McIntosh MPM4000 Power Meter Review

[GXAlan]

That's even better then.

(I then saw that is tiny,I thought it was a full size gear,never realized that it's a car accessory)

If anyone knows anyone at McIntosh or Bose, maybe McIntosh can make a modern full sized one. You, know, if you have a MC275 and want power meters in addition to the ones from the preamp.

 

[Sokel]

If anyone knows anyone at McIntosh or Bose, maybe McIntosh can make a modern full sized one. You, know, if you have a MC275 and want power meters in addition to the ones from the preamp.

I vaguely remember another Mcintosh accessory like that,but maybe it was something else?
Full size for sure,I stumbled on it years ago when looking at their crossover,accidentally probably.

It was nothing functional about audio,just cosmetic.
I might be wrong though.

 

[Holmz]

…
I’ll judge SPLs with my ears rather than using my eyes and needing thousand dollar McIntosh power meter to do so.

OK - but that gets difficult when one has speakers which sound quiet with low distortion.
One can easily think that they are quiet when they are so loud that one cannot hold a conversation.

Or have you not experienced that?

 

[TheWalkman]

OK - but that gets difficult when one has speakers which sound quiet with low distortion.
One can easily think that they are quiet when they are so loud that one cannot hold a conversation.

Or have you not experienced that?

Holmz:

To address your comment:
“quiet with low distortion” is not loud;
quiet with high distortion is simply bad sound;
loud with low or high distortion is just loud.

Bottom line; I don’t need a $1000 meter to tell me when my ears are hurting, my face is grimacing and my teeth are rattling in my head.

Like the taste of a fine French wine (Burgundy or other) that puts a smile on my face, I know when the volume is turned up too far and puts a frown on said face when I hear it. I may not be able to describe every nuance that leads to these outcomes, specifically, but I know loud when i hear it.

 

[Limopard]

Given that it is mainly for show, the "postman" is the upper limit for me, no matter how accurate it is.

 

[Holmz]

Holmz:

To address your comment:
“quiet with low distortion” is not loud;
quiet with high distortion is simply bad sound;
loud with low or high distortion is just loud.

Bottom line; I don’t need a $1000 meter to tell me when my ears are hurting, my face is grimacing and my teeth are rattling in my head.

Like the taste of a fine French wine (Burgundy or other) that puts a smile on my face, I know when the volume is turned up too far and puts a frown on said face when I hear it. I may not be able to describe every nuance that leads to these outcomes, specifically, but I know loud when i hear it.

Some systems can sound quite, when they actually measure to be loud.
I am assuming that you have never heard that.

And many can have high distortion and sound loud, when they are not really measuring that loud.
There is something about the upper harmonic structure that the brain uses to infer loudness.

Bottom line is that you, nor your ilk, are calibrated to NISt standards, and the rest of us tend to trust a meter more.
You can use a free meter on an iPhone, like I do, should not want to use a $1000 meter.

Secondly, high distortion is not “simply bad sound”.
Some of those can sound pretty nice, and there is no way for quantifying bad sound that is easy.

Thirdly:

Holmz:

… I may not be able to describe every nuance that leads to these outcomes, specifically, but I know loud when i hear it.

You may not hear loud when it is loud… Hence the meter.

 

[beagleman]

What I see as negative is the range,a little over 100W.
Bring me a kW one and I'm sold!
(Nahhh,although I respect Mcintosh they are too colorful for me,a little like the SMSL of amps in terms of colors )

Thanks Amir!

Compared to the Realistic meter, I see another shortcoming.

The Realistic has a switchable 2 Watt or 200 Watt range. In real usage, that 2 watt range would be far more reasonable for normal music listening.

 

[Sokel]

Compared to the Realistic meter, I see another shortcoming.

The Realistic has a switchable 2 Watt or 200 Watt range. In real usage, that 2 watt range would be far more reasonable for normal music listening.

Not with my music,gear listening distance,etc.
But I see cases like this,yes.

 

[OldManMatt]

Causes no degradation to sound? I think it's pretty cool, I love a little eye candy & VU meters.

 

[David_M]

Seems like McIntosh gets everything right except speakers. They always look great too—any and every vintage I’ve seen.

What's wrong with their speakers?

 

[GXAlan]

What's wrong with their speakers?

While their electronics are neutral, their speakers are… not.

McIntosh ML1 MkII loudspeaker | Stereophile.com

What was old is new again. McIntosh Laboratories has been in business long enough that they are able to bring new design thinking, materials, and construction methods to products from their extensive back catalog. Example: McIntosh's first successful loudspeaker, the ML1. The venerable...

www.stereophile.com

That said, there are clearly fans of this sound signature and majority of their money is made off electronics that pair with other speakers. It’s a lot harder to sell a neutral speaker that sounds like every other neutral speaker.

 

[David_M]

While their electronics are neutral, their speakers are… not.

McIntosh ML1 MkII loudspeaker | Stereophile.com

What was old is new again. McIntosh Laboratories has been in business long enough that they are able to bring new design thinking, materials, and construction methods to products from their extensive back catalog. Example: McIntosh's first successful loudspeaker, the ML1. The venerable...

www.stereophile.com

That said, there are clearly fans of this sound signature and majority of their money is made off electronics that pair with other speakers. It’s a lot harder to sell a neutral speaker that sounds like every other neutral speaker.

I bet this one sounds clean and neutral ...

 

[BlackH20]

You can download an app on your phone and get a meter for free; it's not bad in the car. It also saves a ton on not getting that McIntosh car system with a Grand Cherokee.

 

[JSmith]

PPM's, VU meters and loudness meters displayed as faux VU meters are not the same thing.


JSmith

 

[Hart]

Seems like a distraction while you are driving. I already have to watch a movie on my iphone as well as make calls, eat lunch, texts, selfies, order food etc.. I don't need any more distractions.

 

[dogmamann]

Yeah! With this price you can buy a system. But this is the star of the show. Now we have to wait a Chinese company checks the schematic to know understand what to do.

I think with the current state of engineering, the US is the one who needs to copy anything Chinese. Brands like Kef / Topping / SMSL are running circles around so called legendary US brands in terms of performance.

 

[renaudrenaud]

I think with the current state of engineering, the US is the one who needs to copy anything Chinese. Brands like Kef / Topping / SMSL are running circles around so called legendary US brands in terms of performa...

Good engineers in USA went to finance and crypto currencies and are probably trying to find more money in AI today.

No more people to build things like airplanes or audio equipment (you can fly with both).

But surely not the subject of this thread!

 

[ban25]

Compared to the Realistic meter, I see another shortcoming.

The Realistic has a switchable 2 Watt or 200 Watt range. In real usage, that 2 watt range would be far more reasonable for normal music listening.

2W is about 60% travel on the meter, a perfectly reasonable range for music listening, particularly when you will still see the occasional 10W peak.

 

[soundofsilence]

Can someone tell me what the point is of a power meter like this?

 

[antcollinet]

Can someone tell me what the point is of a power meter like this?

fun