Floorstanding loudspeakers — McIntosh XRT2.1K

The XRT2.1K is the bigger of the two current line-array floorstanders from McIntosh Laboratory, drawing on more than 45 years of speaker development at the company. It is a ported four-way full-range design. The smaller XRT1.1K reuses its driver designs in a shorter and lighter cabinet. The only finish offered is Piano Black. The current McIntosh speaker catalogue also includes the XR100 tower and the XCS1.5K centre channel.

Key specs that matter

Every cabinet carries 81 drivers. Six 8 inch woofers and two 6.5 inch low-frequency midranges use stiff, light long-throw diaphragms of Nanocarbon Fiber over a Nomex honeycomb, and the woofers were developed specifically for this model. Above them work 28 upper midranges of 2 inch diameter and 45 tweeters of 3/4 inch, all with aluminium-magnesium domes driven by neodymium magnets. Crossover points sit at 150 Hz, 450 Hz and 2.1 kHz. McIntosh gives a response of 12 Hz to 45 kHz, 90 dB at 2.8 V and 1 m, a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and a power rating of 2,000 W. Width is 57.66 cm, height with feet 211.2 cm and depth 65.6 cm, and the net weight of 160.2 kg grows to 212.2 kg in the shipping crate.

Engineering and use context

By spreading output along a tall column of small drivers, the array keeps level fairly constant at different distances from the speaker, so a close seat is not much louder than a far one, while left and right separation is kept. The array hangs above the reinforced bass cabinet on steel spiders, whose mounting points are hidden by magnetic caps styled like McIntosh knobs. That cabinet combines brushed and black aluminium with seven layers of high-gloss black paint, and the array section has a glossy black centre with silver aluminium end caps. The crossover is built from low-loss capacitors and high-current inductors chosen to stay linear at high power. A machined aluminium and glass pedestal with four adjustable feet supports the whole assembly, the removable black knit grille fixes with magnets, and the base-plate logo glows green under Power Control. Coverage is a five-year limited warranty.

Pairing

Three pairs of gold-plated Solid Cinch binding posts, one each for the subwoofer band, the low band and the mid/high section, permit tri-wiring from one amplifier or tri-amping with separate McIntosh amplifiers for each band.

Alternatives

The McIntosh XRT1.1K is the smaller line-array tower, using 70 drivers per side, a 1,200 W rating and a height of 179.6 cm.