McIntosh announces MCT500 SACD/CD transport

CD transports aren't the most prevalent hi-fi component nowadays – especially those costing £6,000. But anyone who already owns a high-end DAC and is looking for a high-end disc spinner to go with it has several options from McIntosh alone. This is the latest, the MCT500.

In addition to SACD, CD, CD-R/RW and DVD-R playback, the MCT500 has a front panel USB input. Most of the popular file formats – from ALAC to FLAC, WAV (up to 24bit/192kHz) to DSD (up to DSD128) – can be played from both discs and USB drives.

For hooking up to an external standalone DAC or DAC-toting amplifier, the MCT500 features three digital outputs: balanced XLR, coaxial and optical. There's also McIntosh’s proprietary MCT connection, which offers digital connection to a McIntosh product with an MCT input.

A die-cast aluminum tray supposedly enables smooth and quiet disc-handling, and McIntosh says the MCT500 reads audio data at twice the normal rate to ensure better disc-tracking and error-correction processing.

It's recognisably a McIntosh product with its black glass front panel and illuminated brand logo. And with its price tag, too.

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Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10 years in the hi-fi industry, she has been fortunate enough to travel the world to report on the biggest and most exciting brands in hi-fi and consumer tech (and has had the jetlag and hangovers to remember them by). In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.