McIntosh makes the most gorgeous Bluetooth speaker I've ever seen

Date:
Thu, 22 Sep 2022 10:25:12 +0000

Description:
The McIntosh RS150 is a winsome wireless home speaker featuring support for Tidal HiFi Lossless playback (up to 1411 Kbps) and file streaming of up to 24-bit/192kHz music files. Oh, and that dial is just stunning.

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To covet both heritage, legacy sound and cutting-edge wireless technology is to navigate a complicated relationship, especially when it comes to Bluetooth speakers and one-box hi-fi system solutions see the Sonus Faber Omnia as proof that although rare, it has been achieved.

On the one hand, I want the easy access to hi-res digital file quality that's the hallmark of the best wireless speakers . On the other, I want heritage analog warmth and craftsmanship underpinning the ethos and, ideally, key parts of the aesthetic.

Knowing that since 1949,McIntoshLabshas powered some of the most pivotal events in American history (including the 1969 Woodstock Festival) and made some of the most gorgeous, monolithic rock amps I've known makes the Binghamton, New York audio specialist a brand I emphatically want in my life.

And so, the McIntoshRS150Wireless Loudspeakeris, for me, the perfect gateway drug, launched in February 2022.

For the relatively nominal fee of $1200 / 1,295 ( relatively , you understand
for reference, the firm's gorgeous little MHA200 valve headphone amp is
about the size of a stack of paperbacks and costs $2500 / 2795 / AU$4995) you can buy into McIntosh Labs' heritage and know that this one-box proposition will play your music with no other hi-fi separates required.

TheRS150is a truly wireless speaker that allows for built-in casting directly from Tidal, Apple AirPlay, Spotify and more. There's Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX HD and aptX Low Latency and it's Roon ready too aka, it can access and deliver the digital audio stream emanating fromyour Roon Core (which is
likely your NAS drive). Opinion: McIntosh makes mixing hi-fi principles and high-tech look easy McIntosh's RS150 would be welcomed into my kitchen with open arms (Image credit: McIntosh)

My heart beat faster to learn that the RS150 (which is also my initials, but that's an aside) is also compatible with lossless-quality playback of up to 1,411 kbps, and file streaming of 24-bit/192kHZ high-resolution music ie. true lossless, high-quality sound.

The crowning glory though is of course that iconic digital output meter
(known in the trade as theMcIntoshBlue Dial) which utilizes the same circuits found in McIntosh's heritage analog models to provide the most accurate indication of the speakers output.

To see that dial move as you crank the volume with those glorious rotary
knobs beats pushing buttons to see LED volume indicators on even the best party speakers , don't you agree?

And as with some of the best stereo speakers on the market, here you can remove the black knit cloth grille and see those drivers pulse. Forget fabric-jacketed little blobs from the likes of JBL, here you can gain full access to the RS150's 20mm Titanium dome fluid-filled tweeter and 5.25 x 6 inch long throw woofer, driven by a total of 120 watts of power (30 watts to the tweeter, 90 watts to woofer). And I'm all for that.

I really want to hear it, because I'm certain the category of best wireless speakers may have a new contender



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/mcintosh-makes-the-most-gorgeous-bluetooth-spea ker-ive-ever-seen/


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