McIntosh Launch MA8000 Integrated Amplifier

McIntosh Laboratory has launched the MA8000, a new 300-watt integrated amplifier complete with a five-input DAC for digitally connected devices, a headphone output, and for vinyl lovers, a fully adjustable dedicated MM and MC phono stage.

Intended as an audiophile system ‘hub’, the new MA8000 offers D/A decoding at up to 32-bit/192kHz for up to five digitally connected devices, plus a complement of analogue inputs.

The MA8000 has 15 inputs in total: six line-level; two balanced; five digital; plus a MM and MC phono input. The five-strong digital input suite in the McIntosh Digital Engine includes two assignable coaxial and two assignable optical inputs, plus a dedicated asynchronous USB 2.0 input (operating at up to 32-bit).

The MA8000’s Moving Magnet and Moving Coil phono sections feature adjustable cartridge loading and impedance matching and can be optimised to suit most phono cartridge configurations.

Also included, is McIntosh’s new internal High Drive headphone amplifier which offers increased gain and output power, optimising it for virtually every headphone type, from in-ear to over-ear, 20 to 600 ohms. The MA8000 also benefits from a Home Theatre Pass Through feature, for integration into existing multichannel home cinema systems.

Offering a (conservatively rated) 300-watt output, the 45kg solid-state MA8000 also includes a discrete eight-band analogue tone control.

The MA8000 sells for £9.995 and is available now.