"Music Matters" at Bjorn's: The McIntosh Labs Demonstration

Posted by: Chris Martens at 1:01 pm, July 30th, 2009

McIntosh Laboratory: Ultimate Theater Room, Bjorn's Audio - Video, San Antonio

Click here for an overview of the "Music Matters" event at Bjorn's: www.avguide.com/blog/1st-annual-“music-matters”-event-bjorn’s-audio-–-video-san-antonio

James (“Jim”) Ludoviconi, McIntosh senior dealer support manager,  was on hand to describe (and demonstrate) the mighty McIntosh Reference System/MT10, which, with a retail price of approximately $225,000, easily qualified as the most expensive stereo system on display at the event. The system included giant McIntosh XRT 2K line array speakers (with, gulp, 110 drivers each), a pair of 2000-watt MC2KW monoblock amplifiers (each amp comprises three massive chassis), the C1000 tube/solid-state preamp (again comprising three chassis), the MCD1000 CD transport (or “CD turntable,” as McIntosh calls it), the MCA1000 DAC, and the MT10 turntable.  Those of you who have seen McIntosh gear in operation in a darkened room know that the firm’s components are famous for their aqua-colored panel lights and meters, and for their glowing blue-green McIntosh logos. Well, Ludoviconi turned the lights down low as he played the McIntosh system and attendees were thus confronted with the mind-blowing image of a veritable mountain (a whopping twelve chassis’s worth) of gleaming Mac gear.

I don’t really have space to go into any sort of detailed analysis of the sound of the McIntosh system, but I will say that two of its more impressive characteristics are an ability to retrieve plenty of low-level detail while at the same time being able to take huge dynamic swells in stride. Both characteristics were much in evidence when storeowner Bjorn Dymdahl put on a favorite recording (one of the recent Michael Tilson Thomas/San Francisco releases) of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3. The big Macs have serious dynamic clout!