McIntosh MB20 Bluetooth Transceiver Announced
McIntosh announces its MB20 Bluetooth Transceiver, which cuts the cables while promising the quality the company is known for.
McIntosh's MB20 Bluetooth Transceiver brings Bluetooth 5.0 streaming to virtually any home audio system - no matter if it's McIntosh or not.
Firstly, the McIntosh MB20 can work as a Bluetooth transmitter, meaning that it can send aptX HD hi-res audio wirelessly from your hi-f to Bluetooth headphones or speakers. This means that you could be listening to an LP playing while you're in the kitchen grabbing a drink. Additionally, thanks to Qualcomm's Low Latency tech, if you feed your Blu-ray or TV audio through your hi-fi to some Bluetooth headphones, the sound will stay in sync with what's on your big screen.
When in transmitter mode, the MB20 uses a "high-performance analogue-to-digital convertor" (ADC) with a quoted 110 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
Meanwhile, in receiver mode, you can stream audio the MB20 via Bluetooth from any compatible device, including smartphones, tablets and laptops. When used as a receiver, the MB20 deploys a high-performance onboard 32-bit/192 kHz DAC. Although it can't be used as a stand-alone DAC, it can be used with existing DACs with the MB20's digital output then fixed at 96 kHz for compatibility.
Furthermore, you could use a pair of MB20s to create a wireless encode/decode bridge from one part of the house to another.
The MB20 sports coaxial and optical digital inputs and outputs for its DAC and ADC sections, while a switch on the rear panel is used to select which mode you require.
McIntosh boasts that the MB20 is one of only a few Bluetooth devices to offer audiophile-quality balanced connections (inputs and outputs), making it ideal for adding high-performance Bluetooth to high-fidelity home audio systems.
The MB20 costs £649 and comes in a black, custom-aluminium chassis with a black-glass top-panel to complement any existing McIntosh system.
Visit McIntosh for more information
Jay Garrett
StereoNET’s resident rock star, bass player, and gadget junkie. Jay heads up StereoNET as Editor for the United Kingdom and Europe regions. His passion for gadgets and Hi-Fi is second only to being a touring musician.
Posted in: Hi-Fi | Technology
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