McIntosh MHA200 Impressions

There's nothing wrong with the volume control. If one expects to be able to lean their body weight on a knob while they rotate it then they are going to have a considerably bad time with the MHA200 volume control. If one is capable of touching a system interface with a normal amount of force like a reasonable person then there is nothing wrong with the MHA200 volume control. It's a knob, not a toggle switch.

 

It seems to have some kind of a exaponential ramp up, leaving little space to fine tune the volume especially with more sensitive headphones.

 

The MHA200 is probably not your amp. It's not bloomy or phat in the least.

 

I think saying the McIntosh MHA200 volume knob is fine is a grossly misleading. It is by far the worst feeling knob I have ever felt, with thin cheap plastic and a terrible feeling knob feel/turn. It has a notch at the 12 o'clock (apparently to be able to be used with other McIntosh gear?), but pretty much all volume below that is pretty quite, then you only have a small usable range of around 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock.

 

Let me just take a step back here - I'm looking for HD800S synergy: to me this means tempering it's brightness and having a powerful driver control. I find bloom and phatness typically help, but so does high impedance output and perhaps the MHA200 with it's impedance matching can make the 800S pleasant sounding without the bloom/phatness in the traditional sense.

I think I will might go listen to this combination later today just to satisfy my curiosity of hearing a Mcintosh

 

First impressions:

- Loose and wobbly pot is a thing. Functionally fine. But… sheesh.
-I stay at low volume and do not use with a preamp, so I can’t relate to the non-linearities I keep reading about in volume control.
- impedance selection is cool. Very cool. For those of us with many cans, yeah, it makes a difference.
- Very MJ2 in terms of not being overtly tubey. Very, very nice blackground
- Focal Utopia 22 synergy is better than I read in this thread - more towards clinical enjoyment than punchy fun, but synergy for sure.

Will keep listening…

Edit: Freya+ to the rescue. Now pre-amping with this thing at 12. Pot is really annoying. Plus we like differential buffer (no tubes, those are for the big woofers…)

 

Most folks tend to agree that McIntosh has a very specific house sound - fast, non-fatiguing, impressive mid-range, clinical, … etc. It’s also the butt of jokes ($1500 light box?) and often criticized for its aesthetic choices (Green! Blue VU Meters! Chrome!).

I could not resist trying some of their stuff. To my surprise, it seems the MHA150 has been discontinued - a shame, as many-a-folk have called it the best SS headphone amp they’ve heard. The MHA150 was more of an integrated system, it came with a DAC, served as a beefy preamp, had VU meters, and no XLR output, for an eye-watering price of $5k.

The MHA200 is only half of its predecessor’s price. It does not have VU meters. No DAC. No pre-outputs. But it does have balanced in/out and four tubes and three transformers. A bold choice, consistent with what the brand has been doing lately. It’s also rather small. Here is the stock picture:



I’ve been playing with it for a few weeks, and I have some impressions and comparisons to share:

Aesthetics: Do you care? If you like vintage designs like the MC275 you’re enjoying the pic. Green LEDs under the tubes.
Build: There is a cage you screw in to protect the tubes. A CAGE. TO SCREW. Those of us with small children appreciate it. The volume knob is super flimsy, and it has a stop at noon, presumably to give you a reference point if you are driving this thing with a preamp. I could see folks really hating it. Octal power cable. Pfft.
Features: Balanced in, balanced out (including the left/right XLRs, think MJ1). Thank you. SE in, SE out as well. They all sound the same to me. Impedance knob - this one I like. The company claims to deliver the same power at all impedance levels. I just know I can switch cans and hit this thing and they sound fine.

My chain: Yggdrasil A2, Urd, Freya+ differential buffer (no tubes).
Cans: HD600, HD660S2, Stealth, Utopia’22, PS500e, GS1000e.
Compared to: Folkvangr, Jot2, MJ2 with my preferred tubes.

MHA200 is very close in character to MJ2, with some noticeable differences: Blackground is a lot better in the MH200. Bass is a little faster and leaner, mids are pretty competitive, highs are a little clearer. Jot2 is a little darker and slammier. Folkvangr slams and does a lot of fun things the MHA200 does not.

I found the Utopia’22 synergize very, very well with the MHA200 - perhaps the best pairing I’ve heard. I think the Grados peak with the Folkvangr and did fine here. The amp otherwise got out of the way with the rest of my cans.

The MHA200 sounds to me like a more clinical presentation of the music, managing to both be non-fatiguing and engaging. It does best with classical and jazz - pop I think is best experienced with more opinionated gear anyway. From memory, and I do not intend to start a flame war, it has everything that wowed me when I heard an EC Studio B, but not as sterile. There is a fun factor here for sure, and it’s not coming out of precision.

I remain a bit surprised about the relative anonymity of the piece - seems few (non-influencer) folks bothered to try it when it came out. This could be an award-winning thing… if only the judges knew about it.