[EagleWings]

Got to try the 150 yesterday at a meet using a HD800 and my HD800S. Was quite impressed honestly. But I am not sure if it’s worth the $4500 price tag. Also, I felt the DAC section was holding it back a little. But I don’t want to make definitive claims like that, as I never got to try feeding the amp from a different DAC. Highlights were its dark background, transparency, airy and spacious soundstage, precise imaging, bass slam, macro dynamics and smoothness. The only aspect which I felt could have been better was resolution. If there was an amp only model and was priced at $2500, I’d probably go for it. Also, the build and finish was simply outstanding.

 

[dubharmonic]

I use an external DAC with the MHA100. Could not be happier with an amp. The MHA100 USB interface Windows driver is very dated and just barely loaded up but did eventually work with WIndows 10. Hopefully the MHA150 USB driver is updated. But my external DAC sounds so much better than the internal MHA100 DAC.

DACs get dated and obsolete very quickly. McIntosh should sell an MHA50 without any DAC for lower cost! I connect my phones to the speaker outputs and really don't need the auto-transformers either.

Recently I've been using a Schiit Eitr to convert USB to coaxial, getting around the McIntosh USB implementation. The DAC in the MHA150 has been growing on me. It may not have the best resolution but it can be fun to listen to.

 

[Winterwolf]

I have owned both the MHA100 and recently sold it and upgraded to a MHA150. I have Grado SR80 and LCD-2 cans.

The difference is quite astonishing. the MHA150 DAC sounds MUCH better. Wider soundscape, more engaging bass, overall a much richer sound.

I had a Mojo hooked up to the 100 and 150 and on the 150 the difference in benefit was so small that I sold my Mojo.

Also the driver is much better then on the 100. Windows has no trouble and JRiver works fine with all DSD options. I have some problems with Roon where the native DSD mode does not work but I can still listen up to DSD128 via DoP.

DSD sounds fantastic with the right recordings (I recommend David Elias DSD recordings). I did not really hear any difference above DSD64 but DSD vs. PCM 96kHz is definitely audible.

Overall, a fantastic device. I also thought that the only difference between 100 and 150 would be the DAC but the MHA150 also sounds better with my external Explorer2 DAC. Overall a well rounded improvement over the MHA100.

If you have the choice, pick the MHA150.

-- WW

 

[QueueCumber]

Picked up the MHA150 and MCT80 combo. Phenomenal. Guess there aren’t a lot of owners on Head-Fi, but count me as subscribed to the thread...

 

[crayons23]

Was able to pick up a demo of the MHA 150 a few weeks ago. Today i was able
to get a used SOtM sms-200 for 50% off. This combo with the Focal Utopias sounds 90% as good
as the Ps Audio Directstream Dac/ Rogue Rh-5 combo i was using
for 50% less money. Highly recommend you all trying this amp/dac with this roon endpoint network streamer.
I had demoed a blue sound node 2 but it was ruining the bass of the mha 150.... however this SOtM is bringing
it all together..
Wow!! Very impressive.

 

[crayons23]

by the way regarding the dac chip i called mcintosh factory and the person i talked to said the mha 100 was a burr brown chip. the mha 150 is a ess sabre 9016 but the amp is clearly the star here. i have
used all the dacs and this one is fine for my needs. it's not as amazing as say the ps audio but i got
a good deal on this unit and the ps audio is 7,000$ and has a $3000 resale value.
i also hooked a benchmark dac 3 up to the mha 150 with its ess sabre 9028 and found the internal
dac sounded much better. i am beginning to believe that implementation of a chip is a real thing. that
is something i dismissed earlier on in my listening.

 

[DeepSouth]

Is the MHA150 still relevant? It was released 2 years ago.
I'm looking for a home office system, wondering how this sounds with speakers too. 50 watts and 8 ohm only sounds weak

 

[crayons23]

It's great for me but I don't use speakers at all.

 

[QueueCumber]

Is the MHA150 still relevant? It was released 2 years ago.
I'm looking for a home office system, wondering how this sounds with speakers too. 50 watts and 8 ohm only sounds weak

People use 50 Watt tube amps all the time to drive high sensitivity speakers, so I think it all depends on the speaker and how loud you listen.

 

[eddiek997]

Is the MHA150 still relevant? It was released 2 years ago.
I'm looking for a home office system, wondering how this sounds with speakers too. 50 watts and 8 ohm only sounds weak

Absolutely still relevant. Its actually a great system that will drive Headphones with aplomb and also speakers.
I have since added a Mytek Brooklyn DAC and can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that this setup is my own personal endgame - At least until I can bring myself to part with the $$$ for the Senn HE1

 

[crayons23]

Absolutely still relevant. Its actually a great system that will drive Headphones with aplomb and also speakers.
I have since added a Mytek Brooklyn DAC and can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that this setup is my own personal endgame - At least until I can bring myself to part with the $$$ for the Senn HE1

how much of an improvement was the mytek? was it version 1 or 2?

 

[DeepSouth]

how much of an improvement was the mytek? was it version 1 or 2?

That's one of two things I'm concerned with. The internal dac is two years old, is there a refresh on the horizon? If I need an external dac because the internal one isn't good enough I'm not sure this is a good fit.

 

[crayons23]

the internal dac sounded ok, but as soon as i added the sotm sms 200 it went to the next level. i feel
like i am missing a little detail with the internal dac but i did not pay retail for this unit. for what i paid it was a pretty good deal. i would consider upgrading the dac for a used older dac, but the amp itself is amazing and the internal dac can tide you over for a while.

 

[dubharmonic]

After spending more time using different DACs with the MHA150 I think it comes down to personal preferences. The internal DAC isn't a bad D/S implementation, but if you're looking for a multibit and/or NOS presentation you'll probably want to use an external DAC. Like others have said, the amp is the best part, and that's never going to become irrelevant.

 

[groovyd]

Got to try the 150 yesterday at a meet using a HD800 and my HD800S. Was quite impressed honestly. But I am not sure if it’s worth the $4500 price tag. Also, I felt the DAC section was holding it back a little. But I don’t want to make definitive claims like that, as I never got to try feeding the amp from a different DAC. Highlights were its dark background, transparency, airy and spacious soundstage, precise imaging, bass slam, macro dynamics and smoothness. The only aspect which I felt could have been better was resolution. If there was an amp only model and was priced at $2500, I’d probably go for it. Also, the build and finish was simply outstanding.

Totally agree they need to make an amp only version for those of us with good DACs like the D100 even. I would even say they could keep the price where it's at if they replaced the DAC with a quality tube pre-amp section.