We are very excited to show you our new arrivals from McIntosh Laboratory, Inc, who we started our Hi-Fi journey with in the summer of 2021 and we have enjoyed listening to quite a few of their products since then.

The three new arrivals are the C8 2-Channel Vacuum Tube Preamplifier, the MC830 1-Channel (Mono block) Solid State Amplifier and the MCD85 2-Channel SACD/CD Player.

C8 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier - The Control Centre

The very stylish and compact C8 pre amplifier stands out with the iconic McIntosh green glow of the four 12AX7a valves, sitting inside their gorgeous looking cages.

McIntosh C8 Vacuum Tube Pre Amplifier - Polished to a mirror finish

To connect your equipment there are two sets of phono sockets, one set of balanced XLR plus an MM and MC phono stage if you wish to connect a turntable. McIntosh's optional DA2 Digital Audio Module is available as an upgrade and this ads digital inputs like optical, coax, 1 USB-B and HDMI (ARC).

On the front panel you find a headphone socket and McIntosh's built in High Drive Headphone Amplifier makes sure that you can enjoy your music at every time of the day.

Tone controls like bass, treble and balance are available from the front panel buttons or via the remote control. For the purest experience you can choose tone control bypass.

MC830 Solid State Mono Block - The Power House

The MC830 is a 1-channel amplifier , also known as mono block or mono amplifier, is a true power house that matches the open chassis design of the C8 pre amplifier. The output is a hefty 300W into 8Ohm and it will get warm but the two massive heatsinks will deal with it, so don’t worry.

Balanced and unbalanced inputs and gold-plated solid cinch speaker binding posts

For more piece of mind - Power Guard and Sentry Monitor

The patented Power Guard® technology monitors the amplifier's output signal to protect the speakers against being over driven; if necessary, it makes real time micro adjustments to the input signal to prevent clipping that could damage your speakers.

Another level of protection is Sentry Monitor™, the fuse-less short-circuit protection circuit that will disengage the MC830's output stage before current exceeds safe operating levels, and then will reset automatically when operating conditions return to normal.

MCD85 2-Channel SACD/CD Player and Digital Hub

The MCD85 is multi-talented. Not only does it play CDs and SACDs, it also offers 5 digital inputs. Two optical, two coaxial and one USB-B input allow music playback higher than CD quality via a pc or digital music servers like the ones from Innuos.

Balanced and unbalanced outputs are standard

Sound Quality

Incredible is how we would describe it in one word, but that wouldn’t be enough to point out how good it sounds. We connected the system to our pair of Sonus Faber Lumina 3 and started with ‘No Love Dying’ from Gregory Porter’s album ‘Liquid Spirit’ and it is the warmth and richness we feel, while the image of Gregory’s big voice is placed right in the middle between the speakers.

We change from Gregory Porter to Muse. The track ‘Uprising’ from the album ‘The Resistance’ is different, louder and a good test to hear how it deals with busier tracks. The instruments are well separated from the vocals and that doesn’t change when we turn up the volume. Everything sounds well organized and makes you want to listen to more music.

We play a SACD and we choose two tracks, ‘LINE ‘EM UP’, sung by James Taylor and ‘GRATITUDE’ by Earth, Wind and Fire. We are blown away and we think that you will be too.

This system sounds fantastic and we feel privileged that this McIntosh equipment is here in our store for our customers to listen to.

We hope that you have enjoyed this blog. All mentioned products are available to listen to at Audio T Swindon and if you are interested in an McIntosh product that isn’t mentioned in this blog, please give us a call on 01793 538222 or send us an email to swindon@audio-t.co.uk.

Thanks for reading - Stefan & Andy - Audio T Swindon

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on Facebook to keep an eye on what’s happening in store.

McIntosh products can be found at Audio T Swindon with more stores set to take on the brand.