McIntosh Testimonials

Unsolicited Customer Testimonials
The majority of our testimonials were emailed directly from the customer on their own merit. Some are merely excerpts from online posts, used with the customers' permission.

 

January 2010

 

McIntosh MVP-871 Signature Edition Upgrade

- A Modified McIntosh MVP871

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I must publicly confess . . . I have committed an unpardonable sin for which you McIntosh purists will probably demand my immediate excommunication.

 

I bought a brand new piece of McIntosh gear and sent it to the audio equivalent of a chop shop, otherwise known as an equipment modifier.

 

I had read an online review posted by a customer extolling the virtues of a McIntosh MVP871 which was modified by The Upgrade Company.

 

I read the review several times, contacted the author and several other individuals who had experienced Upgrade Company modifications, found them all to be extremely pleased, and decided to bite the bullet myself.

 

As you are no doubt aware, brand new MVP871 machines have recently been offered on Audiogon for around $2,000 - not a bad price for a really excellent universal player which had originally sold for $5,500.

 

Anyway, I purchased a new MVP871 for $2,000, had it sent to David at The Upgrade Company for his SE mods and I am absolutely astonished.

 

I really don't know how good the machine is in comparison to the MCD500, or other Mac machines, but I can tell you from long experience, that the modified 871 is one of the best sounding CD/SACD players I've ever listened to. (I'm using it along with SF Mementos, McIntosh MA-7000, and JL Audio F112 sub)

I actually replaced an Esoteric UX-3 with the machine because, when I installed the SE upgraded McIntosh 871 in my system, the modified Mac left the Esoteric in the dust.

 

I also believe that it sounds better than the Esoteric X-03 (modified - by Reference Audio Mods) that resides in my "other" system.

 

I fully believe that the 871 images better than any other machine I've owned. Male and Female voices are extremely realistic. When you start a disc with a solo singer, magically the singer actually stands up in front of you and opens his/her mouth and starts to sing. Vocal groups are spread out in front of you - just like the real thing. Orchestral music is incredibly lifelike. Instruments are properly placed and sound like they are supposed to sound. Resolution is exemplary, the total picture is one of refinement. Not too bright, not too dull, just right.

 

For a total cost of slightly under $3000,(The modifications were $995, and took less than a week to perform.) I believe I have a truly superior machine. The 871 does not have several features that the MCD500 offers; but it does play HDCD, HDAD, DVD-Audio, DVD-Video as well as CD and SACD.

I have actually compared my upgraded 871 directly to a stock McIntosh 871.
The things I notice most are:

1. Better imaging - more exact placement of voices and instruments within the soundstage.
2. A fuller soundstage - wider, taller and deeper. The stage now extends outside of the speakers - closely akin to the soundstage that I am accustomed to hearing from my LP's on an excellent turntable.
3. Better tonality, more exact reproduction of voices and instruments. My "tests" in this regard are the human voice - especially female - (try Rob Wasserman Duets, Jennifer Warnes Ballad of the Runaway Horse. For male voice, anything by Neil Diamond - (his voice is hard to get). I find that the Oboe is also difficult to reproduce properly and I listen to several good recordings featuring that instrument. I have spent the last 50 years trying to properly align phono cartridges and use the same recordings, along with many others to gauge correct VTA etc. I've listened to good audio for many years and, while I don't profess to have golden ears, I have a fairly good handle on what sounds good and what doesn't.
4. Improved overall resolution, more refined presentation. In massed orchestral recordings, the individual instruments are more distinctly presented as are individual voices in a choral work.
5. I just like it better, it sounds more musical, and I am happy that I had the work done.

6. I now have a couple hundred hours of playing time on the unit and it continues to get better and better. Soundstaging, Imaging and Tonality are all outstanding - almost better than vinyl!!!!

   I really feel that The Upgrade Company worked magic on the already very good 871 machine. It has turned it into a truly world class player. I would heartily recommend that you take a look at The Upgrade Company!

 

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MAIN SYSTEM: Avalon Eidolons and/or Audio Physic Caldera 3, Spectral DMC 30SL, DMA 360's, Spectral/MIT cable, Basis Debut V vacuum, Graham Phantom, Graham Nightingale, PASS X-ono, Esoteric X-03

UPSTAIRS SYSTEM: Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento, JL Audio F112, McIntosh MA7000 Integrated, McIntosh MVP871, VPI Scoutmaster, Koetsu Pro IV cartridge, Mark Levinson No. 25s phono stage, 14,000 LPs

 

Julian Price, GA

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April 2009

 

McIntosh MVP-871 Upgrade Co. SIGNATURE EDITION Vs. stock McIntosh MCD-500

 

Hello Everyone,

 

I'm not new to audio (3 decade’s worth) and I would like to share my experience with my new McIntosh MVP871 upgraded by The Upgrade Company to their "Signature Edition" upgrade versus my MCD-500 I bought new.

 

I have owned many CD players including the following models that were upgraded by David Schulte of The Upgrade Company - Denon 3910 SE then a Denon 5910 SE then a $14,000 Exoteric X-01 Limited SE upgraded. As I moved up, I've always been very satisfied with The Upgrade Company's work and recommendations.

 

After buying a McIntosh C-2300 preamp and MC-252 power amp, I decided that it would be nice to have a full McIntosh system, so I bought a new MCD-500 CD/SACD Player.

 

I listen to all kind of music but mainly to Jazz and Blues such as Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Keith Jarrett, Diana Krall, Doug MacLeaod, etc.

 

The MCD-500 is a fine player indeed, but I was clearly missing something that really connected me with the music that I had previously enjoyed in all of the Upgrade Company players I'd owned.

 

So I contacted Dave at the Upgrade Company to see what he had to say, and he mentioned that the McIntosh MVP-871 once upgraded to their "Signature Edition" is an amazing player that had held its own with some of the most expensive 2 and 3 box players made.

 

After many discussions with Dave and verifying The Upgrade Co's 7 day in home money back guarantee that states they will buy back the unit if I'm not satisfied, as well as reading the posts here by Viktor, I decided to buy a new McIntosh MVP-871 and send it over for The Upgrade Company's "Signature Edition" upgrade.

 

The 871 sounded like a great idea to me because I wanted to have an "all McIntosh system" and because the 871 is a true Universal player so I can play my DVD-Audio and HDCD Disks which I really missed listening to.

 

I received the 871 in about a week and let it play for only 48 hrs before I tested against the MCD500 because I couldn't wait any longer - you know the feeling!

 

Well, I'm very excited by the outcome as the MVP-871 SE easily outperforms the MCD-500 in direct side-by-side comparisons on the same cabling.

 

The 871 SE has superior resolution, weight, transparency and a jet black background. All of this with increased musicality. The voices are just in front of you, you feel closer to the musicians and much easier to connect with the music.

 

After one week of burn-in, the SE upgraded 871 is becoming even more refined and resolute overall, and bass notes are deeper and better defined as well. Big improvements over the MCD-500.

 

I never thought a McIntosh player could be upgraded and certainly not to this level of performance. Also, I prefer the sound of the 871 SE to the $14,000 Esoteric X-01 Limited that was also SE upgraded.

 

There is something about the McIntosh sound that is difficult to put words around - overall ease + musicality.

 

I'm sharing my experience here for those who perhaps would like to dramatically improve their McIntosh player without losing money selling their old CD player and then buying a new one like I did, which turned out to be nowhere near as good as the upgraded 871.

 

Before someone asks me: I have no experience with upgraded Mac preamps and amps - at least not yet!

 

Anyone who lives in the Philly area, please feel free to drop by for a listen or do some A-B comparisons Cheers,

Dan Comeau

Audiogon ID: Daco

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McIntosh MVP-871 Upgrade Company "Signature Edition" upgraded, McIntosh MCD-500, Rega P5 turntable, McIntosh C-2300, McIntosh MC-252, Montana EPS2 speakers

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I decided to drive up to The Upgrade Company way up in Harbor Springs Michigan to pick up my newly upgraded equipment in person, rather then risk shipping damage. I ended up spending a couple of days there with Dave Schulte comparing the sound of several of his upgraded DVD players against some really high end Esoteric pieces they sell as Factory Authorized Esoteric dealers. They had on display the stock Esoteric P-03/D-03/G-0R combo and a stock Esoteric X-01 Limited Edition among many other stock players. We listened and compared the sound of the several customers CD players that were due to ship out the following Monday. We used the same power cords and interconnects for all of the DVD and CD players and adjusted the volume of the units to make sure that all of the listening tests were fair.

The first unit that I listened to was an upgraded McIntosh MC-205 CD changer player versus the stock Esoteric X-01 Limited Edition on one shelf and the stock P-03/D-03/G-0S on the same heavy duty 400+ lb gloss black acrylic rack Dave says is better then the granite/wood/steel racks. Acrylic racks make sense to me, that's why the best turntable platters are made out of pure acrylic: low resonance.

All players used the same power cords and interconnects, all balanced, with dual or triple copies of the same discs. I don't know how much burn-in time the McIntosh player had, but I could tell right away the upgraded McIntosh player provided far more detail, with pristine highs, open & detailed midrange, unusually strong and deep bass along with a very holographic soundstage & imaging that either of the high dollar Esoteric's could match, even with very expensive cabling. Though the Esoteric units sounded acceptable to someone unfamiliar with the Upgrade Co's "house sound", they just did not have the detail, body, transparency nor level of resolution the SE upgraded McIntosh player exhibited. Additionally, the stock Esoterics tended to sound more flat & constricted, more “nasal”, harsher, and a bit more strident than the upgraded McIntosh player.

Next, we swapped out the Esoteric X-01 Limited Edition player and compared an upgraded entry level Denon DVD 2910 against the McIntosh 205 player. The Denon DVD 2910 basically outclassed the McIntosh player to the same degree the McIntosh 205 had outperformed the stock Esoteric X-01LE and to a slightly lesser extent the P-03/D-03/G-0S. This was due Dave says to the McIntosh not being burned in, while the Denon had about 350 some odd hours on it. However, not burned in, the upgraded McIntosh 205 still outclassed the stock X-01 Limited Edition by a huge margin. It's a shame what these manufacturer's are charging. I witnessed firsthand an Upgrade Company Denon 2910 and McIntosh MC-205 surpass the $40,000 Esoteric setup by a healthy margin, and they only cost peanuts in comparison. Almost a crime. And the Esoteric required 3 expensive power cords, plus (2) MIT 110 ohm AESEBU digital cables and (2) clock link BNC's to operate. Thousands more just for cabling. I can appreciate the fact that the Esoteric players once upgraded will beat the McIntosh and Denon players I heard, but at a monumental price difference.

The next test was to listen to a recently upgraded Pioneer Elite 94 Blu-ray player and we compared it to both the upgraded Denon DVD 2910 and also against the stock Esoteric P-03/D-03/G-0R set. Initially, we thought that the upgraded Pioneer 94 Blu-ray player sounded better than the Denon and it most definitely sounded better than the stock Esoteric P-03/D-03/G-0R . As the Denon, Esoteric set and the Pioneer 94 Blu-ray played on repeat for the next 24 hours however, we both found that we thought that the upgraded Denon DVD 2910 sounded the clear winner over all of them, with more detail, highs, smoothness, midrange, imaging, bass, etc. than the upgraded Pioneer 94 Blu-ray and way ahead of the P-03/D-03/G-0R Esoteric set now with 24 hours of continuous play. This is a minor miracle in my book. I was amazed.

Next, we listened to one of Dave’s upgraded Denon DVD-3910 players which had about 350 hours of burn-in time on it. Without question, it bested the Denon DVD-2910 and all of the other players. Now, the upgraded Denon DVD-3910 sounds great, but it was not quite to the level of my upgraded Denon DVD-5910 that Dave upgraded, nor his McIntosh 871 player that's even better yet. I understand the Esoteric's once Dave gets a hold of them are in an entirely different league above everything we heard, but there were none on hand at the time to A-B.

I am now listening to my new Denon DVD-3800BDCi Blu-ray player that Dave has upgraded, versus my 5910Ci that Dave did a while back. The upgraded Denon 3800 Blu-ray player sounds even better then the upgraded 5910Ci which was already far better when I A-B'd it directly against the 40,000 P-03/D-03/G-0R set, which makes my new upgraded Denon DVD-3800 truly world-class, absolutely phenomenal, with Standard DVD and Blu-ray DVD picture quality that I think is just to die for, and the unit is just starting to burn in.

I'm truly impressed.

Rich Nelridge
Fine Art Photographer
http://Nelridge.com
e-mail: richard@nelridge.com

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The Upgrade Company Signature McIntosh MVP 861 Universal player

Ever since I sold my Exemplar Audio Denon 3910 with Siltech wiring, I have been looking for a universal player that is similar to it for the past 2 years to no avail.  I almost bought a used Exemplar Audio 3910 with Siltech wiring about 2 months ago.  While surfing the web one evening, I run across a testimonial on The Upgrade Company by Ezra (a long time audio pal) whose EMM LABS CDSA had just been upgraded by The Upgrade Company.  I called David Schulte of the Upgrade Company to inquire about his products and upgrades.  He recommended a brand new Signature Edition upgraded McIntosh MVP 861.

One Week of Break-In is not enough

When I first got the unit, the first thing I noticed was the exceptional bass.  The bass was well controlled, deeper and had much better definition than any other unit I have had in my system, it was much easier to follow the bass lines.  It had the right combination of detail and weight; it didn't sound overly analytical or warm.  

I burned the unit in for 2 weeks and decided to do a shoot out with the BlueNote Stibbert tubed CD player with the $1200 factory upgrade.  The Upgrade Co. SE upgraded McIntosh MVP 861 acquitted itself very well.  My friend Clark Johnsen, a writer for Positive Feedback, preferred the McIntosh to the Stibbert outright.  The McIntosh had better bass and instruments were much more realistic sounding but I thought the Stibbert was still airier and a little warmer and just a tad smoother sounding.  I initially attributed that to the classic difference between tube and solid state equipment.

A Funny Thing Happened after 600 hours of Burn-In.

Then the sound of the upgraded, brand-new McIntosh MVP 861 took a quantum leap after about 600 hours of burn-in.  It became airier, the soundstage depth and width opened up and voices acquired much better range (top to bottom).  Delineation of instruments was much better while adding more body at the same time.  My system is much fuller sounding now without sacrificing detail.  I now prefer the solid state McIntosh to any of the high priced tube cd players or transport/d/a converter combinations I have heard or had in my system.

I went downstairs to my audio room to do some listening at 9 PM a few weeks ago and didn't notice how long I had been down there until I got back, looked at the clock on the oven in my kitchen and noticed it was 1 AM.  I had been listening for 4 hours without noticing it.  Between work and kids activities, I haven't had much time to listen to my audio system the past 3 years, but lately I have been making up time to listen (late into the night) because the sound of my system has been too good to ignore.  This is the ultimate complement to the solid state Upgrade Company Signature Edition McIntosh MVP 861.  You can forget about all the audiophile superlatives, the bottom line is that Upgrade Company upgraded Signature McIntosh MVP 861 sounds like real music and has made a convert of a long time tube guy.

Other Digital systems I have had in my system include Audio Logic DAC/highly modified Teac VRDS 1 Transport combo, Exemplar Audio Denon 3910 with Siltech wire, Meitner Bidat D/A converter with Teac VRDS 1 Transport, and Great Northern Sound upgraded Consonance Droplet CDP 5.0.
Kwame Ofori-Asante, Massachusetts