REMEMBER when you were young? When a standalone tuner was among the sources in your hi-fi system, along with a turntable and tape deck? Apparently, there’s still a demand for high-fidelity radio, and to meet this, McIntosh has unveiled the MR89 AM/FM tuner.
“While there is no doubting the popularity and permanence of paid music streaming services, there is still plenty of free music being broadcast over the air from thousands of traditional radio stations. And McIntosh has a long and distinguished history with radio and tuners. The McIntosh MR78 from the 1970s is considered by many to be one of the best – if not the best – tuners ever made. The MR89 AM/FM tuner carries on with this tradition of tuner excellence by letting you enjoy the abundance of free music streaming over invisible airwaves,” the company tells us.
“The MR89 features exclusive McIntosh radio frequency circuitry that is capable of receiving both strong FM signals from nearby stations – something that can overload and cause distortion in lesser tuners – while also being able to tune in weaker FM signals located further away with little to no noise.”
The MR89’s advanced signal quality monitor will display detailed signal, multi-path, and noise levels of the incoming RF signals to help fine tune optimal placement of the AM/FM antenna.
“Sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratio, harmonic distortion, channel selectivity, and stereo separation were thoroughly analysed and thoughtfully updated to make radio listening more pleasurable. New features have also been added including a High Blend option in the Stereo Blending function, as well as Softmute, and Highcut, while 60dB output meters show the signal level that’s being delivered from the analogue outputs of each channel.”
Retailing at US$5,500, the MR89 has already started shipping to US and Canada markets, with the rest of the world to follow soon.
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