Floorstanding loudspeakers — McIntosh XR100

The XR100 is a floorstanding loudspeaker from McIntosh, built as a ported four-way design with fifteen drivers in a slim column. The front panel carries a McIntosh logo that lights up when the speaker is connected to McIntosh components. Cabinets come in gloss Black or Red Walnut wood finishes, and a black knit cloth grille attaches with magnets.

Key specs that matter

Four 6 inch woofers use cast frames and poly cones with the patented LD/HP technology. Above them, eight 2 inch inverted titanium dome midranges cover 300 Hz to 2 kHz, two further inverted titanium domes act as midrange-tweeters from 2 kHz to 8 kHz, and a 3/4 inch titanium dome tweeter handles the top band. Frequency response is 30 Hz to 45 kHz, nominal impedance is 8 ohm, and sensitivity is 87 dB SPL at 2.83 V and 1 m. McIntosh rates the speaker for amplifiers from 75 W to 600 W. The column is 20.3 cm wide, 129.5 cm tall and 46.9 cm deep including connectors, and each speaker weighs 31.1 kg.

Engineering and use context

Spreading the midrange across eight small domes lets each unit move very little air on its own, and the combined radiating area rises with the driver count rather than cone size. Splitting the upper midrange onto dedicated midrange-tweeters means the main tweeter only covers the highest octaves. The narrow baffle takes up little floor area, and McIntosh supplies both spikes and furniture glide feet so the speaker can stand on carpet or hard floors. Two sets of patented Solid Cinch binding posts, gold-plated against corrosion, make bi-wiring possible, with one cable pair feeding the bass section and another the midrange and treble drivers. The port lets the woofers extend lower than a sealed enclosure of the same volume would permit.

Pairing

The moderate sensitivity and stable load favour solid-state McIntosh power amplifiers or integrated models with generous output, and the speaker also works with valve units at the upper end of the rated range. Using a McIntosh amplifier enables the illuminated front logo. Bi-wiring through the dual terminals is an option for owners with suitable cables. In a room of around 20 m2 the four woofers give full-range reproduction without a separate subwoofer.

Alternatives

McIntosh also makes the XRT1.1K, a larger floorstanding loudspeaker in its XRT line.