[m8o]

P.s. should have also said at the end ... don't get hung up with 'balanced'. This amp produces musicality that causes my toes to tap, body to sway and rock while sitting, and air guitar and drum play to make me look like an idiot ... that the fully differential Mojlnir fed from a balanced source never achieves.

A final question I missed was sources. They are in my signature. But it should be said I don't use the DACs in any of them now, or this amp. The NAD M51 DAC is now king. I stream Redbook or DVD-A via AES/EBU from my Classe, or I stream Redbook or DVD-A or SACD (converted to PCM) via HDMI from the ARCAM, and I stream Redbook or HDTRACKS over optical from my Opus #1 DAP, all to the M51.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

At the price of the MHA-100/150... that would have to be my "all-in-one". My wife would kill me if she even found out I was looking at it.

 

[m8o]

At the price of the MHA-100/150... that would have to be my "all-in-one". My wife would kill me if she even found out I was looking at it.

I was perfectly happy with the DAC in it; defended it strongly. But learned 1st hand why the M51 is on Sterophile's recommended A+ list for a few years. If I wasn't a head-fi member and read way too many opinions I'd have been perfectly happy not adding on to what the MHA100/150 offered.

Edit: and the 150 does dsd, which my 100 and M51 doesnt.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

I was perfectly happy with the DAC in it; defended it strongly. But learned 1st hand why the M51 is on Sterophile's recommended A+ list for a few years. If I wasn't a head-fi member and read way too many opinions I'd have been perfectly happy not adding on to what the MHA100/150 offered.

Edit: and the 150 does dsd, which my 100 and M51 doesnt.

That is probably what I'll have to do. Purchase the MHA-150 and stop visiting Head-Fi.

   Though, if I'm honest... I'd probably just as easily get an Oppo HA-1 and an external speaker amp and be just as happy in bliss (with my ignorance).

 

[iPaulR]

P.s. should have also said at the end ... don't get hung up with 'balanced'. This amp produces musicality that causes my toes to tap, body to sway and rock while sitting, and air guitar and drum play to make me look like an idiot ... that the fully differential Mojlnir fed from a balanced source never achieves.

A final question I missed was sources. They are in my signature. But it should be said I don't use the DACs in any of them now, or this amp. The NAD M51 DAC is now king. I stream Redbook or DVD-A via AES/EBU from my Classe, or I stream Redbook or DVD-A or SACD (converted to PCM) via HDMI from the ARCAM, and I stream Redbook or HDTRACKS over optical from my Opus #1 DAP, all to the M51.

 

[iPaulR]

P.s. should have also said at the end ... don't get hung up with 'balanced'. This amp produces musicality that causes my toes to tap, body to sway and rock while sitting, and air guitar and drum play to make me look like an idiot ... that the fully differential Mojlnir fed from a balanced source never achieves.

A final question I missed was sources. They are in my signature. But it should be said I don't use the DACs in any of them now, or this amp. The NAD M51 DAC is now king. I stream Redbook or DVD-A via AES/EBU from my Classe, or I stream Redbook or DVD-A or SACD (converted to PCM) via HDMI from the ARCAM, and I stream Redbook or HDTRACKS over optical from my Opus #1 DAP, all to the M51.

Thanks for your reply. I will be able to listen to the mha150 in a week or two, and I'll let you all know what I think. Right now the AK380 plus amp blows me away really fine. So I'm really curious how much better my focal Utopia headphones can actually sound.

So you're not using your mha100 anymore? Just your M51?

 

[m8o]

M51 is just a DAC that feeds the amp section of the Mc. Tho it does have an excellent digital volume control too. I feed the MHA-100 analog from it either via balanced xlr, or from unbalanced thru the Perreaux TC2 bass/mid/treble dual-mono [not sure if it's class A biased like their preamps] tone control when the frequency response needs altering. Probably my favorite piece of gear. I really really love tone controls that have a mid contour too, and Perreaux is super good stuff.

No longer using the internal Mc DAC for not only the reason of the M51's goodness. But also because I want to be able to feed other headphone amps at the same time (for other listeners in a group situation), and want to be able to contour the tone of digital material a DAC converts to analog at times before hitting the Mc amp. Before this, I could only apply tone contour to an analog input I fed to the Mc. Now I can do that to digital material converted to analog too (without using a software eq).

If this amp enabled the unbalanced rca out when the headphone output on the front was active (was very disturbed to discover the analog out is only active when the speaker out is selected!, and really screwed my rig setup plans up), that would address the first point. And if this amp had a pre-out/power-in loop, that would have covered the second point. But as those aren't the reality, I really HAD to find an outboard DAC solution.

I should make a correction. Before when I said I was perfectly happy with this Mc's DAC, that was in reference to its sound reproduction. When I wrote it I forgot about the other factors I just wrote about above which did override my happiness a bit. So just be aware your setup plans are limited somewhat with an all-in-one that disables certain functions when a particular mode of operation is selected (no speaker or analog out when the headphone plug is active), and no processing loop like you'd get with a typical preamp to poweramp connection, or via a tape monitor loop.

 

[iPaulR]

M51 is just a DAC that feeds the amp section of the Mc. Tho it does have an excellent digital volume control too. I feed the MHA-100 analog from it either via balanced xlr, or from unbalanced thru the Perreaux TC2 bass/mid/treble dual-mono [not sure if it's class A biased like their preamps] tone control when the frequency response needs altering. Probably my favorite piece of gear. I really really love tone controls that have a mid contour too, and Perreaux is super good stuff.

No longer using the internal Mc DAC for not only the reason of the M51's goodness. But also because I want to be able to feed other headphone amps at the same time (for other listeners in a group situation), and want to be able to contour the tone of digital material a DAC converts to analog at times before hitting the Mc amp. Before this, I could only apply tone contour to an analog input I fed to the Mc. Now I can do that to digital material converted to analog too (without using a software eq).

If this amp enabled the unbalanced rca out when the headphone output on the front was active (was very disturbed to discover the analog out is only active when the speaker out is selected!, and really screwed my rig setup plans up), that would address the first point. And if this amp had a pre-out/power-in loop, that would have covered the second point. But as those aren't the reality, I really HAD to find an outboard DAC solution.

I should make a correction. Before when I said I was perfectly happy with this Mc's DAC, that was in reference to its sound reproduction. When I wrote it I forgot about the other factors I just wrote about above which did override my happiness a bit. So just be aware your setup plans are limited somewhat with an all-in-one that disables certain functions when a particular mode of operation is selected (no speaker or analog out when the headphone plug is active), and no processing loop like you'd get with a typical preamp to poweramp connection, or via a tape monitor loop.

Thanks for your reply. Most impressive what you discovered and worked around.

When I want to listen with others, I use my B&W 803 D3 speakers. Seems to make 'em happy, and me as well.

But I also love to listen with my focal Utopia headphones and my ak380. It's a totally different and completely surrounding experience. And enveloping hundred and eighty degrees of exquisite soundstage.

But I only listen to my headphones alone. Don't need to drive a speaker with them.

So I think the mha150 might well meet my needs except for the absence of balanced out to the headphones, which I can probably live without if it sounds great enough.

 

[m8o]

Ya, I hear ya. Out at the house I have numerous high power, maybe even some high end sound systems; components across the rooms include Tannoy dual concentrics, Martin Logan Sequel 2s, Klipsch LaScalas and Hereseys, full M&K S-150 5.1 system with multiple subwoofers, numerous Audio Research legacy tube amps including moster Classic 150 monoblocks, lots more solid state and hybrid power; enough to blow my mains if every thing was turn on at the exact same time methinks -lol.

But in the apartment that uses terricotta blocks between apartments but wood between floors so leaks sound up down pretty easily, I feel compelled to use headphones. The board would vote to evict us if I didn't feel compelled to use headphones anyway. Lol. And went full on totl here.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

So, I understand that you use the speaker taps to drive your headphones, have you also used it to drive speakers? I'd love to use the MHA-150 tho drive some Zu Audio or Tekton full range speakers in a near-field setup. Probably would use the headphone jack little at that point (as I think I'm more of a speaker person than headphone).

 

[m8o]

I only drove small cheap speakers that I have here for 1 minute, not very loud (that wood apartment building thing again). Then I disconnected it. So I'm not your guy.

Check the MHA-100 thread (there may be two). There are a few people that have chimed in there about using it that way. Their opinions would carry to the mha-150 too.

 

[DancingBlue]

So, I understand that you use the speaker taps to drive your headphones, have you also used it to drive speakers? I'd love to use the MHA-150 tho drive some Zu Audio or Tekton full range speakers in a near-field setup. Probably would use the headphone jack little at that point (as I think I'm more of a speaker person than headphone).

 
I'm using McIntosh XR50 speakers with my MHA100. After auditioning a bunch of speakers from B&W, Focal, Totem, Sonus Faber, and probably a couple of others I now forget, I went with McSpeakers. I use them mid-field. The sound is glorious. Nice and smooth. My positioning and room acoustic properties are such that I don't get much of a 3D depth, but the soundstage is nice and wide. When I auditioned them there was a proper 3D soundstage. I'm not familiar with the speakers you mentioned, but the XR50s are rated for 75 watts and the 50 watt amp in the MH100 drives them just fine. This I confirmed with McIntosh, who uses the same combo for show demos. TL;DR: the speaker amp in the MH100 isn't an afterthought - it's a proper McAmp with the classic McIntosh house sound and conservative power rating estimate.

 

[eddiek997]

Just picked mine up.. 
 
I'm so happy. Tonights listening pleasure will involve a lot of Rum, a pair of HE1000's, my Mc and Roon. 

 

[HansPeter]

  Just picked mine up.. 
 
I'm so happy. Tonights listening pleasure will involve a lot of Rum, a pair of HE1000's, my Mc and Roon. 

Sounds like a splendid Evening, enjoy

 

[m8o]

Congrats & welcome.