was Liz Story – My Foolish Heart, the title track. On the MCD500, the piano and double bass were completely lifelike, totally engaging, remarkable. The piano notes carried in the room as though the instrument was physically here. The richness of the double bass string tones and decays were totally convincing. You could hear the wood of the double bass. In the MCD301, this same CD was also impressive, although the textures of the piano notes and the double bass were slightly less authentic. There was a minor loss of the three dimensional presence, a slightly less wholeness to the sound of the piano and double bass. The MCD301 doesn’t seem to have the breath, the air, the space and time quality that the MCD500 excels at providing.

Next, I played Shelby Lynne – Just A Little Lovin', the title track, in the MCD500. The initial rim shots on drum, and the bass that drops in are crisp, solid, and whole, all at the same time. When Shelby’s voice begins, it floats on air, with the small added reverb lingering so well in decay. In the MCD301, this CD offered a beautiful presentation as well, but again some of the openness and air around each instrument and Shelby’s voice seem to be absent, the ultra clarity heard with the MCD500 became ever so slightly veiled. The sound stage was a bit smaller, as well.

The next CD into the MCD500 was Jimmy Smith – Dot Com Blues , Only In It For The Money. Jimmy’s organ rips on this track, and Dr. John’s gravelly voice does justice to the lyrics and also at revealing mid range presence, while the drum snaps on the Toms were convincing. The Hammond B3 grabs your attention and holds it. As was becoming the pattern, this same CD when played in the MCD301 was great but could not live up to the MCD500's performance. Again, the openness of the sound stage became slightly smaller, more constricted. The edge that is often the signature of a B3 Hammond’s sound in the upper octaves was softened slightly and the solidity of the deepest bass was clouded when in direct comparison with the MCD500.

I played other CDs from artists Tuck & Patti - Love Warriors, Brian Broomberg – You Know The Feeling, Paul Hardcastle – Hardcastle 5, all with similar results. When these CDs were played in the MCD301 the sound stage was uniformly smaller, not dramatic, still not as large or comforting as the MCD500. The openness, the breath of life surrounding instruments and voices that was so present in the MCD500 was always slightly less so with the MCD301, if only by a small margin but noticeable during direct A/B comparison. A perfect example was with the Paul Hardcastle CD, track 1, In The Beginning. It starts with the sound of flowing water and some very deep bass notes played like a heartbeat. Coming from the MCD500 the sounds were real, completely believable. As hard as it is to accurately capture and record the sound of moving water, much less reproducing that sound in a believable manner, the water truly sounded like flowing water and the bass felt like a heartbeat. The MCD301 was good but could not recreate the complete lifelike experience that the MCD500 did so well without even blinking.

The results were similar between the two players when I used SACD material. The brand new SACD from Fourplay – Energy is a wonderful disc, very well recorded and engineered. I played the track Comfort Zone. The MCD500 reproduced the performance with amazing realism. Bob James’ piano and Larry Carlton’s Gibson 335 were right there in the room, no excuses. The sound of tambourine and percussion instruments was alive and exciting. Truly an exemplary experience. This SACD in the MCD301 was also very well presented, but as has been the case with every other CD played the sound stage was smaller, the depth of tones was ever so slightly diminished in clarity and that important breath of life, that air of realism was present but on a smaller scale.

So that’s it. The MCD301 is a marvelous SACD/CD player, no doubt about it. Without a direct A/B comparison with the MCD500 no one would have anything even slightly negative to comment about its performance. The differences were only noticeable in direct comparison and were subtle at best. I won’t be selling my MCD301 just because I also own the MCD500. The MCD301 will find wonderful duty in my recording studio, where it will certainly outperform every other source there.

The MCD500 is an absolute jewel of a performer. It presents music as though it were an invisible conduit into the recording studio. Every instrument has real life three dimension, lingering harmonics, warmth, breath, and character. Every voice, whether solo or accompanied, alone or in harmony is clearly heard. Tiny low level sounds are present, audible and accurate. Silence is a complete velvet blackness from which every sound rises in glory. I have never had a better source in my system. The McIntosh MCD500 is the SACD/CD player to own. It will test and show off every aspect of your system and thrill you beyond belief.

After some encouragement I returned the MCD301 back to the living room system and installed it in the main system a second time. I connected the digital coaxial output from the MCD301 to the digital input of MCD500 and proceeded to listen. I was curious how the MCD301 as a transport would sound through the MCD500 DAC's. The reason I did not perform this test during the initial review is because I never intended to operate the MCD301 in this manner but my curiosity got the best of me. I am also using the MCD500 DACs with my MCD205 CD changer in the main system with fantastic results. The MCD205 sounds new, refreshed, and current. One of my reasons for wanting the MCD500 was my hope that using the new DACs would improve the playback performance of my MCD205 CD changer. It certainly has done that in spades.

OK, my first impression comparing Shelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin' CD in the MCD301 through the MCD500 DACs, to the MCD500 playback is no difference in sound quality. I played the title track back and forth between the MCD301 and the MCD500 several times, and was equally impressed with the beautiful presentation of both players. I read what Ivan said above, but I personally could not hear any difference in the drives between the two players. The audio through the MCD500 DACs was equally impressive with the MCD500 or the MCD301. Stunning is the first word that comes to my mind.

I played Tom Grant - Tune It In, track two, Invisible Man, first on the MC301, then on the MCD500. Both players exhibited beautiful, liquid, transparent playback with no discernible audio differences to my ear. In both the MCD301 and the MCD500 the saxophone, bass, and Tom's piano were lifelike, three dimensional, griping. I wanted to hear some sort of difference in the audio between the MCD301 through the MCD500 DACs compared to the MCD500 directly, but I heard none. The MCD301 was right there with the MCD500. It might be me, but during the MCD300 vs: MCD500 shootout I had no problem detecting the subtle differences between the two players. Using the MCD301 through the MCD500 DACs erased those differences.

Next, I played Gabriela Anders - Wanting, track two, The Girl From Ipanema. Everything was perfect. The first sounds of cymbals and bass were rich, full, and present in the room on both players. The electric piano sounds and saxophone just floated around the room. Gabriela's voice was smooth, sensuous, and lovely. The MCD301 did equal justice to the air and presence of her voice as did the MCD500. Both players through the MCD500 DACs are extremely impressive.

I decided on the SACD, Jazz After Midnight, a HighNote Records SACD that is a superb recording. It is a compilation SACD recorded by Rudy Van Gelder and the sound quality is incredible. I played track one If I Ruled The World in both players. The soundstage was equal, the breath and life of the saxophone were equal. Again, I could not detect audible differences with either player using the MCD500 DACs. I played one more track from the SACD, Georgia On My Mind, with the exact same results. The saxophone just stepped out of the speakers and into my room with both players. If there is some difference between the drives of the two machines that might effect the sound, I was unable to hear it.

While I was at it, I tried both the MCD301 and the MCD500 connected directly to the MC501 amplifiers. That was impressive. Both players seemed a tiny bit more forward, maybe a half step closer to my listening position with vocals and instruments. The timber, dynamics, air, soundstage, and overall presentation were not actually improved, just that everything took that tiny half step forward. I wasn't impressed enough with any differences to remove my C2200 from the audio chain or give up my source switch capabilities just to have that half step more forward experience.

I have done these tests for my curiosity and yours. I am satisfied and confident that both of these SACD/CD players are leaders in the parade of available digital machines. Both the MCD301 and MCD500 are worthy sources for the very best McIntosh systems. If I had a MDA1000 and a MCD301, I would probably just sit tight unless I just had to have the dual quad DACs for the improved SACD playback. No doubt there is an improved playback with SACD between the MCD301 and the MCD500. The decision over value verses audible gain is something only you will be able to make. In my opinion, without the MDA1000 in your stable the premium contender is definitely the MCD500. Without financial restrictions the MDA1000/MCD500 combo would be the cats meow for CD and SACD playback.

I am through testing, guys. I'm going back to listening and enjoying music.

[enit]

Good review!

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[Vintage Pete]

A great review and a great blast from the past Dan.....your living room rig sure looked different then!

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Vintage Pete

A great review and a great blast from the past Dan.....your living room rig sure looked different then!

Pete.......Yes, the changes my living room and studio systems have gone through in seven years is astronomical. A lot of different McIntosh components passed through both systems. I am happy that I finally come upon a combination of components that pleases me to the point of complete satisfaction. I really have no desire to tinker with either system. They both sound fabulous.

[Pider]

What a great review! Thanks, Dan.

[Higgens]

Well done, Dan. Your reviews from years ago were just as good as they are today.

[jdandy]

John.......

Gary.......

You are too kind. Thank you gentlemen. . .

[Jean-Marc jmajma]

Bravo Dan, as usual.

[bachrocks]

Dan,

Great to read this again. The first Mac CD player I heard was the 301. Its sound was all you describe.

Thanks,
Ron

[jdandy]

Jean-Marc.......
Ron.......

I am pleased to see everyone enjoying the reprint of this old review. This was originally posted over yonder but fortunately I maintain Word file documents of all my reviews so they don't vanish.

Thank you for the positive comments.