McIntosh
It should come as no surprisal that when McIntosh loose a fresh product , there are already tons of far less expensive devices that do more or less the same thing . But it ’s also the case that when McIntosh release a unexampled product , it ’s designed and organize to the kind of specifications and tolerance that have earned the American hi - fi brand such a loyal following among die - hard audiophiles . Such is the eccentric with the troupe ’s recent gadget , the MB25,a $ 600 Bluetooth transceiver(a transmitter and a receiver in one twist ) that can connect to a huge array of hi - fi components .
What sets the MB25 asunder from the mass of $ 60 to $ 100 Bluetooth transceivers on Amazon is its comprehensive curing of connections . Whether you ’re sending audio to the MB25 over Bluetooth , or receiving audio via Bluetooth from the machine , you escape those connections over analog mad stereo RCA , balanced stereo XLR , or two flavors of digital : optical and coaxial .
McIntosh
This musical arrangement gives you fortune of alternative over how incoming Bluetooth signal are sent to the rest of your apparatus . If you have an existingdigital - to - analog converter(DAC ) that you love , habituate one of the MB25 ’s digital outputs . If you favour to use the MB25 ’s build up - in DAC , you may switch to one of the analog outputs . All four yield are active when the MB25 is in receive mode , so theoretically , you could use them all and flip-flop between them using your other paraphernalia .
When transmitting , you ’ll involve to take which connection is to be used , which is done via the front dialog box ’s input clitoris . That methamphetamine hydrochloride front gore ( the big change from the McIntosh MB20 transceiver ) is also where you ’ll get a visual confirmation of theBluetooth codecbeing used ( the MB25 support SBC , AAC , aptX , aptX HD , and aptX LL ) , as well as the sample pace of your digital music if you ’re using ocular or coax as your comment .
Unfortunately , the MB25 ca n’t channel and encounter Bluetooth at the same time — you choose which mode you desire using a switch on the rear panel — and you ’ll also involve to pick out between standard Bluetooth codecs ( SBC , AAC , aptX , aptX HD ) and aptX LL ( low reaction time ) , again with a switch on the back .
An integrated office gun trigger interface lease the MB25 receive power on / off commands from any compatible McIntosh component .
The MB25 can handle digital stimulant up to 24 - bit/192kHz and will outputhi - rhenium audioat 24 - bit/96kHz , however , you may never get to realise the full benefit of these spec . AptX HD — the mellow - quality Bluetooth codec supported by the transceiver — always operates at a lossy 24 - bit/48kHz . We ’re a bit surprised at the absence seizure ofSony ’s LDAC codec , which can brook up to 24 - bit/96kHz when Bluetooth conditions are optimal .
I ’m also a mo surprised that , considering the Mary Leontyne Price , that McIntosh does n’t let in a remote for shift inputs , or at the very least , an built - in infrared receiving system for use with universal remotes . Perhaps that will be tot up on the MB30 .
