laurenc319 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Hi all, Yesterday I stopped in my local audio dealers store to pick up some 14 gauge speaker wire. He had on hooked up and on display Macintosh's reference system. I have never seen or heard anything like it. The retail price is $200,000 !!! The speakers are over 6 feet tall and have 6 12" woofers and vertical arrays of 36 and 24 ( I think, there were a lot of them ) 1" dome and 2 " cone tweeters and mid range speakers. They weigh hundreds of pounds each. The enclosures were made of some high tech plastic or polymer and I could hardly feel any cabinet vibration at SPLs of 85 to 90 db. The power amps produced 2000 watts and were hooked up to a to individual power supplies a preamp and another module which I don't know the function of. The amp system took up a 6 to 7 foot wall. I don't know what cd player he used a source. The amps were cranking out about 30 to 40 watts a channel with transient peaks of 200 to 300 watts a channel at the SPL described above. Imagine having 1800 watts in reserve at this loudness. The sound was glorious ... rich, full detailed and life like. Gut impacting bass which did not mask the mids or highs. Imaging was very precise and there was great width and depth to the sound stage. It's really hard to describe the experience .. but it was one which I'll remember for a long time. Too bad I don't have 200 grand under my bed. good listening Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Gosh, nothing like that in Dallas! All we have are Home Theater stores.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago_Pete Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Would love to hear that system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenc319 Posted August 31, 2007 Author Share Posted August 31, 2007 hi, The store I went to also does a lot of home theater business, I guess that's where he makes most of his money, but thankfully the owner is still interested in keeping his high end audio business going. He sells only Macintosh electronics and a larger array of speakers. A fun place to stop into occasionally. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Did the system sound like the very best stereo you ever heard, or did it sound like live music? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn5 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 I'm almost afraid to hear something like that. I'm reveling in my RF-7/QSC setup now. I don't want to hear something I'll never be able to afford that makes my current setup sound like crap by comparison. [st] Oh well. I'd jump at the chance to drive a Ferrari I can't afford. Don't know why my audio desires should be any different. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillH2121 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Take a visit to AK and look at Masterlu's (Ivan's) set up - it'll make you cry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenc319 Posted August 31, 2007 Author Share Posted August 31, 2007 hi, On jazz and female vocals if you closed your eyes you would think your in a club listening live ,,,, I've been to many jazz clubs in Philadelphia, NYC and in Washington DC and it was like being there again. As for rock .... most of it today is amplified and played through a large array of speakers so what you hear is not like the presentation of sound in a small club. I didn't hear any classical on the system but my guess is it would have been fabulous. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesboy Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Did the system sound like the very best stereo you ever heard, or did it sound like live music? That's a great question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 this? http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/images/products/XRT2Kfrontnogrille.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 I heard those at the McIntosh factory in Binghampton, NY two years ago. I have to say they sounded very good. Mind you they were hooked up to some very, nice, but expensive electronics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenc319 Posted September 2, 2007 Author Share Posted September 2, 2007 hi, Yes those look like what I listened to. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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