How much does your hobby or passion matter to you? I’m always surprised by some people’s sense of shock when they hear how much a great piece of audio equipment or a really good pair of headphones cost. And yet, the same people might spend a small fortune on a new camera, a sports car or following a football team around the country. We all have interests that we probably spend more money on than perhaps we should, but few passions attract the amount eye-rolling than when you mention the price of a piece of audio gear.
This week I’m reviewing a piece of equipment that, on paper, sounds like a lot of money and is bound to elicit the response: “How much?” from some people. But anyone who knows anything about the iconic American audio brand of McIntosh knows that anything bearing the gothic McIntosh logo doesn’t come cheap. However, as my late father always said: “You get what you pay for!”
The McIntosh MHA50 is a “Portable Decoding Amplifier” or headphone amplifier and DAC in most other people’s language. The MHA50 is designed to take digital audio signals from any smartphone, tablet or computer and turn it into the most exquisite music that can be listened to via wired or wireless headphones. It’s definitely aimed at the audio purist and would probably appeal to audio buffs that refuse to compromise on sound quality wherever they go. No doubt they’re the kind of people who have an expensive audio system at home and would like the same high quality when traveling away from home. The MHA50 enables them to do that and is perfect for listening to hi-res music stored on a phone or played from a music service like Tidal, where you can listen to albums in CD quality streamed over the Internet.
The first thing you notice about the McIntosh MHA50 is its large size. It’s hardly pocket size. I’d say it’s about the size of a large bar of thick Swiss chocolate and weighs 200g. That said, it would fit in a pocket, just not a shirt pocket. The front of the unit is classic McIntosh with a black glass front plate, that McIntosh logo in silver and a small status light that changes color depending on its state. Dominating the front is a large round touch-sensitive volume ring with a standby power button in the middle. It’s a very sensitive volume control but gives a very fine degree of control over the sound level.
The top end of the MHA50 has a sliding switch to move between low and high gain, depending on the resistance of the headphone the user is listening to. Next to that is a standard 3.5mm stereo headphone socket. Next up is a button to place the MHS50 in Bluetooth mode so the unit can receive music from a smartphone via Bluetooth. The MHA supports all codecs including AAC and aptX. Finally, there’s a sliding switch labeled HDX. This stands for “Headphone Crossfeed Director”, a feature that McIntosh claims will improve the sound of localization for headphone listening. What this really means is that instead of the exaggerated sound stage that headphones create, the HDX switch makes the sound a bit more like a pair of loudspeakers where the sound isn’t quite so separated. I’ll be honest when I say I prefer it turned off but it probably depends on the recording being listened to, as some do take stereo to ridiculous lengths.
At the bottom end of the MHA50 there’s a power switch with three positions. The first is ‘Off”, the second is for iOS devices, while the third is for anything that isn’t iOS. Alongside it there’s a USB B port for connection to an iOS device using the supplied Apple Lightning cable; there’s also a USB C cable for anyone using the latest iPads or iPhones. Finally, there’s a Micro USB port for connecting Android devices using an OTG (On The Go) Cable as well as a computer running Windows or Apple OS operating systems. The Micro USB port is also the port for connecting the MHA50 to the supplied power adaptor that can either power the MHA50 or recharge its Lithium-Ion battery that provides at least six hours of playback time.
Incidentally, all the cables you need for connecting the MHA50 to an iPhone, Android device or computer are provided in the box, along with a leatherette slipcase and a power adaptor with plugs for USA and Europe… but not UK or Australia. If you’re using a Windows computer you may need to download a driver for the MHA50 but that’s a simple job.
What we have here is a high-end headphone amplifier for driving wired and wireless headphones. Input sources to drive the McIntosh MHA50 can range from Apple iPhones and iPads, to Android phones and tablets, as well as any computer running Windows or Apple OS. Music files that the MHA50 can handle are almost limitless with support for all formats up to PCM 192kHz with 32-bit resolution. There’s also support for DSD128, DXD352.8 and DXD 384.
I tested the McIntosh MHA50 using my Apple iPhone 6S but the procedure is the same for any iOS device and a little bit unusual. To use the MHA50 you first need to turn your iPhone off. Then plug it into the fully charged MHA50 using the supplied Apple Lightning cable, and then slide the power switch to “iOS”. This will start the iPhone booting. Then all you have to do is unlock the iPhone or iPad with your six-figure code and then you’re in business. For my review, I used Tidal with its hi-res streaming service to make sure the MHA had as high a quality source as possible. I pressed play and adjusted the volume using the large silver touch ring on the front of the unit.
The result was a sound like I have seldom heard in terms of warmth, depth, and detail. I was initially skeptical about McIntosh due to the cost of McIntosh equipment, and the near-religious zeal of the brand’s fans always seemed a bit “over the top” to me. This is the first piece of McIntosh gear I’ve been loaned for review and so I’m something of a newbie to the McIntosh way.
The MHA50 is a gorgeous headphone amplifier and DAC that manages to squeeze every last drop of detail and character from the music. There’s detail aplenty in the upper register, with sweet treble and lots of channel separation. The mid-range is pitched perfectly and holds the whole soundstage together, while everything is underpinned by a bass that’s big and wide but without ever sounding muffled or overpowering. Bearing in mind that there are no EQ controls, the sound that the McIntosh MHA50 serves up is near perfect in terms of tone. If you’ve ever listened to a really high-end amplifier you’ll know that, when designed correctly, they simply don’t need tone controls as the sound is shaped perfectly. The same goes for this pocket wonder from McIntosh. Whatever music I listened to through the MHA50, it rewarded me by serving up music that was fulsome, rich, detailed, delicate and so very musical in terms of rhythm. I think I may be a McIntosh convert.
Next, I tried using theMHA50′s Bluetooth function. All I had to do was press the Bluetooth button on the top of the unit and then connect using my iPhone. The music transmitted wirelessly from my iPhone to the MHA50. The quality was excellent thanks to support for the AAC codec used by my iPhone 6S. I’m slightly puzzled as to why McIntosh didn’t choose to include support for Qualcomm’s aptX HD codec, but perhaps that’s something that could be added via a firmware update if they’ve used Qualcomm’s CSR8765 chip. I did test the aptX support by using my Mac Powerbook Pro and the sound was excellent, as I’d expected. Unfortunately, for some reason known only to it, Apple supports aptX on its Mac range of computers running Apple OS, but stubbornly refuses to do so on iOS devices.
Verdict: The McIntosh MHA50 “Portable Decoding Amplifier” is one of the nicest-sounding headphone amps I’ve ever listened to. The size is a little large in the hand but for listening in a hotel room or at an office desk it’s not too cumbersome. The startup procedure is a little bit odd and I would prefer a plug-and-play option, but I can forgive it all of that for the amazing sound that this stylish unit produces. The absence of aptX HD codec and the relatively modest battery life might put some people off, but those negatives are more than outweighed by the sublime sound of the MHA50. Listening to the McIntosh MHA50 is like having my home audio set up with me in my pocket. For someone who loves music as much as I do, that’s a really good selling point. The MHA50 is quite expensive but as my dad used to say… “You get what you pay for.” If music is your passion, you’ll absolutely love this amazing-sounding piece of kit.
Pricing: $700 / £895
More info: https://www.mcintoshlabs.com
Specifications:
- Headphone Power Output: 200mW
- Headphone Output Impedance: 8-600 Ohms
- Rated Power Band: 20Hz to 20kHz
- Total Harmonic Distortion: 0.005%
- Frequency Response: +0, -0.5dB from 20Hz to 50kHz
- Signal To Noise Ratio: 105dB
- Preamplifier Output: 1.8V
- Headphone Output: 3.5mm with Headphone Crossfeed Director (HXD®)
- Digital USB Input: 2 (1 Type A, 1 micro B)
- Wireless Input: Bluetooth 4.2 A2DP with support for AAC and aptX
- Source Support: Apple iOS devices; Android devices (must be compatible with USB On-The-Go technology to use a wired connection); MacOS and Windows OS computers
- Digital USB Input Sample Rate: PCM 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit to 192kHz, DSD64, DSD128, DXD352.8, DXD384
- Power Requirement: 5V DC, 0.7A
- Battery Playback Life: Up to 6 hours with Bluetooth connection; playback can last even longer when using the wired connections
- Accessories included:
Leather carrying case
Lightning to USB-A cable
USB micro-B to USB-A cable
USB micro-B to USB micro-B cable
USB micro-B to USB-C OTG cable
Wall mount charger with USA plug and adapter for Europe and Japan - Dimensions: (W x H x D): 2.7″ (7cm) x 6.1″ (15.5cm) x 0.6″ (1.4cm)
- Weight: 0.5 lbs (0.2 kg)
- Shipping Weight: 1 lbs (0.5 kg)
