McIntosh MT2 Precision Turntable

Description

The McIntosh MT2 Precision Turntable is designed to deliver refined vinyl playback with minimal setup, combining thoughtful engineering with accessible high-end performance. Supporting both 33⅓ and 45 rpm records, the MT2 is virtually ready to use straight out of the box, requiring only a few simple steps before you can begin enjoying your record collection.

Supplied as standard is the Sumiko Moonstone moving magnet cartridge, a next-generation design known for its musical balance and low noise performance. Featuring a 0.3 x 0.7 mil elliptical diamond stylus, the Moonstone delivers rich tonal weight, natural texture and excellent clarity, presenting music against a remarkably quiet background. Its low moving mass allows it to track grooves accurately, even during complex passages, without edge or glare.

The MT2’s precision tonearm is constructed from dural-aluminium, combining low mass with high rigidity. Special damping materials are used to control resonance, while the bearing assembly ensures exceptionally low friction. Vertical movement is supported by ceramic bearing surfaces with damping fluid, while the horizontal axis uses a gimballed sapphire bearing, allowing the stylus to follow groove modulations with accuracy and stability.

Speed consistency and vibration control are central to the MT2’s design. The belt-driven outer platter, manufactured from dynamically balanced polyoxymethylene (POM), is over one inch thick, providing excellent inertia and flywheel stability. An inner CNC-machined aluminium platter adds further mass and precision. Together, the platters rotate on a polished and tempered steel shaft supported by a sintered bronze bushing, ensuring smooth, quiet rotation.

The DC motor is powered by an external, voltage-stabilised power supply and is fully decoupled from the chassis to minimise mechanical noise. The turntable’s plinth uses a resonance-optimised, highly compressed wood base finished in black lacquer, while acrylic top and middle plates help absorb unwanted vibration and suppress coloration.

A clear, contoured dust cover is included to protect both the turntable and your records. The MT2 integrates seamlessly with McIntosh phono preamplifiers, stereo preamplifiers, integrated amplifiers and home theatre processors with phono inputs, making it a versatile analogue source within a wide range of McIntosh systems.

At Hidden Home Technology, we specify and install the McIntosh MT2 for clients seeking dependable, high-quality vinyl playback with minimal complexity. Correct system matching and setup ensure the MT2 performs at its best within a dedicated listening environment.

Click here to see the higher-performance analogue option – McIntosh MT5 Precision Turntable

Click here for the McIntosh website – McIntosh MT2 Precision Turntable

The wider view: McIntosh MT2 reviews in brief

The MT2 is the way into McIntosh’s turntables, below the MT5 and the MT10. It is belt driven, with a thick outer platter of polyoxymethylene over a machined aluminium inner platter, and its motor has an external power supply. The tonearm is damped dural aluminium on ceramic and sapphire bearings, and a Sumiko Moonstone moving magnet cartridge comes fitted and set up, so it is close to ready from the box.

Michael Fremer reviewed it for Tracking Angle in December 2022 with the Moonstone it ships with today. He judged it carefully tuned to let the cartridge speak. The bass was warm but well controlled and extended, the backgrounds were black, and pops and clicks were kept in their place. A classical trumpet record came through with wide dynamic swings and three-dimensional imaging. He summed it up as “both sweet and enticing”, with grit and slam when the music asks for them.

The arm adjusts for height but not for azimuth. Fremer also expects a better cartridge to bring major gains, and the arm is good enough to take one, from Sumiko’s Amethyst moving magnet up to its Celebration 40 moving coil.

It suits someone building a McIntosh system who wants vinyl without fuss, and Fremer found that its green glow comes at no cost to the sound. The moving magnet phono stage of an amplifier such as our MA252 suits its cartridge, and the MT5 and MT10 are the steps up. We can help you choose the amplifier and set the turntable up for you.

What the reviewers say, in a nutshell

• Tracking Angle, Michael Fremer, December 2022. Quiet, controlled and well tuned to its Moonstone cartridge, with real room to grow through a better cartridge.

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