• CD Player Section

• AUX Section

  • AUX H 1V (at 3V input)

  • AUX L 2V (at 3V input)

• AM Tuner Section

• FM Tuner Section

• Audio

  • Bass Boost/Cut (50Hz) +/-12 dB

  • Treble Boost/Cut (10Hz) +/-12 dB

  • Line Output 3V

  • Line Output (Non Clipping) 8V

  • Digital Input

  • Sampling Frequency: 44.1kHz

  • Format: Digital Audio Interface (EIAJ CP-1201)

• General

One look at the unit and you know it’s a McIntosh…looks just like every other product McIntosh makes. The laid back, chrome trimmed appearance makes it somewhat hard to integrate with most of today’s monotoned dash schemes which, on the other hand makes it stand out (invest in a very good alarm system in other words). It does integrate well with some of the rather expensive European imports such as the SLK with its retro interior, the Jaguar XK8s and XKRs as well as some of the new Porsche 911s with the aluminum interior trim. Some may like it, some may not, but that really doesn’t matter—it has nothing to do with the sound anyway. The upside to all this though is that one listen to the unit and you know it’s a McIntosh. One of the quietest units I’ve come across (although our boy Peter Lufrano says the new Nakamichis will give it a run for its money). The unit was designed to reproduce music…and accurate reproduction is what it does best…it doesn’t add anything to the music, nor does it take anything away.

The MX406 seems to revel in simplicity. (So much so that I have one BIG complaint…but let’s reserve that for later). From the analog controls (yes, analog) which also happen to be knobs, to the simple symmetrical (almost) layout of controls and of the display, to the (overly) limited functions available, the unit doesn’t do much, but the little that it does, it does very, very well. The face of the unit is made of the same material as its home audio counterparts: black backed glass. The only thing missing is the green glow of the McIntosh logo on power up (in this case, it’s just gold whether on or off). The layout is pretty simple: two concentric knobs on either side(the left knobs control power, volume, balance and fader while the right ones allow you to select the station as well as to select the source), two smaller round buttons, each inward of either knob (autostore and repeat, band selection) and a row of six buttons (station selection) each with an indicator light on top. On top of that is the fluorescent display (which matches the dash lights of my Expedition, thank you very much!) Another two buttons can be found each on top of either knob (the bass and treble knob on the left and the eject button on the right). A slot for the cd on top of the display completes the clutter free face of this head unit.

The display works well both in the daytime as well as the nighttime. As mentioned earlier, McIntosh opted to put very few buttons and knobs on the face panel. Some companies that do this compromise by requiring you to commit to memory pages upon pages of button combinations in order to access the tons of functions made available by the unit. McIntosh on the other hand chose the opposite route…few buttons mean fewer things to control. That’s not really a bad thing. You can control all (well almost..again, more on that later) of the basic functions like volume, fader, bass, treble, track skip, station select (even autostore!) and all that…it just doesn’t have functions like digital time alignment, jazz club, concert hall, stadium and disco simulation, garage door opening nor an eject button for rear seat passengers who complain that there isn’t enough treble in the rear (although that IS a good idea, the passenger eject button).

The unit’s built in D/A converter (a nice 20 bit job) accepts external signals from an outboard transport. This allows you to use an MCD4000’s (or any of McIntosh’s other changers equipped with digital outputs) digital output to take advantage of the better D/A converter of the MX406.

The line outs come in wired gold plated RCA jacks. Rubber grommets protect the wires that run out of the chassis. I guess they used this instead of the regular mounted RCA terminals as the unit is rather deep and by doing this, the need for more space to the rear of the unit is mitigated.

The MX406 comes with a 40+ page manual in A4 size pages. Lots of useful information and has the answers to most of the questions you may have. An added bonus is the tasteful cover…thick stock, dark blue with gold embossed lettering.

Radio performance:

I hardly listen to the radio while on the road but in my limited experience with its FM functions, it ain’t too shabby. I did notice though that it seemed to pull in more stations clearly than the stock head unit or my previous head units (a lower model McIntosh and several Alpines).

CD Performance:

In one word…EXCELLENT! Although part of the credit must go to the amps, speakers and EQs, the unit delivers impeccable detail and clarity. The chassis is adequately shielded to reject noise. With the proper installation, it’s just about impervious to skipping unless you are into the habit of trying to wreck your vehicle’s suspension. The only time I notice skipping is when I hit a pothole large enough and hard enough to make me wince at the thought of what it did to my car. The ability to allow a changer to use the unit’s internal D/A is great, although you can also go for an external D/A for the MX406 as well. No complaints in this department.

Pros:

• • Excellent the CD section.

  • Crystal clear sound.

  • Turn it on…no hiss. Play digital black (zero sound recording)…again, no hiss, even at full volume…Amazing!

  • Doesn’t normally skip.

  • 20 bit DAC. (Acts as an external DAC for the changer)

  • 4-Volt 4-channel Line Level Output

  • Knobs!!!

  • Unique styling.

Cons:

• • Here’s my biggest complaint by far: YOU CANNOT NAVIGATE *WITHIN* TRACKS!!! No forward, no rewind. Nothing. What if I wanted to skip the intro, huh??? What if I wanted to go back 2 seconds and I’m nearing the end of a 10 minute track, HUH??? Now, how hard was that to design in??? What the hell is wrong with you people??? OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS TO LEAVE OUT!!! (there, there now…)

  • No remote

  • Cannot remove faceplate

  • Permanent installation requires expensive alarm system (otherwise, it won’t be there too permanently)

• • The clock only works when the unit is on.

Di cosa si tratta: Audio control per auto

Produttore: McIntosh Usa

Prezzo da nuovo: 2340  € anno 2006

McIntosh Laboratory fu fondata nel 1949 da Frank H. McIntosh e Gordon Gow a Silver Spring, nel Maryland, e nel 1951 si trasferì a Binghamton, nello stato di New York, dove ha tuttora sede. Dal novembre 2024 il McIntosh Group, che comprende anche Sonus faber, appartiene all'americana Bose, che ha dichiarato di voler mantenere i due marchi concentrati su amplificatori, diffusori e giradischi.
La storia di McIntosh inizia con il circuito Unity Coupled, brevettato agli esordi dell'azienda e alla base del primo amplificatore, il 50W-1: una particolare configurazione del trasformatore d'uscita che riduceva la distorsione rispetto agli amplificatori dell'epoca e che è ancora oggi impiegata nei finali a valvole come l'MC275. Il design è inconfondibile: frontali in vetro nero, adottati dagli anni Sessanta, e i caratteristici VU meter illuminati di blu, presenti dalla metà degli anni Settanta. I trasformatori vengono ancora avvolti a mano all'interno dell'azienda.
Tra le soluzioni tecniche distintive ci sono gli Autoformer, gli autotrasformatori d'uscita impiegati in molti finali e integrati a stato solido, che permettono di erogare la piena potenza nominale su carichi da 2, 4 e 8 ohm; il Power Guard, circuito brevettato che confronta il segnale d'ingresso con quello d'uscita e limita il clipping; il Sentry Monitor, protezione senza fusibili che scollega lo stadio finale quando la corrente supera i limiti di sicurezza e ripristina automaticamente il funzionamento.
La gamma copre l'intera catena. Tra gli integrati ci sono l'MA252, primo integrato ibrido del marchio, con preamplificatore a valvole 12AX7 e 12AT7, finale a transistor da 100 watt su 8 ohm e uscita cuffie, e l'MA12000, ibrido da 350 watt per canale, oltre agli integrati a stato solido MA5300, MA7200, MA8950 e MA9500 e al valvolare MA2375. Il finale a valvole MC275 VI eroga 75 watt per canale con valvole KT88, oppure 150 watt in configurazione mono; i finali a stato solido vanno dall'MC152 al monofonico MC2.1KW da 2.000 watt. Completano la proposta i preamplificatori C22 MKV, C49, C55, C2800 e C12000, i lettori MCD85, MCD350, MCD600 e MCD12000, lo streamer DS200, l'amplificatore per cuffia MHA200, i giradischi MT2, MT5 e MT10 e i diffusori XR100, XRT1.1K, XRT2.1K e ML1 MK II.
La ML1 MK II riprende la ML1 progettata intorno al 1970 da Roger Russell: stesso mobile chiuso e stesse dimensioni, ma cinque altoparlanti invece di quattro, con un woofer da 12 pollici. Il giradischi MT5 usa un cuscinetto a sospensione magnetica, con contatto minimo tra le parti.
Chi cerca un solo apparecchio, con preamplificazione a valvole e gestione semplice, trova nell'MA252 il punto d'ingresso più naturale; con diffusori impegnativi o ambienti grandi gli integrati con Autoformer come l'MA8950, da 200 watt, o l'MA9500, da 300 watt, garantiscono la piena potenza su 2, 4 e 8 ohm. Chi preferisce la catena a componenti separati può abbinare un preamplificatore della serie C a un MC275 VI, ideale con diffusori di buona sensibilità, oppure a un finale a stato solido quando serve più potenza.
Nel nostro showroom di Carpi puoi ascoltare gli apparecchi McIntosh in sala d'ascolto, confrontarli con i tuoi diffusori e ricevere consulenza sull'abbinamento. Gli stessi modelli si possono ordinare online su audiocostruzioni.com con spedizione, chiedendoci prima un consiglio via email se serve.