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When two iconic manufacturers of the audio world occur to be celebrating many years of making a number of the finest amplifiers and audio system on Earth, what higher option to do it than by introducing some monstrous new merchandise, combining them to create a million-dollar system, after which displaying it off on the world’s largest shopper electronics present.
McIntosh and Sonus faber, two high-end audio manufacturers which can be a part of the overarching McIntosh Group household of manufacturers, are celebrating their respective Seventy fifth and fortieth anniversaries this 12 months. At CES 2024, McIntosh popped the champagne by introducing its new 2,000-watt MC2.1KW Monoblock Energy Amplifier, which the corporate says is one in every of its strongest up to now. It additionally launched Seventy fifth anniversary editions of a number of extra of its common merchandise, together with different amplifiers, preamplifiers, and an SACD/CD participant.
As for the MC2.1KW Monoblock, the $50,000 “tri-chassis marvel” includes three separate modules which can be stacked — one Output Module and two Energy Modules, every containing a 1,000-watt amplifier. The Output module is adorned with McIntosh’s iconic blue VU meter on its face. Every part is designed with the corporate’s shiny black glass entrance panels, and they’re all stamped with particular Seventy fifth-anniversary markings on the entrance and on the highest.
The extremely highly effective mixture can ship its full 2,000 watts of energy into audio system no matter their impedance, be it 2, 4, or 8 Ohms, and a few sonic upgrades have improved low-end efficiency and dynamic headroom. McIntosh says they’re ideally fitted to extraordinarily massive rooms and “audio methods which have power-hungry loudspeakers,” and they aren’t kidding about that. Enter Sonus faber.
I had the privilege of visiting McIntosh’s “Villa of Sound” demo on the Wynne Resort in Las Vegas (a tackle McIntosh’s Home of Sound expertise New York Metropolis) throughout CES 2024, and upon getting into the suite overlooking the Wynne’s pristine golf course with the Sphere peeking up over the adjoining buildings, your gaze is straight away drawn to Sonus Faber’s lute-shaped, 6.25-foot tall, red-lacquered wooden Suprema loudspeaker and its twin 5-foot tall, elliptical subwoofers.
In celebration of the Italian firm’s fortieth 12 months of creating extremely luxurious and costly audio system, the $750,000 Suprema 2.2 system pays homage to 2 of the corporate’s heritage speaker strains, the Guarneri and the Stradavari. Sure, you learn that proper — $750,000. However if you wish to save your self $70,000, you too can get it with one subwoofer. They’re accessible now and are produced upon request. The worth features a journey to an Italian manufacturing facility the place the client can select the wooden used and select from as much as 120 colours of leather-based.
Comprised of carbon fiber, wooden, and CNC-machined stable aluminum in its building, the wing-like Suprema towers every characteristic eight front-firing audio system (two tweeters, a 6.5-inch midrange driver, an 8-inch midwoofer, and 4 8-inch woofers), and two backfiring drivers. The entrance of every Suprema tower options Sonus faber’s signature leather-based panel made by swanky Italian furnishings model Poltrona. Every speaker weighs 242.5 kilos.
The 227-pound subwoofers have been designed for optimum low-range response regardless of the place they’re positioned in relationship to the principle towers, and every options two 15-inch woofers with a frequency response of 16Hz to 30/80Hz, relying on how the crossover is ready up.
What does that imply? It means a deep, highly effective low-end with a advised energy output starting from 500 to 2,000 watts. In my demo in Las Vegas, the system (which was priced at $1,000,000 altogether) was solely pushing 200 of these watts. Our demo information performed a variety that included a tympani efficiency, Chris Jones’s No Sanctuaryand an insanely intricate monitor from Software. It was loud however pristinely clear, and had peak and dynamic vary for days within the massive Wynne suite.
It’s a actually spectacular celebration of two seminal audio manufacturers.
