CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — McIntosh MCD12000

The MCD12000 is a McIntosh SACD/CD player that doubles as a reference-level DAC for outside digital sources, and it uses Hybrid Drive technology, which pairs a vacuum tube output stage with a solid-state one inside the same chassis. The player carries Roon Tested certification and is covered by a 3-year limited warranty.

Key specs that matter

Two ESS SABRE PRO ES9038PRO 32-bit, 8-channel converters are fitted, one per channel, each set up in Octal-Balanced Mono mode using the HyperStream II architecture plus Time Domain Jitter Eliminator circuitry. The USB port handles PCM signals as high as 32-bit/384kHz, DSD64 through DSD512 and DXD at 352.8kHz and 384kHz, while coaxial and optical inputs stop at 24-bit/192kHz. Seven digital inputs are provided - two coaxial, two optical, one USB Type B, one AES/EBU and one MCT connection for McIntosh transports. Frequency response runs from 4Hz to 20kHz within 0.5dB for CD and from 4Hz to 40kHz at plus 0.5dB and minus 2dB for SACD. Fixed analogue output is 4.0V rms balanced and 2.0V rms unbalanced from 600 ohms, signal-to-noise ratio is 110dB A-weighted, dynamic range is better than 100dB, THD is 0.003% at 1kHz, and channel separation exceeds 98dB.

Engineering and use context

The tube stage uses one 12AT7 and one 12AX7A per channel, and the solid-state stage relies on a discrete balanced op-amp, with separate XLR and RCA sockets for each version. Digital and analogue circuits draw on separate supplies built around an R-Core power transformer. A twin-beam laser pickup works at 650nm for SACD and 790nm for CD, and the die-cast aluminium tray with a digital servo reads data at twice normal speed for tracking and error correction. Discs may hold AAC, AIFF, ALAC, DSD up to DSD128, FLAC, MP3, WAV and WMA files, and CD-R/RW and DVD-R media are accepted. Coaxial and optical digital outputs are also present. The chassis combines a polished stainless steel base and a black titanium top, measures 44.45 x 19.4 x 48.3 cm and weighs 14.7 kg.

Pairing

Output is fixed, so level control has to be set further down the chain, and no headphone socket is built in. A pair of 60dB output meters shows the level of each channel, a remote control is supplied, and Power Control and data ports tie the player into other McIntosh components.

Alternatives

The McIntosh MCD85 is a smaller SACD/CD model in the McIntosh range, fitted with a quad balanced 32-bit converter and a 9.3 kg chassis.