McIntosh has released a compact tube-based headphone amplifier. The MHA200 AC still some weight on the scale: 4.8 pounds to be exact.
The eternal discussion ‘tubes or semiconductors’, we do not venture into that. It is mainly a matter of taste. For anyone who prefers the tube sound to that of modern components McIntosh has in any case something beautiful.
The MHA200 AC is a headphone amplifier built with tubes as active components. You will find a symmetrical XLR as well as an asymmetrical cinch line input on it. As far as headphones are concerned, you can also choose from a symmetrical or asymmetrical connection. A 4-pin and two 3-pin XLR connectors (symmetrical) as well as a “normal” 6.3 mm jack connector are available.
Nice is the output selector, which allows you to optimally set the impedance range of the connected headphones. Choose from four modes (32-100 Ohm, 100-250 Ohm, 250-600 Ohm or 600-1000 Ohm).
Some nice numbers
The output power of the McIntosh MHA200 AC is 500 mW. By the way, make no mistake, despite the fact that classic components have been used, a modern value of THD (total harmonic distortion) of only 0.5%, over the frequency range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz has been realized according to the manufacturer.
The promised signal-to-noise ratio is also neat at 94 dB. As it looks now, the new McIntosh will be available from the second half of next month. You will have to plunk down an amount of €3000 for all this beauty.