[lionstan]

At a recent audio show I was told this should be available next year, possibly February. Sounds like there have been some problems.

 

[Raketen]

Guess this device isn't out yet but if anyone who's demo'd can answer I'm wondering how the touch volume control works- does it control an internal hardware volume or does it act like a remote control for the host device software? does it control volume starting relative to wherever you put your finger on the wheel or is there a fixed scale type of thing going on? what kind of incremental change can you get? any issues with lag, or say if you accidentally brush against it can you cause it to suddenly jump? is there a way to lock it out?

 

[TSAVJason]

McIntosh Announced the MHA50 begins shipping to dealers as of TODAY!!

 

[John Blackshear]

McIntosh Announced the MHA50 begins shipping to dealers as of TODAY!!

Finally! But, I already bought the iFi Black Label. Let me know, once you are able to give it a spin, about its sound.

 

[TSAVJason]

Finally! But, I already bought the iFi Black Label. Let me know, once you are able to give it a spin, about its sound.

It’s sound is great! We’ve had a production unit for months

 

[fuzzychaos]

Seems like a lot of plastic (the blue looks cheap) for an item that retails for $700 (the Chord Mojo is aircraft grade aluminum for example). I had the opportunity to see one a while ago at Hanson's in Cinci and was not at all impressed by the feel. I would like more time with it to judge the sound.

 

[ScuderiaHeadFi]

Wow... what a wait! Super eager for for test and review comments to start rolling in...

Although apparently the troll comments are already on their way

 

[lionstan]

TSAVJason: Any idea when they will arrive? Before or after the holidays?

 

[fuzzychaos]

Wow... what a wait! Super eager for for test and review comments to start rolling in...

Although apparently the troll comments are already on their way

Maybe I’m being sensitive here or reading into this, but are you calling me a troll? A $700 item with cheap blue plastic? That’s not trolling my friend, that’s disappointment. I love McIntosh stuff and currently have an MA5200 in my home system. I believe many reviews will think the blue plastic looks and feels cheap (I have had hands on experience) as well.

 

[TSAVJason]

TSAVJason: Any idea when they will arrive? Before or after the holidays?

It takes 5 - 7 days shipping but it’s the holidays so it’s close

 

[jwbrent]

Does anyone know which DAC the MHA50 uses? Also, what is the case made from?

This looks very interesting to me ...

 

[TSAVAlan]

Does anyone know which DAC the MHA50 uses? Also, what is the case made from?

This looks very interesting to me ...

Hey John!

We were told it was a chocolate chip, getting upgraded soon to a croissant chip!

In all seriousness though, we called up McIntosh and they are calling up their engineers to find out. It is indeed an ESS Sabre chip, the specific chip model eludes us.

Also the case is made from a extruded aluminum if I heard right. Holding our unit, it is nice and cool to the touch and has a nice feel to it.

 

[TSAVJason]

McIntosh only uses either the 8 channel or the 2 channel ES Sabre DAC. So it is the 2 channel DAC used in all McIntosh digital products. They have not confirmed which of the 3 series is being used of the Sabre DACs. The engineering department hasn’t responded to the question yet but we did reach out to get the answer

 

[jwbrent]

Hey John!

We were told it was a chocolate chip, getting upgraded soon to a croissant chip!

In all seriousness though, we called up McIntosh and they are calling up their engineers to find out. It is indeed an ESS Sabre chip, the specific chip model eludes us.

Also the case is made from a extruded aluminum if I heard right. Holding our unit, it is nice and cool to the touch and has a nice feel to it.

McIntosh only uses either the 8 channel or the 2 channel ES Sabre DAC. So it is the 2 channel DAC used in all McIntosh digital products. They have not confirmed which of the 3 series is being used of the Sabre DACs. The engineering department hasn’t responded to the question yet but we did reach out to get the answer

Thanks, guys, for the update. Hopefully the MHA50 uses the latest generation of ESS DACs, but since this unit was delayed for so long, my bet is it uses the 9018 series. As to whether the new series sounds better or not, I have no idea.

Glad to hear about the metal casing. A member here who saw the MHA50 in person commented the blue plastic looked cheap ... would you agree? I don’t mind the plastic if it is a good grade.

The 200mW spec does not indicate into what load, I presume 32 ohms. When you talk to the factory guys, could you confirm this? The MHA50 is listed as being compatible with 600 ohm headphones, but if my presumption is correct, I would question whether there will be enough oomph for the job.

 

[TSAVJason]

The features on the newest ES Sabre are not something McIntosh uses. I don’t think you’ll see a change until it’s a sonic improvement over a feature improvement.

The extruded Aluminum body looks great. The cosmetics over all are good but I agree the 2 plastic end caps are less than what you’d expect from McIntosh. The reviewers and I agree that had the end caps been made of aluminum and precision fit like normal McIntosh products it would be significantly more impressive. It sounds great, it works great but that little bit of untidiness is a bummer.

Customer service doesn’t know but I recall when they gave me a sample a year ago it was at 32ohms. I can drive any of my personal HP inventory with it which range from the Z1R to the Utopia with the Clear and Ether2 in between. So power wise it does very well.