McIntosh Embraces Roon for Optimum Playback

Binghamton, New York, USA, November 21st, 2019: McIntosh, the global leader in prestigious home entertainment and ultimate-quality audio for 70 years, is proud to announce that two more of its products have received Roon Tested designation from Roon Labs: the C53 Solid State Preamplifier and the C2700 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier, bringing the total number to 14.

McIntosh products started receiving Roon Tested status in March 2019; qualifying models include: C47, C49, C52, C53, C2600, C2700 and D1100 preamplifiers; MA5300, MA7200, MA8900 and MA9000 integrated amplifiers; MAC7200 receiver; MHA150 headphone amplifier and the MXA80 Integrated Audio System.

All Roon Tested models utilise McIntosh’s powerful eight-channel, 32-bit digital-to-analogue converter (DAC), used in Quad Balanced mode. The DAC’s coaxial and optical inputs decode up to 24-bit/192kHz; the USB inputs accept even higher PCM signals of up to 32-bit/384kHz and offer support for DSD256 and DXD 384kHz. The C53 and C2700 use the newer, recently announced DA2 DAC, with improved dynamic range and total harmonic distortion, plus support for DSD512 via USB.

Products designated as Roon Tested have been profiled and tested by both Roon and McIntosh for maximum compatibility. Roon will recognise these devices and send them audio optimised for their capabilities. The device settings in Roon are optimised to improve the customer experience; no fiddling with checkboxes or dropdowns, Roon Tested devices are automatically identified and configured out of the box.

Roon is a rich and engaging way to browse, organise and listen to music. Artist photos, credits, bios, reviews, lyrics, tour dates and composers are located automatically, then interconnected by links to build a surfable digital magazine. Roon is also a multi-room, multi-user networked audio platform; it offers features such as bit-perfect playback, DSD and PCM upsampling, multichannel support and Signal Path display.

How to get started

New users will need to create a Roon account, then download and install the application. Existing Roon users can trigger their system to acquire the McIntosh device icons and optimised settings by restarting their Roon Core. Then they can use the Identify My Device feature in Device Settings to apply the new information.