That store is one of nine in the country who are Platinum dealers. They are the only ones that can carry the 2K line of gear.
We have one in NC called Tri-City Electronics in Conover. I was there last night, and got to meet the man who designed the 352, 402, 501, 602, 1000, 1200, and 2KW. He's also the President of the company, Charlie Randall. Very smart guy just loaded with knowledge.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the President of McIntosh. I figured he would be some random guy that D&M "installed", but this guy's been there for 19 years, and was the cheif designer before President. That's a great thing for a brand, if you ask me.
Nevertheless, the 2K system is simply amazing! If you get the chance to hear it, take it. It's the closest thing to a live show I've ever heard from a system. Charlie started off his three song set with
Devil Went Down to Georgia by another Charlie.
I have to admit, at first I was thinking that this was just going to be a system that played LOUD, and that was the goal. The CDB track was quite loud, but as it went on, I noticed that the sound was as if the band was right in front of us. It had the energy of a live show, and the drums and cymbals were recreated with a ferocity that no system I've heard can match. That's what stuck out to me on this track. The cymbals were just unreal. Yes. . . they could be peaky and at times were just damned loud and tippy. But that's how cymbals are when you're sitting a few feet away. And that's remarkable in my experience!
Next up Charlie wanted to demonstrate McIntosh's Power Guard technology.
So he puts on the familiar
Money For Nothing from Dire Straits. The volume is at 80. I knew it was going to be loud, but I was unprepared for what happened when the needles on the amp passed the 2000 watt mark. When the Power Guard light finally came on, we were approaching 130dB+.
This should hurt. And it probably would have if we'd left the volume there for a few more minutes. But strangely enough, it was so incredibly clean and free from distortion, it was just loud, and not the least bit offensive like it would be at a 120-130dB live show.
Next up was some male vocal action followed by all our own discs we brought. What really struck me as we got into the rest of the tunes is how incredibly silent the system was. Even at very high volume, the system had a silence that defied any experience I've ever had. This was almost eerie at times, and I had a few episodes of uncontrollable laughter during this b/c I was just so amazed. It was as if I had just won the lottery, and had no one there to tell. I was just dumbfounded really.
The system loaded the room very well. You would expect this from 7 foot tall speakers with 110 drivers each. And one thing that continues to amaze me about McIntosh amplifiers is that the more power they make, the more delicate and nuanced they become. You'd think they'd just be big bruisers, and they are when called for. But they have a delicate touch and micro detail resolution that is so important, and so rare in this playing field. I felt this when I bumped power from my 402 and went to 501's. I felt it again last night as we were listening to a 2000 watt amplifier, and even the 1201's we listened to later in the evening were exhibiting this.
As everyone sort of broke off and started grabbing food and drinks, I pulled my demo disc out and went over to the system nextdoor. It was the XRT30's with the MC1201 monos. This was using a C45 preamp with the MS300 server. I was again very impressed with this system, and I just sat there for a long time listening to some Garcia Band.
Afterwards, I went into the food room and was just mingling when someone fired up the 2K system again. As impressed as I was with the XRT30 system, it just was so immediately apparent
from the other room that the XRT2K system was leaps and bounds beyond it. In fact, it was leaps and bounds beyond anything I've heard, including systems costing much more.
If the room had been better, I might have had to make a deal with the devil.
It was about 20x40 and the system was off to one side on the long wall. As good as the line arrays are at taming room issues, a better room would take it to another level IMO.
If you're considering that new F-430 Spider, you might want to stop and listen to this first. For a bit more money, this might make you much happier.
Then again, if you truly are considering either, just buy both.
Pics? OK. Since you asked nicely. . .
