McIntosh's near-flagship XRT1.1K speakers boast 70 drivers

’Tis the season to spend, and if you can afford to do that in a big (no, huge) way let us draw your attention to McIntosh’s new speakers, the XRT1.1Ks.

’Scaled-down versions’ of the brand’s flagship XRT2.1K speakers, which utilise nano-carbon drivers and cost more than £135k, this new model has been designed to bring its big brother’s technologies to a smaller (35cm shorter), lighter (by 78kg) and more affordable (by £77,500) form.

The XRT1.1Ks have a four-way ported arrangement, and use a staggering total of 70 nanocarbon drive units in a line-array configuration that's made up of – deep breath – four bass drivers, two low-frequency mid-range drivers, 24 upper-frequency mid-range drivers and 40 tweeters. 

The bass and low-frequency midrange drivers from the XRT2.1K have been directly incorporated into the XRT1.1K.

McIntosh claims this number of drivers is capable of yielding a wide, well-stereo-imaged soundfield - we’d think so too! The company has worked hard to engineer a crossover that delivers an even frequency response over the entire audible range, too.

As for the cabinets, they are treated with a seven-layer high-gloss piano black finish and sit on a base plate made of machined aluminium and glass, while the matching magnetic speaker grilles sport a black-knit cloth with high-gloss trim.

The McIntosh XRT1.1Ks are available to order now priced at £59,995.

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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.