McIntosh Asynchronous USB Update

Windows machines will need to load the McIntosh USB 2.0, Audio Class 2 driver on the music serving computer.Music host computers will need to be able to support USB 2.0. Broadly, most computers past 2010 will have this ability running Windows, Apple or Linux operating systems.

After these updates, Apple Computers are required to use OS X 10.6.4 or higher with USB 2.0 audio for High Resolution playback through the McIntosh C48/C50, USB Audio Digital engine.Windows playback computers are required to use XP-SP3 or higher AND have the McIntosh USB 2.0 Audio Driver installed on the music host computer.

One of our enterprising C50 owners ran his Apple Mac USB Prober program which showed the McIntosh USB was operating in USB Asynchronous:

Manufacturer String: 1 “McIntosh Laboratory”
Product String: 2 “McIntosh Labs USB Audio”
…snip…snip…snip…
Endpoint 0×05 – Isochronous Output
Address: 0×05 (OUT)
Attributes: 0×05 (Isochronous asynchronous data endpoint)
Max Packet Size: 294
Polling Interval: 1 ms

This is great news! In our experience the true Asynchronous USB interfaces produce the best USB sound quality.

UsaBeesa-Whatsa Anynchrowat? If you wish to learn geekazoid facts about why USB Asynchronous sounds great, see our boring geekazine article at http://www.pearlaudiovideo.com/blog/usb-asychronous-vs-usb-adaptive/!

Cheers!
John.

For theater, the new MX-151 supports standard Dolby Pro Logic IIx, DTS Neo:6, and the newest Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master formats. The later are particularly important for Blu-Ray and high performance hard disk based videos. Also on the digital front, the MX-151 is upgradeable over Ethernet or USB and can be managed by onscreen menus, or from your laptop computer via a new web page interface. The MX-151 can also play TWO separate video sources in TWO separate zones. This would allow you to watch Cable TV in the family room while another person watches a computer hard drive movie in the living room. You share the same sources on two different tv’s.

For traditional stereo music lovers, the MX-151′s analog two channel stereo mode is particularly important in that it allows you to use your processor as a high performance McIntosh two channel preamplifier. In this mode, it shuts off the high speed chips needed for digital and video processing, reducing electrical noise and allowing an extra-quiet electrical environment for maximum (aka extra-quiet!) analog two channel performance. As always with McIntosh processors, the high performance volume control and switching circuits are the same as McIntosh’s high performance two channel preamplifiers. Included are two sets of balanced inputs with balanced outputs for excellent low level signal transmission and noise rejection.

Perfect for a system that needs to play theater, but still serves as a high performance stereo!

The McIntosh MX-151 is designed to serve as a high quality central audio video control point within a performance theater environment.  The new MX-151 features HD digital audio decoding, HDMI video switching and a new Pass Through for 3D video sources.  To make the theater experience more immersive, the MX-151 has advanced RoomPerfect three dimensional room correction technology.  Using an included microphone, RoomPerfect will model your room using three dimensional spatial analysis, then set up your theater system to not only account for the sidewall placement (like traditional systems), but how high or low each speaker is on the wall or ceiling.  This is an enormous benefit as most real-world theaters to not allow for the reference mastering standard which is seven identical speakers, all placed at the same height.

McIntosh MX-151 Rear Panel

McIntosh MT-10 Turntable

For traditional stereo music lovers, the MX-151′s analog two channel stereo mode is particularly important in that it allows you to use your processor as a high performance McIntosh two channel preamplifier.   In this mode, it shuts off the high speed chips needed for digital and video processing, reducing electrical noise and allowing an extra-quiet electrical environment for maximum (aka extra-quiet!) analog two channel performance.  As always with McIntosh processors, the high performance volume control and switching circuits are the same as McIntosh’s high performance two channel preamplifiers. Included are two sets of balanced inputs with balanced outputs for excellent low level signal transmission and noise rejection.

Perfect for a system that needs to play theater, but still serves as a high performance stereo!

The new MX-151 is priced at $12,500.

“But here’s the skinny: no other speaker at this price will offer even remotely similar lifelike performance, and it should—no, will—scare the bejeezus out of most of its competitors. It’s no accident that Audio Research, which I also got to visit, has 3.7 loudspeakers as part of its reference system. So go ahead. Search for another loudspeaker. But I can only wish you good luck. I defy you to find one at up to five times the cost with the scale and realism of the 20.7.”

Here is a link to the full commentary:
AVGuide Magnepan 20.7 First Listen
And an additional from Jonathan Valin of The Absolute Sound
Magnepan 20.7 Loudspeaker

Have you ever wondered how a Magnepan Works?
See our Ming The Merciless Builds a Magnepan article.

Magnepan 20.7 Available Finishes:

Trim:
Wood Trim: Natural Oak, Black, Cherry
Aluminum Trim: Silver or Black

Cloth:
Off-White, black, dark gray.

The new Magnepan 20.7 is priced at $13,850 with $600 additional for Cherry Wood Trim.
As of this writing, April 2012, we are seeing a five month build time for a pair.

The Linn DSM, way special because it’s a performance one box solution that lets you iPad/iPhone play music files from your home network, has now added the last missing piece: HDMI inputs!

You know the Linn DSM (originally the DSI) has always been a bit of a conniption for me. I think the biggest connip occurred when we found that we could actually put a higher spec Linn MC equipped phono board in it. We found out the hard way – we bought a Clearaudio Concept MC turntable with the MC cartridge, then found, strangely, that we didn’t have a decent MC phono stage in the store! We had some cheapies, but to really get an MC to perform it needs to be QUIET and have some serious resolution. Most of the MC boards I’ve heard built into preamp or $300 outboards are simply not good enough for the $1000+ you just spent on an MC cartridge. You gotta get something great like the Ayre P-5xe or a godzilla preamp to really experience MC level performance.

Linn Majik DS-M

Fortunately, we remembered that we had an extra MC phono board that used to be for the (discontinued) Majik Kontrol, and that this board was actually a purchasable (about $650 bucks) addon for the one box LInn DS-M (previously called the DS-I). We installed, and walla, a beautiful one box, MC turntable compatible solution! It was a great match with the Clearaudio Concept MC, both aesthetically and performance-wise. It was quiet and just flat out beautiful sounding.

The option of a high grade MC phono board for my record player meant that a Linn DSM could actually work for me as a one box solution in my home system. You see I have an MC equipped Linn LP12, so either I have to use a high end external phono stage (which is what I do now), or a godzilla class preamp with a built in MC stage.

Linn LP12 turntable

This brought me back around to my interest in a possible one-box system at home. The trouble was, that I have all these digital sources around my main system. True my Linn DS standalone (and Ayre QB-9) work great as a sources, but the trouble is that I don’t have anything high quality with optical OR HDMI digital inputs. Of all the Linn products, the only thing that has optical inputs is the Linn DS-I, which has five. My big stereo actually sits next to my tv so I’m kind of at arms with the sad fact that I can’t play great sound out of my Apple TV, my Western Digital Live, or my XBox. I could get a multi-input dac, but now I’ve got THREE dac’s in my system and it’s just past the point of clutter for me. Ze five shelf audio rack is FULL and I don’t want to double stack anything! The last big thing about a one box solution would be that I could control it all from Kinsky on my computer/ipad/iphone. It would be nice also in that the Linn Kinsky software on the iPad/Mac/Iphone let’s you switch source, control volume, everything! So wouldn’t have to get into the nonsense of finding my remote control to control the preamp.

Linn Kinsky iPhone iPad

Well, with all that in mind, the last thing that the DSM seemed to be missing was an actual HDMI input. Let’s face it, the world has gone HDMI for all practical purposes. True you can get better performance using an secondary optical connection just for the sound, but for most my video oriented sources the low-clutter nature of HDMI is quite nice.

Shipping on April 16th, will be Linn’s answer to my Last DSM question! They are now going to include FOUR, count them FOUR HDMI digital inputs. They just call it the Linn DSM, but I’m going to call it the Linn DSM HDMI! This way people will know about the new greatness!

We don’t have a picture for you yet but Linn has told us that it will be a new Majik aesthetic which will have a metal faceplate instead of the plastic that is currently used. I have to wonder if it will match the aesthetic of the Akurate components. The new Linn DSM will have fifteen inputs: four analog (including phono), and eleven digital inputs of which four will be HDMI!

Please call us for pricing 503 222-2599.

The iPhone Airplay is IMPORTANT. It’s the greatest invention since, well, the iPhone!

I discovered this in my own space when I found that I would want to listen to my iPhone’s Pandora Radio, but couldn’t send it to Godzilla Stereo, my main rig. Instead, I ended up sending it to the silly airport express that was hooked up to KGM (Kitchen Greenie Meanie), my treasured ’07 Fall Collector Colors Tivoli Radio, (and overly protective Big Brother to Blue Betty), that we have on the kitchen bar counter. It’s connected up to an Airport Express and we stream music to it over our home network using iTunes/Airplay. It was absolutely absurd that that little radio was getting more playtime than Godzilla Stereo sitting a couple feet from it! The one attached to 3 TB of high quality DBPoweramp ripped music! Why? Well simply because I LOVED the random variety of Pandora Radio and the fact that it was on my iPhone, which sits next to me whilst I read ze latest zine!

Greenie Meanie, Blue Betty, Tuskadero & Boise Gone Bad

Vell, that’s all changed now, Greenie Meanie has been re-assigned and Godzilla Stereo (also Green & Mean) is playin the torch songs! This is all because of a FREE Linn Kinsky update that appeared out of the Scottish Ether and was downloaded (for free) into my Linn DS system. Now I can send Airplay right from my iPhone when I just want some random Pandora around z houzold!

In addition the new Airplay support includes direct support for your iTunes music. Previously the best solution to an iTunes/Linn household was to either replicate your library to store your Linn DS Music on a NAS hard drive and your iTunes on your home computer itself, or use Chorus DS with Amarra.iTunes. The latter was for some time our solution in the store since it was nice to have everything on an iMac so we could show people the comparative differences between our main USB Dacs (Ayre QB-9, Berkeley Alpha DAC 2, Peachtree iDAC), and the Linn DS players all using the same music. Now Linn has simplified things and gives us the whole Scottish enchilada in the Kinsky software.

The new iTunes Airplay feature provides a simple, instant way for Linn DS owners with a digitized music collection already in iTunes, whether on a Mac or PC, to enjoy higher quality through their Linn DS player.

Linn Kinsky on the iPhone

The new Linn Majik DS-M, the first of Linn’s new range of DSM Systems, has arrived at Pearl Audio.

Available at Klimax, Akurate and Majik level, DSM Systems make anything you listen to sound better.

Anything you listen to

From MP3 to Studio Master, from music to movies and games, everything sounds better with Linn and it’s easier than ever to enjoy great sound anywhere in your home.

There are options to connect your Blu-ray or DVD player, digital or satellite TV, so you’ll hear the difference Linn makes to your viewing pleasure.

 Anything you listen to on a PC or Mac can be enjoyed in higher quality through a DSM System. If you’re using a computer to listen to iTunes, MOG, iPlayer, YouTube, internet radio or streamed concerts, then you can send it over the network with Songcast and listen on your Linn.

Now imagine a friend comes to your home and wants to play their music collection from their mobile — they can, by sending music straight from their phone or tablet to a DSM System wirelessly.
Anywhere in your home

With Songcast able to share any audio anywhere, you can stream music, soundtracks and live concerts from one room to another, and enjoy great sound throughout your home.

Linn’s new DSM Systems are built for the whole household — you can have shared or separate music libraries and everyone can choose music using their preferred app, whether that’s iTunes or Linn’s own Kinsky app. Listen to different music in different rooms, or have the whole house dancing to the same beat.

Browse your music library using an iPad for the best experience, choosing albums by cover and creating playlists with your favourite songs or tracks. Get instant access to new music via internet radio and listen to any online music services on a music player which puts quality first.

With analogue and digital inputs, you can also connect any movie, games or audio source and make it sound incredible.

Any sources you connect to your DSM System via HDMI will sound better as they will benefit from the superior DAC and custom Linn up-sampling of the audio. Any video content on the HDMI signal will be passed through to the TV or output device connected via the HDMI out. Audio content will also be automatically passed through if the DSM is in Sleep mode.

With HDMI inputs, you can now play back SACD (Super Audio CD) and DVD-A (DVD Audio) discs by connecting the disc player to your DSM System. SACD content will be down-sampled to 176.4 K or 88.2 k and multi-channel audio down-mixed to stereo but this does allow high-quality playback of discs which cannot currently be ripped for streaming.

Signal paths have been reduced to a minimum by providing separate volume controls for analogue and digital sources. Analogue sources follow a pure analogue path through a conventional high-quality analogue volume control. Digital sources use a digital volume control that provides optimum performance over a wide range of volume settings thanks to its exceptionally low noise floor.

Akurate DSM excels with any digital music, reproducing your favorite albums with exceptional dynamic range and musical detail. Choose your preferred phone or tablet to control your music and select from high quality internet radio stations and the latest online music services.

Housed in a stunning precision-engineered enclosure, Akurate DSM brings a level of elegance to your living area that matches the audio performance. With enough analogue and digital inputs to connect any audio source, it will also bring your movies, tv and games to life like never before.

Any sources you connect to your DSM System via HDMI will sound better as they will benefit from the superior DAC and custom Linn up-sampling of the audio. Any video content on the HDMI signal will be passed through to the TV or output device connected via the HDMI out. Audio content will also be automatically passed through if the DSM is in Sleep mode.

With HDMI inputs, you can now play back SACD (Super Audio CD) and DVD-A (DVD Audio) discs by connecting the disc player to your DSM System. SACD content will be down-sampled to 176.4 K or 88.2 k and multi-channel audio down-mixed to stereo but this does allow high-quality playback of discs which cannot currently be ripped for streaming.

Signal paths have been reduced to a minimum by providing separate volume controls for analogue and digital sources. Analogue sources follow a pure analogue path through a conventional high-quality analogue volume control. Digital sources use a hybrid volume control that combines the best aspects of digital and analogue technology to maintain optimum performance even at low volume levels.