McIntosh MCT500 SACD/CD Transport

Give Your Disc Collection the McIntosh Treatment

The McIntosh MCT500 SACD/CD Transport is built for listeners who still have a serious collection of CDs and SACDs—and want to hear what those discs are truly capable of in a modern high-end system.

Unlike a conventional CD player, the MCT500 is a digital-only transport. It doesn't contain an analog output stage. Instead, its job is focused on accurately reading the information stored on a disc and delivering that digital signal to a compatible external DAC, preamplifier, integrated amplifier or processor.

For standard CDs, the MCT500 can work with a wide range of DAC-equipped components. Pair it with a compatible McIntosh component through the proprietary MCT connection, and it also unlocks the high-resolution audio layer of SACDs.

Built for SACD

One of the MCT500's most important capabilities is Super Audio CD playback.

SACD can offer exceptional sound quality, but extracting its high-resolution digital audio for use with an external DAC requires a secure connection.

McIntosh solves this with its proprietary MCT digital interface.

Connect the MCT500 to a compatible McIntosh component with an MCT input using the included cable, and the two components create a secure digital connection capable of carrying the high-resolution audio found on SACDs.

Regular CDs can also be played through the MCT connection, making it possible to use one connection for both formats in a compatible McIntosh system.

Four Digital Output Options

For standard digital playback, the MCT500 provides considerable system flexibility.

There are four digital outputs: balanced, coaxial, optical and McIntosh's proprietary MCT connection.

That means the MCT500 isn't limited to an all-McIntosh system for conventional CD playback.

Connect it to a compatible DAC, preamplifier, integrated amplifier or home theater processor with a standard digital input and let that component handle the digital-to-analog conversion.

This also allows the quality and character of the final conversion stage to be determined by the DAC you choose rather than being permanently built into the disc player.

More Than a CD Transport

The MCT500 isn't limited to commercially produced CDs.

It supports SACD, CD, CD-R/RW and DVD-R discs, making it useful for extensive collections accumulated across different formats.

McIntosh also provides support for a broad range of digital music files, including AAC, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, MP3, WMA, DSD up to DSD128 and WAV up to 24-bit/192kHz.

Compatible files can be played from user-created data discs or through a USB flash drive.

A conveniently located front-panel USB input makes accessing those files easy without reaching behind the system.

Twin-Laser Optical Pickup

Reading the disc accurately is the first job of any serious transport.

The MCT500 uses a twin-laser optical pickup designed to optimize reading across its supported disc formats.

Audio data is read at twice the normal rate, providing the system with additional capability for disc tracking and error-correction processing.

The objective is to recover the information on the disc accurately before it ever reaches the DAC.

Precision Disc Mechanism

Even loading a disc has been given the appropriate attention.

The MCT500 uses a precision die-cast aluminum disc tray combined with an advanced digital servo system.

Operation is engineered to be smooth, fast and quiet, providing the substantial mechanical feel expected from a McIntosh source component while helping the transport perform its primary job accurately.

It's a very different experience from the lightweight optical mechanisms found in many mass-market disc players.

Designed to Work as Part of a McIntosh System

Rear-panel Power Control and data ports allow the MCT500 to integrate with other compatible McIntosh components.

That means power and operational functions can work together as part of a complete system rather than requiring every component to behave independently.

Pair the MCT500 with an appropriate McIntosh DAC-equipped preamplifier or integrated amplifier and you have a digital front end designed to operate as one cohesive system.

Classic McIntosh Construction

The MCT500 looks every bit like the serious source component it is.

Its chassis is constructed from polished stainless steel, with the signature McIntosh black-glass front panel, illuminated logo and substantial aluminum end caps.

The styling allows it to sit naturally alongside McIntosh amplifiers, preamplifiers and integrated amplifiers while maintaining the classic appearance that has defined the brand for decades.

The Grid's Take on the McIntosh MCT500

The MCT500 is for the person who spent years building a great CD and SACD collection and has absolutely no intention of abandoning it.

Nor should they.

Streaming is convenient, but a serious physical music collection is still an incredible source—and SACD in particular can contain some outstanding recordings.

What makes the MCT500 interesting is that McIntosh doesn't force you into one DAC. For standard CD playback, its balanced, coaxial and optical digital outputs allow it to work with a variety of high-end digital components.

But pair it with a compatible McIntosh component through MCT, and you gain the capability that really separates it from a conventional transport: digital playback of the SACD high-resolution layer.

For someone building a McIntosh system around both physical media and modern digital sources, the MCT500 gives the disc collection a proper place in that system rather than treating it as legacy technology.

At The Grid HiFi & Home Theater, we can help match the MCT500 with the appropriate McIntosh DAC, preamplifier or integrated amplifier and make sure the system is configured correctly for both CD and SACD playback.