Advanced Digital Technologies Allow Users to “Fine-Tune” Audio Systems by Eliminating Room Interaction
McIntosh Laboratory today announced the introduction of the MEN220 Room Correction System (SRP: $4,500). The MEN220 delivers a potent suite of digital Room Correction, Custom-EQ and 2-Way Crossover capabilities in one easy-to-use stereo component that allows users to “fine-tune” the characteristics of their audio systems and achieve the best possible performance in any listening space. The MEN220 is scheduled for availability later this month.
Styled in the rich tradition of McIntosh audio components, the MEN220 features the company’s signature Fiber-Optic Illuminated Black Glass Frontpanel and aluminum casework. Frontpanel buttons and control knobs bring a familiar, easy-to-use analog interface to this digital product just as a 2-line vacuum fluorescent display reports status and aids in set-up of the MEN220. Full system control and PC link are provided via RS232 while McIntosh Data, Power Control and IR inputs offer additional remote control flexibility. Both single-ended and balanced connections are supported; a hand-held, IR remote control is included.
RoomPerfect™ Software Ensures Optimum Music Playback
The effect of room acoustics on the quality of music playback is well known to music aficionados, and it is not uncommon to see peaks and dips between +10 to -20 dB in the frequency response. The mechanism by which this occurs is as complex as the range of listening rooms and audio components are variable; no two situations are alike. Where simple attempts to correct the problem using common equalizers have yielded disappointing results, recent developments in audio DSP technology have made more robust, digital solutions a reality. The MEN220 harnesses the power of RoomPerfect™ software, an advanced room correction algorithm that automatically creates a digital model of the listening room, called RoomKnowledge™. By using data gathered from multiple locations in the room, the MEN220 corrects frequency response anomalies — revealing, perhaps for the first time, the full capabilities of the audio system.
“Custom EQ” Solves Problems and Tailors Audio for Individual Tastes
A Custom EQ Application (that runs on any current version of Windows PC) allows the creation of specialized response curves to suit the tastes of the user, or to solve specific issues such as refreshing inferior but still-cherished source material, or to compensate for inferior formats. Filter, Slope (Q), and Frequency are all user-selectable for each of six Bands. An unlimited amount of curves may be named and stored as XML files; up to six curves reside in the MEN220 for easy recall via frontpanel or remote control.
“Smart” 2-Way Crossover for True Bi-Amping of Any Loudspeaker
The MEN220 2-Way Crossover feature facilitates true bi-amping of any loudspeaker. The performance enhancing effects of bi-amping, increased dynamic headroom being chief among them, are widely recognized and MEN220 makes any number of multi-amplifier solutions possible. User-selectable parameters include Filters (First, Second and Fourth Order Butterworth, and Second, Fourth and Eighth order Linkwitz-Riley), Frequency, and Level. Additional settings allow for the proper integration of a subwoofer.
Designed to interface with RoomPerfect™ Room Correction software, the Smart Crossover function in the MEN220 achieves a level of performance far beyond that afforded by more simple designs by correcting for phase error. Phase error, the number-one problem with active crossovers, is generally accounted for during the design of a loudspeaker’s internal crossover, but is not addressed by outboard, active crossovers. The MEN220 considers the distance from the listening position to the low pass and high pass driver elements (entered in inches or cm) and automatically calculates the appropriate delay required to output phase coherent signals.
About McIntosh Laboratory
McIntosh Laboratory celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2009, and the company’s unswerving commitment to excellence, innovation and quality continues to define the state-of-the-art in high fidelity and bring discriminating consumers around the world an elevated home entertainment experience. McIntosh luxury audio and video products are designed and manufactured at the company’s Binghamton, New York headquarters. Its products reflect unmatched levels of performance, superlative engineering and hand craftsmanship. Built to last for decades, McIntosh components demand nothing less than an equal level of commitment to customer support and service. McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. is a D&M Holdings company.
