CD/SACD Advice

johnwa · Nov 7, 2009

Looking for some advice on whether or not to repair or replace my existing McIntosh 201 CD/SACD player. It is not under warranty and it is not playing back CD's consistantly. Some times it works and some times it doesn't. Long story short, I took it in to get it checked out and it can be fixed but that would run about $900. I am looking at a potential upgrade scenerio but that is probably at least a few thousand dollars.

I have heard that there has been tracking issues with this particular model so if I get it repaired I could end up in the same situation in a short period of time.

The entire system is currently McIntosh based but I am open to ideas and am simply weighing options. What the core question essentially is; has any one out there had a similar issue with the MC 201 and if so, what options did you uncover?

I am wondering if there might be a software update (I think I saw something like that before) that could potentaill address the tracking problem but the respair tech did not think so. It doesn't sound like this is something new so I am hoping there is a better option than swapping bad with potentially something that will go bad soon for $900. Outside of the sparatic tracking issue, the machanicals all seem fine and replacing the same componet just seems like a bad idea if there are common issues with it.

I should state for the record that I have had no issues with McIntosh in the past, and if fact, have one amp that has been in service for more that 30 years and is still going strong. Ironically the CD player is the newest piece of equipment and it is the one thing in the system that is a bit sickly.

Gordon · Nov 8, 2009

I have first hand experience with this player. As a matter of fact, I had two of them before I gave up on it.

The 201 is a fine sounding player whose mechanical and software issues gave McIntosh a black eye. Supposedly, it was rushed into distribution with the very problems your having. There is a software upgrade you can obtain from Chuck Hinton at McIntosh. It corrected a couple issues I was having but not all of them. That is why my dealer replaced the first player.

The second unit worked fine for a few weeks and the same problems began to resurface. That is when I gave up on the 201 and went higher on the food chain. Some folks have a had great luck with them and others have not. If you do a search at AK, you'll find many threads ripping this player apart.

I would contact McIntosh or AudioClassics for another repair estimate. I do know AC stands behind all repairs and they would be my first or second stop with this player. They may even be able to take it in trade on a 301 or 500, both of which have received great reviews and the reliability is more in line with McIntosh standards.

Gordon

johnwa · Nov 8, 2009

Thanks Gordon, this is exactly what I was looking for which validates that I won't spend any time trying to try to fix the 201 and will focus on what I can do toward a 301 or 500.

I am not going to sell it (at least without massive disclaimers) and pass off any of my issues to anyone else so I will see what I can get in trade at Magnolia or just live with it in a second system and look for something used in the open market.

David Matz · Nov 8, 2009

Johnwa,

My advice would be to look at the new generation of cd/ sacd players that have the apodizing filters. Some of these are Ayre, Meridian, some Esoterics, and probably a few other brands. Both Bob Harley (ABS editor) and Atkinson (Stereophile editor) believe that the Meridian is the most significant advance in digital. The new Ayre c5xe-mp, new at $6K and used at $4K, is very close in performance, if not almost identical in performance to the Meridian ($18K) with a slightly different sonic signature. Both players are reviewed in Stereophile. The December issue of Stereophile is supposed to do a head to head shootout between the 2 players.

Sounds like you like Mac, but give one of these a listen. I am almost certain that if the Mac you are looking at doesn't have an apodizing filter, a player that does have one will likely smoke it.

Good Luck