McIntosh DS200

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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’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”.

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

@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.

They specifically call it a "streaming DAC" so seemingly not intended to be used as a transport with separate outboard DAC. 

McIntosh doesn't seem to like the idea of a pure digital streaming transport for whatever reason. Off the top of my head I can think of their old MS300 music server, the MB50 streaming player, the MB100 media bridge, and the more recent MS500 streamer, and if I recall correctly they all have onboard DAC with analog outputs. A few of them may offer digital outs but the focus really seems to be on using them as a streaming DAC with the option of also using their digital inputs with an external CD transport. I don't know why McIntosh is against doing a pure streaming transport but that really does seem to be the case.

@glennewdick yes, that makes sense, up to a point. If the DAC was the upgradeable DA2, as it is in several of their other products, there would definitely be no need for digital out. But how long before the built in DAC is obsolete to new choices? So, either a digital out to salvage the unit as a streamer only, or an upgrade path for the DAC would have made more sense, IMHO.  The MDA200 has the DA2.

P.S. LOVE your Sansui Tu 9900!

I would imagin if you needed a digital out you would not buy this product and buy thier streamer only product. this is a digital all on one system. digital preamp. so having a digital out seem redundant. its basicaly a MSA5500 without the amp section.