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The McIntosh D1100 DAC and preamp has arrived! I only found one review of the D1100 online and it was in German, so thought I should give some impressions here. This is my first serious impressions/review post of audio gear, so please be kind....... generally I only review books, though I have reviewed toilet paper and Chipotle-seasoned tuna snack packs for Amazon. (The latter two turned out to be a necessary pairing).
Product details and specifications can be found here: http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Prod...ails.aspx?CatId=preamplifiers&ProductId=D1100
The obligatory unboxing section of the review:
The D1100 comes in a big box. That box is secured by foam in another really big box. This thing is HEAVY (~40 pounds), so be sure to stretch and lift with your knees when unboxing!
Setup:
Setup is a breeze, if you don't look at the manual. There is also a wiring diagram on the top of the chassis. For use with a PC, you must download a USB driver from the McIntosh web page.
Unfortunately, foobar2000 does not seem to play well with the McDriver. I could not get DSD256 files to play with this combination. Also, there were annoying bursts of static when switching between files of different formats or sampling rates. Fortunately, switching to Jriver Media Center eliminated these problems.
The D1100 integrated seamlessly with Tidal.
Sounds impressions:
Setup: Windows PC > Kimber Summit 5m USB Cable Silver Plated-OFC > D1100 > Kimber Select Copper 6 Wire XLR Cable > Cavalli Liquid Gold > Axios Headphone Cable (4-Pin XLR) > Focal Utopia
My retirement account balance was hoping that this would be an end-game setup, and although it has only been a week, it may very well be. The Mc Special Sauce seems to tame the LAu, which can be unforgiving of low-quality source material. Poor pop recordings that I've ripped from CD sound listenable. High quality digital files sound excellent. The D1100 hits the perfect balance between accuracy and musicality.
I've listened to classical music infrequently since realizing in high school that I am not a very good trombone player, but I am listening to it all the time now. The D1100 is very detailed and has a wonderful dynamic range that lends itself well to instrumental recordings. Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 gives me goosebumps. Classical can be fun too: Copeland's Rodeo transports you to the Old West. (Though the whips in Buckaroo Holiday make me feel bad – poor horses. They do sound clear enough to make you jump though!)
Comparisons:
In an effort to isolate the contributions of the McDAC to the setup, I listened with a Chord Mojo in line out mode in place of the D1100. Since the Mojo doesn't have a balanced output, it was connected to the LAu via an AudioQuest Forest RCA cable. I love my Mojo, and I was perfectly happy with this setup until the McDAC came along. An improvement in sound stage is immediately noticeable. With “So What” (Miles Davis – Kind of Blue) the placement of instruments is distinct and accurate. Vocalists sound as though they are in front of you, rather than coming from inside your head.
The D1100 does have a SE headphone out, so I was concerned that its purchase would make the LAu obsolete. The balanced output of the LAu is so good that it is staying in my setup. The output straight from the D1100 to the Utopias with stock cable sounds a bit veiled by comparison. Please don't misunderstand, the headphone output of the McDAC is very, very respectable, it is just hard to go back once hearing something better. I think that someone considering purchasing the D1100 as the foundation for a system with the intention of using the headphone jack and perhaps adding an amp later would be pleased.
Conclusions:
Initially my plan was to buy a Chord DAVE. @TSAVJason mentioned the D1100 as an alternative, so I went with that, because it is just easier to do what he says.
(Just kidding. I trust his opinions). 
The reality is that most of us here don't have unlimited budgets for gear, and for me the D1100 offered more bang for the buck. I got a DAC plus TOTL interconnects and a balanced Utopia cable for what I would have paid for the DAVE.
The versatility of the McDAC was also a draw. I've had the same set of JBL floor standing speakers for 15+ years, but should I ever decide to upgrade them and my crappy Sony amp, I'll be glad to have the D1100 to build a system around.
Overall, I am ecstatic about the D1100. The blue meters are hypnotic. The nice thing about headphones is that no one will know that I am watching them while rocking out to Taylor Swift.
Product details and specifications can be found here: http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Prod...ails.aspx?CatId=preamplifiers&ProductId=D1100
The obligatory unboxing section of the review:
The D1100 comes in a big box. That box is secured by foam in another really big box. This thing is HEAVY (~40 pounds), so be sure to stretch and lift with your knees when unboxing!
Setup:
Setup is a breeze, if you don't look at the manual. There is also a wiring diagram on the top of the chassis. For use with a PC, you must download a USB driver from the McIntosh web page.
Unfortunately, foobar2000 does not seem to play well with the McDriver. I could not get DSD256 files to play with this combination. Also, there were annoying bursts of static when switching between files of different formats or sampling rates. Fortunately, switching to Jriver Media Center eliminated these problems.
The D1100 integrated seamlessly with Tidal.
Sounds impressions:
Setup: Windows PC > Kimber Summit 5m USB Cable Silver Plated-OFC > D1100 > Kimber Select Copper 6 Wire XLR Cable > Cavalli Liquid Gold > Axios Headphone Cable (4-Pin XLR) > Focal Utopia
My retirement account balance was hoping that this would be an end-game setup, and although it has only been a week, it may very well be. The Mc Special Sauce seems to tame the LAu, which can be unforgiving of low-quality source material. Poor pop recordings that I've ripped from CD sound listenable. High quality digital files sound excellent. The D1100 hits the perfect balance between accuracy and musicality.
I've listened to classical music infrequently since realizing in high school that I am not a very good trombone player, but I am listening to it all the time now. The D1100 is very detailed and has a wonderful dynamic range that lends itself well to instrumental recordings. Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 gives me goosebumps. Classical can be fun too: Copeland's Rodeo transports you to the Old West. (Though the whips in Buckaroo Holiday make me feel bad – poor horses. They do sound clear enough to make you jump though!)
Comparisons:
In an effort to isolate the contributions of the McDAC to the setup, I listened with a Chord Mojo in line out mode in place of the D1100. Since the Mojo doesn't have a balanced output, it was connected to the LAu via an AudioQuest Forest RCA cable. I love my Mojo, and I was perfectly happy with this setup until the McDAC came along. An improvement in sound stage is immediately noticeable. With “So What” (Miles Davis – Kind of Blue) the placement of instruments is distinct and accurate. Vocalists sound as though they are in front of you, rather than coming from inside your head.
The D1100 does have a SE headphone out, so I was concerned that its purchase would make the LAu obsolete. The balanced output of the LAu is so good that it is staying in my setup. The output straight from the D1100 to the Utopias with stock cable sounds a bit veiled by comparison. Please don't misunderstand, the headphone output of the McDAC is very, very respectable, it is just hard to go back once hearing something better. I think that someone considering purchasing the D1100 as the foundation for a system with the intention of using the headphone jack and perhaps adding an amp later would be pleased.
Conclusions:
Initially my plan was to buy a Chord DAVE. @TSAVJason mentioned the D1100 as an alternative, so I went with that, because it is just easier to do what he says.
(Just kidding. I trust his opinions). The reality is that most of us here don't have unlimited budgets for gear, and for me the D1100 offered more bang for the buck. I got a DAC plus TOTL interconnects and a balanced Utopia cable for what I would have paid for the DAVE.The versatility of the McDAC was also a draw. I've had the same set of JBL floor standing speakers for 15+ years, but should I ever decide to upgrade them and my crappy Sony amp, I'll be glad to have the D1100 to build a system around.
Overall, I am ecstatic about the D1100. The blue meters are hypnotic. The nice thing about headphones is that no one will know that I am watching them while rocking out to Taylor Swift.
