McIntosh MCD550 2-Channel SACD/CD Player

Rediscover your valuable CD collection with the MCD550 SACD/CD Player. This high performance SACD/CD player has everything you need for hours of listening enjoyment.

“A very realistic sound field, if I close my eyes it’s as if the piano and drums are in front of me no less than 3 or 4 meters away.” – HiFi Review​ 

The MCD550 utilizes an 8-channel, 32-bit/192kHz PCM/DSD digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with wide dynamic range and extremely low distortion. The 8-channel DAC is used in Quad Balanced mode, which utilizes 4 DAC channels per audio channel, allowing music at all levels to be reproduced with extreme precision and elegance. It can decode PCM signals from CDs and the digital inputs, and DSD signals from SACDs.

“The McIntosh Labs MCD550 is one of the most musically engaging players that I have heard. It gives a performance which is refined and polished to the highest order… It breathes new life into CDs and brings out the best in SACDs.” Winner of an Outstanding Product Award. – The Speaker Shack 

Both fixed and variable balanced and unbalanced outputs are present, offering you extreme flexibility in connecting the MCD550 to your system. The variable outputs allow for direct connection to an amplifier without requiring a separate preamplifier. Also available are three digital inputs: a coax, an optical and a USB input that allows for direct streaming of computer stored music at up to 24-bits and 192kHz. Coax and optical outputs are available if you want to send the audio signal to a preamplifier or home theater processor.

“The subtlety with which it paints a musical picture is possibly it’s greatest strength, the sense of quality is palpable. There are no nasties, musical instruments sound more like musical instruments… everything is just more realistic, snare drums crack, rim shots thwack, bass notes are deep and textured while remaining tuneful. For all it’s subtlety it doesn’t lack in dynamics either, those rim shots really do thwack with more realism.” – HiFi Wigwam 

Our new High Drive headphone amplifier features increased gain and output power, and is optimized for virtually all headphone types for the ultimate personal listening experience. The MCD550 reads your discs at a higher speed and stores the data in a buffer memory for better error correction and tracking, thus increasing overall audio performance. On the back are gold plated connectors that help maintain a clean audio signal and also resist corrosion. The classic McIntosh black glass faceplate is wrapped in a beautiful stainless steel chassis.

AUDIO SPECIFICATIONS:

NUMBER OF CHANNELS

• 2

FIXED OUTPUT LEVEL

• 2.0Vrms Unbalanced
• 4.0Vrms Balanced

VARIABLE OUTPUT LEVEL

• 0 – 8.0Vrms Unbalanced
• 0 – 16.0Vrms Balanced

OUTPUT IMPEDANCE

• 600 ohms Unbalanced and Balanced

FREQUENCY RESPONSE

• 4Hz to 40kHz, +0.5, -2dB (SACD)
• 4Hz to 20kHz, ±0.5dB (CD)

SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO

• Better than 110dB (A-weighted)

DYNAMIC RANGE

• Better than 100dB

TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION

• 0.002% @ 1000Hz (SACD)
• 0.002% @ 1000Hz (CD)

CHANNEL SEPARATION

• Better than 98dB (1,000Hz)

HEADPHONE OUTPUT IMPEDANCE

• 47 ohms

DIGITAL AUDIO SPECIFICATIONS:

DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER (DAC) TYPE

• 8-channel, 32-bit/192kHz PCM/DSD, Quad Balanced

COAXIAL SAMPLE RATE

• 16, 24-bit/96kHz

OPTICAL SAMPLE RATE

• 16, 24-bit/192kHz

USB SAMPLE RATE

• 16, 24-bit/192kHz

DIGITAL COAXIAL INPUT

• 0.5V p-p/75 ohms

DIGITAL OPTICAL INPUT

• -15dbm to -21dbm

DIGITAL OUTPUT SAMPLE RATE

• Up to 24-bit/192kHz

DIGITAL USB INPUT TYPE

• USB Type B Connector

DIGITAL OPTICAL OUTPUT

• -15dbm to -21dbm

DIGITAL COAXIAL OUTPUT

• 0.5V p-p/75 ohms

DIGITAL XLR OUTPUT

• N/A

DIGITAL MCT (DIN) OUTPUT

• N/A

CONNECTIVITY:

BALANCED FIXED OUTPUT

• 1

UNBALANCED FIXED OUTPUT

• 1

BALANCED VARIABLE OUTPUT

• 1

UNBALANCED VARIABLE OUTPUT

• 1

DIGITAL COAXIAL INPUT

• 1

DIGITAL OPTICAL INPUT

• 1

DIGITAL USB INPUT

• 1

DIGITAL COAXIAL OUTPUT

• 1

DIGITAL OPTICAL OUTPUT

• 1

DIGITAL XLR OUTPUT

• 0

DIGITAL MCT (DIN) OUTPUT

• 0

HEADPHONE OUTPUT

• 1/4″ High Drive

CONTROL:

REAR PANEL IR SENSOR INPUT

• 1

REAR PANEL DATA INPUT

• 1

POWER CONTROL INPUT

• 1

POWER CONTROL OUTPUT

• 1

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS:

DISC FORMATS

• CD, SACD, MP3 and WMA

DISC CAPACITY

• 1

LASER TYPE

• Twin Beam

LASER BEAM WAVELENGTH

• 650nm (SACD)
• 790nm (CD)

LASER POWER

• CLASS IIa/CLASS I

STANDBY POWER REQUIREMENT

• <0.5 watt

WEIGHTS & DIMENSIONS:

DIMENSIONS (W X H X D)

• 17-1/2″ (44.45cm) x 6″ (15.24cm) x 19″ (48.3cm) Note: When the Disc Tray is opened, the panel clearance required in front of mounting panel is 6-3/4 inches (17.2cm).

WEIGHT

• 28 lbs (12.7 kg)

SHIPPING WEIGHT

• 42.5 lbs (19.2 kg)