McIntosh XR1052 (1978)
The McIntosh XR1052 was the flagship loudspeaker of the McIntosh line when it was introduced in 1978, and it remains one of the more physically imposing speakers the company ever produced. At 112 pounds and 35.5 inches tall, these were serious, furniture-grade floor-standing speakers in walnut with removable black cloth grilles — not the kind of thing you moved alone.
The most distinctive engineering feature of the XR1052 is its bass loading. Each cabinet houses two 12-inch woofers mounted in a push-pull, compound arrangement — one woofer coupled to the rear of the other inside a sealed enclosure. The intent was to cancel even-order harmonic distortion while the front woofer operates into a sealed, acoustic-suspension-style load. The midrange is a semi-dome with a foam surround, and the tweeter is a dome type. Crossover points are set at 180Hz and 2.2kHz, with an 8-ohm nominal impedance and a stated maximum power handling of 600 watts. Frequency response is quoted at 20Hz–20kHz (±2dB).
Notably, the period advertising for this model emphasized the research behind it rather than the hardware itself. McIntosh's own promotional copy in HiFI-Stereo (February 1990, p.68) claimed the development program "spanned at least two decades" and credited the company's purpose-built acoustical laboratory for finally allowing the theoretical work to reach a conclusion. That copy ran well after the speaker's 1978 introduction, suggesting McIntosh kept the XR1052's legacy alive in its marketing for years.
Owner reports are consistently enthusiastic about the bass — described as tight, deep, and room-shaking — and the midrange is praised as smooth. The caveats are practical ones: the speakers need a large room, and the foam surrounds on the midrange and tweeter are prone to deterioration. McIntosh no longer supplies replacements, though aftermarket suppliers make exact replacements. The original price was $2,600 per pair; today, pairs surface on the used market asking roughly $1,950 to $2,200.
Documentation on the XR1052 is thinner than its stature suggests. No official sensitivity rating, detailed crossover component info, or production totals have surfaced in the record, and there's some disagreement among listings about the driver complement — one source describes a single 15-inch woofer, while others (and the more detailed technical accounts) describe the dual 12-inch push-pull arrangement. The dual-12 design is the one consistent with the speaker's reputation and with the technical descriptions from owners.
Known Specifications
- Type: 3-way floor-standing loudspeaker
- Drivers per cabinet: two 12" woofers (push-pull compound loading), semi-dome midrange, dome tweeter
- Crossover frequencies: 180Hz, 2.2kHz
- Impedance: 8 ohms
- Maximum power handling: 600 watts
- Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz (±2dB)
- Dimensions: 35.5" H × 20.5" W × 14.5" D
- Weight: 112 lbs
- Finish: Walnut, black cloth grille
- Original price: $2,600/pair
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