CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — McIntosh MCD85

The MCD85 is a McIntosh SACD/CD player with its own DAC section and digital inputs, so it also serves computer and streaming sources. It was introduced at a US price of USD 4,500 and uses an open chassis design, and the maker now classes the model as retired.

Key specs that matter

The MCD85 relies on an 8-channel, 32-bit PCM/DSD Quad Balanced DAC, with four of its channels assigned to each side of the stereo signal. The USB Type B input accepts DSD256 and DXD at 384kHz, while a pair of coaxial inputs at 75 ohms and 0.5V p-p and a pair of optical inputs rated at -15 to -21 dBm take PCM up to 192kHz at 16 or 24 bits. Frequency response is 20Hz to 20kHz within 0.5dB. Fixed output is 4.0V rms from one balanced XLR pair and 2.0V rms from one unbalanced RCA pair, both at an output impedance of 100 ohms. McIntosh rates signal-to-noise ratio at better than 100dB A-weighted, dynamic range at better than 96dB, THD at 0.02% at 1kHz and channel separation at better than 85dB at 1kHz.

Engineering and use context

The transport reads discs at 2x speed, holding the data in buffer memory for improved error correction and tracking. Its twin laser optical pickup uses a single objective lens with two laser units at different wavelengths, 650nm for SACD and 790nm for CD. The disc tray is die-cast, with a custom beveled front nose, and data discs burned at home on CD or DVD media play alongside store-bought SACDs and CDs. Supported media are SACD, CD, CD-R/RW plus DVD-R, while data discs may carry AAC, AIFF, ALAC, DSD up to DSD128, FLAC, MP3, WAV and WMA files. The front panel is black glass with direct LED backlighting, silver trim, an illuminated logo and rotary control knobs. The unit is 30.9 cm wide, 19.7 cm high and 41.3 cm deep and weighs 9.3 kg, with a shipping weight of 12.5 kg. In standby the player uses less than 0.5 watt of power and the laser is classified CLASS IIa/CLASS I.

Pairing

Both analogue outputs are fixed level, so a preamplifier or integrated amplifier with volume control is needed after the player. For system use the rear panel carries one Power Control input and output, one data input and one IR sensor input, which let the MCD85 be switched and controlled together with other McIntosh equipment.

Alternatives

The McIntosh MCD12000 is a SACD/CD player of the brand with two ES9038PRO converters, tube and solid-state output stages and USB support up to DSD512.