Back in June we wrote a Blog in which we took a look at Sonus Faber, an Italian manufacturer of high quality loudspeakers that were a new addition to some Audio T stores. During a visit from the he UK distributors, Fine Sounds, we were also shown another brand of theirs, McIntosh Laboratory, an American manufacturer of some of the best looking amplifiers on the market. Now, several months on, we are very excited and happy to announce that both brands are now available here at Audio-T Swindon.

McIntosh Power - Let’s take a look

From a selection of five integrated solid state (or transistor) amplifiers we have decided to start with two, the MA5300 and MA7200. These amplifiers have such an iconic look that you can tell from a distance that they are McIntosh amps. Switch them on and you are greeted by two great looking blue VU meters.

MA5300

Physically, the MA5300 is the smallest amplifier of the range but looking at the output of an impressive 100 watts per channel into 8Ohms and 160 watts per channel in to 4 Ohms - This is only the beginning of our exciting journey into the McIntosh sound.

You get a lot of amp for your money that’s for sure. On the analogue side you get 4 phono inputs, one set of balanced XLR’s, pre-amp output, power-amp input and a moving magnet phono. The high drive headphone amplifier makes sure that you get the most from your headphones. Bass and treble control are also on board should you prefer to change the sound to your liking.

A very nice feature of this amplifier is the AV Passthrough. When the MA5300 is part of a Home Theatre system, the right and left front channels can ‘pass through’ from an AV processor or AV amplifier to the assigned input on the MA5300. In this configuration the MA5300 works as a power amplifier with a fixed volume output - Very nice.

The Digital Audio Module 1 (DA1) comes fitted and offers all digital inputs needed for a modern hi-fi set-up. An optional upgrade (including one HDMI ARC socket) to the Digital Audio Module 2 is available.

MA7200

Let’s take a look at the MA7200. What do we get? Everything we said about the MA5300 and more. Compared to the MA5300, the MA7200 is only about 4cm higher than the MA5300 but weighs a hefty 17 kg more, a total of 42kg. Blimey! This amp is a beast.

The amplifier delivers an output of 200 watts per channel regardless of your speakers impedance and this is because of McIntosh’s Autoformer technology.

AUTOFORMER™ TECHNOLOGY - DOES IT MAKE THE DIFFERENCE?

The McIntosh Output Autoformer™ is a special transformer that is designed and manufactured in-house by McIntosh. This allows any speaker type to be used with a McIntosh amplifier and have all of the power that the amp is designed to deliver. McIntosh claim that other amplifier designs will not have even power with differing speaker designs. McIntosh amplifiers with the output Autoformer™ will deliver ‘All the Power You Pay For’ regardless of chosen speaker type.

On the back you will see two banks of four speaker binding posts, the bottom post is for each of the negative cables and the positive cable connects to one of the positive posts above, marked 2, 4 and 8 Ohms.

There are eight analogue inputs including a Moving Coil and a Moving Magnet phono stage as well as six digital inputs.

SONUS FABER CLARITY

As well as taking delivery of McIntosh amplifiers, we have also received some more Sonus Faber loudspeakers, the Sonetto 1 and Sonetto 3. The colour choices are wood, white, black and wenge. The Sonetto range comprises of two pairs of bookshelf speakers, three pairs of floorstanding speakers, two centre speakers and a pair of on-wall speakers.

Sonetto 1

The Sonetto 1 is a two-way bookshelf loudspeaker and the smallest of the Sonetto range. They are front ported at the base of the speaker, which allows closer placement to the rear wall. The hand-sewn leather top is as a very nice feature of the speaker.

Sonetto 3

The Sonetto 3, a three-way floorstanding design, are the first of three pairs of floorstanders in the Sonetto range. The reflex port is on the underside of the speaker, making it easier for room placement. Non parallel cabinet surfaces ensure perfect control over internal resonances.

Sound Quality

For the purpose of the demonstration we used the Sonetto 1 connected to the MA5300, as a source we use an Innuos Zen Mini MK3 music server with Qobuz music streaming integration. Our demo room measures approximately 6 x 4 metres (speakers set up just a little more than a foot away from the wall) and we started with Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams. The bass is tight and very controlled at higher volume levels, the imaging on Jack’s voice is brilliant with just a little toe in, and the guitar sound crisp and clear. Next on the list is UB40, Kingston Town. A fantastic track with lots of rhythm and deep bass and the Sonetto 1 filled the room effortlessly. They may be the smallest speaker of the Sonetto range but don’t be fooled - they sound big.

We had the MA7200 powering the Sonetto 3 in the same room with the same source, roughly the same distance away from the rear wall. Instantly, we could hear a much bigger presentation of instruments and that the vocals sound more focused. You feel when a system sounds great and you want to play more music - It’s that great.

McIntosh and Sonus Faber are fantastic brands and we are truly happy that both are now available to our customers .

Many thanks for reading - Stefan & Andy - Audio T Swindon

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on Facebook to keep an eye on what’s happening in store.

For the time being, McIntosh products can be found at -

Swindon

Sonus Faber can be found at -

Bristol

Cardiff

Swindon

If these products aren’t stocked at your local branch, be sure to contact us.