McIntosh DS200

@mattsca I also dismissed this DS200 as soon as I saw they don’t have any digital output. I was hoping McIntosh would release a Streamer (either with built in DAC or pure transport) that can be connected to an external DAC.

The reason is, I own a MA12000 integrated amp which has an "upgradeable" DA2 build in. The DA2 DAC sound was decent.

However, recently I bought the MCD12000 (SACD/Reference DAC), and the Reference DAC in the MCD12000 is way much better than the DA2 in the MA12000.

So I was hoping I can purchase a McIntosh streamer which will run through the DAC in the MCD12000.

Well, I will wait another year or so... maybe at that time, McIntosh will issue a Reference class streamer as either a transport only (to feed into the reference class DAC in my MCD12000

or a streamer with built-in Reference class DAC, so I can just use the balanced analog out into the MA12000 balanced analog in.

It says you can use it as a volume control and but it does not say much about the preamp volume control section.  I have a Mcintosh D1100 and am wondering how it would compare to the DS200

I’m with the OP.  The company knows that audiophiles love to play with different equipment.  It’s also stupid for their business, as Mac customers have great brand loyalty, and they could market a megabucks Mac DAC to them down the road.  Mac customers tend not to want all in one solutions as much as customers of a certain audio company whose name starts with “B”.

Mahler,

“Mac customers tend not to want all in one solutions as much as customers of a certain audio company whose name starts with “B”.”

How do you square that thought with the enduring popularity of McIntosh integrated amps, preamps with DACs and MM/MC phono built in, and even a receiver model that’s never gone out of production?  What company with B?  

 

I now own this unit

I was basically seeking a streamer/dac combo with Tidal connect, built in digital preamp, tv connections, and something  that does not look like IT gear but rather a nice looking audio device

so this unit nails the part above

I owned the D150 previously which was excellent so no concerns about buying this sound/sight unseen, same goes for most mac gear actually at least for me

straight from plug in and power on,  it recognized my network instantly and Tidal connect was an instant go

cheap remote compared to the D150

sq thus far I would say is excellent, nicer detail on this DA2 dac module over the DA1 yet still smooth

nothing mind blowing here, just a really good piece no more no less

chassis is likely a lot bigger than it needs to be, I liked the density of the D150

I have not tested preamp functionality direct to power amp yet

pretty sure HDMI will be hit miss with my TV but I can use optical

cleaned up some cable mess over my previous streamer/dac/power supply separates setup which is always nice

I'll be using this with a variety of amps for a while and then likely do a comparison against a Hegel H400

the all in one route is looking more appealing with each passing day

I suspect this D200 with something like an MC462 

would be end game-ish for many