McIntosh MP100 2-Channel Solid State Phono Preamplifier

Description

Like all McIntosh products, the MP100 is packed with features designed specifically for the vinyl lover including: Moving Coil and Moving Magnet inputs; Moving Coil and Moving Magnet adjustable loading (6 settings each); balanced and unbalanced analog outputs; optical, coax and USB digital outputs; and a Mono switch for when playing mono records to decrease noise and play the signal correctly. For pure analog use, the digital outputs can be completely disabled and powered down.

There are many ways to integrate the MP100 into your audio system. If you’re new to vinyl and just building your system, it can become the main part of your setup. Or if you already have a system with an older preamp you don’t want to part with, the MP100 is an excellent way to add modern phono features. If you’ve got a home theater system and would like to add a turntable, the MP100 is an easy way to add full phono preamp capabilities without having to get a full-sized stereo preamp that would undoubtedly duplicate many of your home theater processor’s features.

“The fully featured MP100 offers a low noise, mature and detailed sound… For many users, the MP100 will be the only phono [pre]amplifier they will ever need.” – The Audiophile Man

While spinning vinyl on a turntable is a great and unique way to enjoy music, there’s no denying the convenience of having digital versions of the albums. When used with a properly configured conversion program, the MP100 can “rip” the records to a computer via USB to produce high quality digital files. The digital outputs are fixed at 24-bit/96kHz to capture the full dynamic range of a record while optimizing digital file size. If an album has a very loud section, the clipping indicator will alert you so you can lower the digital output in order to produce a distortion-free recording.

Compact in size at just 3” tall, it has many ageless McIntosh design cues. It shares the same 11.5” narrow chassis design as the MXA80 Integrated Audio System, MHA150 Headphone Amplifier and MB50 Streaming Audio Player to help build a cohesive system. It can also easily be added to a system comprised of standard, wider width chassis.

McIntosh MP100 Phono Preamplifier

The wider view: McIntosh MP100 reviews in brief

The MP100 is McIntosh’s first stand-alone phono preamplifier. It has separate moving magnet and moving coil inputs with six load settings for each, a mono switch, and balanced and unbalanced outputs. A built-in converter at 24-bit and 96 kHz can send your records to a computer over USB or to other equipment through optical and coaxial outputs. It switches off completely when you want a purely analogue path.

Ian White reviewed it for eCoustics in October 2022 and heard plenty of detail and clarity with real dynamics and presence. He found it neutral enough to suit a wide range of cartridges and called it “one of those rare components that makes everything connected to it better”.

Michael Fremer reviewed it for Tracking Angle in September 2024 and heard a different side of it. To him it was smooth and supple with natural transients and real harmonic richness. It had a strong sense of flow and none of the faults that draw attention to themselves. He thought it would win over listeners raised on digital, and he expects it to make the cynics who see McIntosh as a brand bathed in green light think again.

Against his far costlier reference it gave up some slam, space and grip in the bass, and he notes that a very low-output moving coil would welcome a little more gain. White adds that anyone who wants a warm, rolled-off sound should look elsewhere.

It suits a McIntosh system without a phono stage of its own, a home cinema that needs one for a turntable, or anyone who wants to copy records to a computer. Its narrow case matches McIntosh’s compact range, and the MT2 is the McIntosh turntable we would put in front of it. We can set the pair up and match the cartridge loading for you.

What the reviewers say, in a nutshell

• eCoustics, Ian White, October 2022. Neutral, detailed and dynamic, and it lifts the whole system. Not for anyone after a warm, soft sound.
• Tracking Angle, Michael Fremer, September 2024. “A real smoothie”, rich and free of artefacts. A far dearer reference had more slam and space.

Read what the critics say about more of our phono stages in The Hi-Fi Review Bible.