McIntosh MCD1000 (2003–2010)
The MCD1000 is a CD transport and nothing else. No DAC, no analog outputs, just a disc drive that hands digital data off to an outboard converter. McIntosh built it as the partner to the MDA1000 D/A converter, and the company framed the pair as "the introduction of a new and elite product category." The manual's own instructions describe cabling the transport's XLR digital output into input 7 on the converter.
The loader is a high-precision machined assembly with aluminum top and side panels intended to control vibration. The disc tray is machined aluminum, and the front panel is glass over McIntosh's usual black. The pickup is an optical three-beam laser. Outputs are digital only: the manual specifies coaxial at 0.5V p-p into 75 ohms, optical at -15 to -20 dBm, and balanced AES/EBU at 5V p-p into 110 ohms. Sampling is 44.1kHz/16-bit, as you'd expect, with Cross Interleave Reed Solomon error correction. Power draw is 20W from a selectable 100-240V supply, and the unit weighs 12.5kg net. These turn up regularly without their remote.
Period coverage was warm but general. The 6moons review of the MCD1000 and MDA1000 (2004) called the transport "exactly what its name implies, a CD drive," praised its solid construction in the company's long tradition, and judged the manufacture and the ideas behind it "exceptional in every aspect" - language that also circulated in dealer copy of the time. A second part of that review followed in December 2005. Original MSRP was $7,000, and hifi-wiki dates production from 2003 to 2010. Beyond that the record thins out: no production totals, no detailed failure history, and no confirmed sold-price data, only asking prices on the used market. Replacement laser pickups are available from third parties, and both the service manual and owner's manual survive.
Known specifications
- Type: dedicated CD transport, no internal DAC or analog outputs
- Formats: CD (16-bit/44.1kHz disc format); CD-R/RW per McIntosh literature
- Pickup: optical three-beam laser
- Digital outputs: coaxial 0.5V p-p @ 75 ohms; optical −15 to −20 dBm; balanced AES/EBU 5V p-p @ 110 ohms
- Error correction: Cross Interleave Reed Solomon
- Power: 20W, selectable 100/110/120/220/230/240V
- Dimensions: 445 × 152 × 410 mm (W×H×D, incl. front panel and knobs)
- Weight: 12.5kg net; 18.8kg shipping
- Matching component: MDA1000 D/A converter
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