Exer
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2010
- Posts
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The Hugo 2 that I have paired with my MHA200 and the Qutest are extremely similar. I have shared some impressions, but happy to answer any questions. Apologies that I haven't been as active on this thread as I had intended to be.Been lurking around this thread for the past month as the MHA200 is the first piece of McIntosh kit that I can stretch to afford and meets my fancy. Simple inputs/outputs, tubes, no DAC, nice piece of eye candy, and it seems respectable sound at the price point... Zero chance of auditioning one in my area though and the volume control is of concern but some of the more recent comments have eased that. Only three coming to the local dealer and one already sold, sight unseen, so I jumped today making it two down, one to go. Won't arrive for a couple of weeks, give or take. It will be joining two first generation Woos, a WA6 and WA22. I have a Woo WDS-1 DAC that I had to put down recently as the latest versions of Mac OS didn't get along with it. Possible downside of being immersed in the Apple world. Picked up a Chord Qutest as a replacement and it plays very nicely with the Woos (and Macs) but I haven't seen any comment on actually pairing it with the MHA200, only speculation. Main phones are HD 800, HD 820, and Focal Elears. Hoping there will be more impressions and comments posted by those who have been hands on with this amp. Sitting on pins and needles over this risky blind buy!
Volume control is well covered here. I am very cautious with it as a small nudge could result in frighteningly high volumes, but I am able to dial it in. Some additional thoughts below:
Bass: No coloration or additional oomph, but has an authority that is impressive. Not a thin or lean sounding amp in any way with my setup (Hugo 2 -> MHA200 -> Empyrean)
Mids: Compelling. Most in the headphone journey have probably had a Grado at one point and heard the magic with a simpler acoustic track. The MHA200 imparts that magic.
Treble: Detail is great. I get more detail than I have with other amp pairings. It does feel on the limit of strident or sibilant, but with any harshness just slightly rolled off. With my Empyreans, that's a nice compromise, as I get some detail that they typically lack against their high-end peers. I do worry that a brighter headphone like the HD800 could be sibilant with the MHA200, and look forward to seeing feedback. The tube pairing suggested in the Positive Feedback review would tame that based on how it changed the sound on my setup.
Soundstage: Better than anything I've tried. Wide and deep when recorded that way, pinpoint accuracy, even in tracks with complex staging (live choral for instance)
I will add some comparisons to other amps I have tried later today.