[mva5580]

So I've been going back and forth recently with doing a kind of "end game" high level upgrade of my components and I've gravitated towards McIntosh but I have some concerns/questions. And it just kind of seems like (understandably) that the higher up you go in gear, the harder it is to find answers because obviously not a ton of people have this stuff. So I'm really just looking for some help/input. To have a starting point/reference, I should name what I currently have and what I'm looking to accomplish:

- Computer for music/playing games
- Creative Labs Soundblaster X7 DAC/Headphone amp/line in for recording vinyl
- Technics SL 1200 mk2 turntable
- Cambridge Audio phono preamp
- Yamaha HS80M speakers/HS10W sub
- Beyerdynamic T1 headphones

Basically I am just, obviously, trying to get the highest quality sound that I feel like my budget can afford but also at the same time I don't just want to buy something for the sake of buying something. If I'm going to spend ~$5,000 or whatever on this stuff, I want it to be tangibly better. And I know that gets into muddy area because everyone's ears/expectations are different, but for the sake of this I'm just saying what I'm sure everyone can understand. It's a lot of money and I don't just want to buy it because it looks cool.

The trouble that I seem to be running in to is that it's not overly easy to find 1 or 2 components that seamlessly do what the X7 does in that it is 1) a USB DAC, 2) a headphone amplifier and 3) has both outputs for my speakers and a line in input for my turntable for recording to the PC/listening to the turntable through the speakers/headphones seamlessly.

I'm fine with getting 2 components to do what this 1 does and it APPEARS to me that a combination of the McIntosh D150 (DAC) and MP100 (Phono Preamp) would serve this purpose. The D150 is my USB DAC, Headphone Amp & Speaker output and I could run my turntable via digital coaxial (is this ok since it's rca going into the preamp?) and whenever I want to record it has a USB output to the PC.

So of course the ~$5,000 question in this instance is......do these 2 purchases give me that solid, tangible upgrade I'm looking for? And I know the initial thing will always be for people to say "of course, look at the price/quality difference" and if that's what people say, that's what people say. I'm just looking for some kind of input on my decisions. And also are there any other alternatives? I notice McIntosh also has an MHA150 Headphone amplifier that appears to me to do many of the same things that the DT150 does, it just doesn't have balanced outputs so I'd have to use RCA to 1/4" cables for my speakers. Beyond the $1,500 price difference am I missing anything there? I assume it's mainly a much better headphone amp.

I'm also considering switching my Yamaha HS80M's to Adam AX7's and trying to figure out if that change would be worth it or not. From everything I read the Adam's are really good but just not sure how much of a difference there will be. And also if I decided on the MHA150 I see that I could hook passive speakers into it, I'm wondering if something like B&W 685 S2's might be a better match with it than the monitors?

Sorry for the really long post and numerous questions.....but I just want to make sure I'm making an informed decision. Thank you.

 

[theveterans]

I'd rather get a separate DAC and use your D150 as a integrated amp only. IMO the DAC in D150 won't be as good as a standalone DAC. As for Phono preamp, you can insert it the analog output to the D150's analog SE input (not through digital coaxial).

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Disregard the statement above. The D150 is pretty much just a DAC with a preamp function. You can't insert your phono preamp in to the D150 since D150 only accepts DIGITAL input. You will need a separate analog preamp if you need your DAC and phono preamp both connected to your speakers.

 

[doggiemom]

I purchased this:
McIntosh D1100 Digital Preamp
and am (impatiently) waiting for it to arrive. According to the description, it can be paired with their C1100 phono preamp to support your turntable. Looks like it has a better DAC and more inputs and outputs than the D150. The D1100 has a headphone jack (though I plan to use it with a headphone amp) and balanced outputs for your speakers, so for that reason I would think might be a better value for you than the MHA150.

Disclaimer: This will be my first McIntosh purchase, so I can't offer any advice beyond what the product specs say. You should check with @TSAVJason ..... he is a good resource for info on McIntosh products.

Best of luck in your search.

 

[mva5580]

From a lot of my looking around/research I've done I came to the decision/conclusion that for right now getting some better speakers would probably provide me with a more noticeable/tangible audio different than doings something huge like changing all 3 of amplifier/dac/speakers. So what I've decided to go with for now is the KEF LS50 "wireless" version and I will run optical from my X7 and rca's from turntable into those, and whenever I want to use my headphones with the turntable I'll just switch the RCA's to the X7. I'll also probably get a sub to go along with the LS50's.

It may not be the "best" solution or whatever, but at the end of the day I just tend to think I will be satisfied with the difference that will give me for ~$2,200 as opposed to what I would hear from spending about $3,000 more than that on the other components I was considering. We'll see I guess.