Look at this classic deck!
 

McINTOSH MX406 NEW AM FM CAR CD SOUND QUALITY PLAYER - eBay (item 130342406282 end time Dec-05-09 14:30:56 PST)

And they still make these???

McIntosh | MX406

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/images/p...x406-car-s.jpg

thats what i'm running in my car!

amazing unit.

lol, its not that that classic, i think mine was manufactured in 2004.
its just a classic simplistic look

2004, thats pretty classic.

And although it kind of looks like it, it is not a twin-shaft deck like the old cassete players. It fits a DIN hole.

ya i suppose it is getting up there

BARELY.

lol, this thing was ridiculous to install, the faceplate is massive on them, i had to do a fair bit of work just to get it into my car. its around a 1/4" bigger than standard din size on each side.


this deck astounds me every day though. no distortion at any volume, easy to use, extremely nice sq, and you can just tell it will be around for a long time, the build quality is great.
i have not measured them, but the rated 4V preouts on this are just as loud as the rated 8V+ on the CD8061 w/ BLA i had in before. so either this is underrated and that over i don't know. im geussing a little of both.

I enjoyed mine in my last car, I am using my Eclipse 7100 to help me tune my Zapco DC reference then I intend on putting the Mac back in this car as it has a great FEEL to it and pretty good sound (not flat but slightly old fashioned like a Mac tubed amp smooth on top an full on the midbass)
I am sure if McIntosh claims a 4v output it is a 4v output (they don't fudge ratings), it is just a little beefier than it needs to be is my guess (i.e. it has a better output amp than it needs)

It is that great feel that really sets it apart (it feels like a high end tuner from the '70s), decent radio (too few presets), good CD tracking, it looked like Ford designed it into my 90 Taurus SHO, I suspect it wont look as good in my 2003 Focus SVT

that HU actually looks classy to me.

huh? ^^




and mcintosh is the definition of class

great head, needs a processor

bah! keep it simple. just the head and an amp:smilie_da

Missing out...

ya i was actually thinking of checking out a processor.

im fully content with the headunit as is....but i just like to try new things...if i like it i like it, if not, i'll sell it.


i've always wanted to check out a bitone.....they sound so good on paper, but i've heard some sketchy things about them

Without question, that Mc is great. I just know you can get much much much much much better results with a processor. Much much better. Did I mention that is would be better by much? :P If yoiu have your doubts, if anything, those PDX's are holding your Mc back.

do you have experience with this unit and a particular processor?

I have no experience at all with this unit. Bit1 seems like a viable option, and unless you are planing to compete and afraid to lose points in one area Bit1 has a problem with, but I cant recall what that is right now, then Bit1 should be a very viable option, as for everyday use it is top notch. You just have to hear your system properly tuned with T.A. I dont think you would ever have to change the Mc based on its performance, I just dont think those PDX's are the best match for it. If you want we can meet one day and try DLS A3 on the front end just for fun to see what happens.

i've actually gone from a 9965 to this headunit, and honestly, i don't miss the time alignment much at all in the system. the only thing i miss is the crossover flexibility.

i've chosen the pdx's because of their efficiency and size. i would love to hear what something else could do with my mlk's one day though. i've heard those dls amps are pretty nice.

I see. Good to hear. I would miss T.A. for sure, cause I love it. I know, PDX's are tiny little things. Hearing DLS is a must. They sound great.

oh *barf* now we're getting into the myth that amps drastically affect the sound of a system. lol.

Also, if processing makes a HUGE difference to your system then, frankly, you effed up the install.. :ohwell:

BUT both of these are topics unrelated to this thread.

DUKK there are sonic differences between amps - Believe it. Take my last install. Audison LRx amps to Audison VRx amps. The LRx plays loud but looses control and becomes uncolored and harsh sounding. VRx's sound is almost similar but more on the warmer side, stays in control but lacks the balls of the LRx.

Same goes for processors - I switched out the 701 to the bitone. The L to R separation was HUGE and sounded more natural.

the topic isn't that unrelated, lol, the thread was on the mx406 and we are discussing whether the unit would substantially benefit from a processor.

i agree though, i don't think a properly setup system will NEED a processor. like i said before though, i'd be curious just to try one out.

no comment on the sonic variations between amps...i couldn't agree either way until i hear multiple amps on my same setup.

What I dont understand why you even want to go there, as everyone knows this would go nowhere good and everyone has been down this road before. You say I effed up the install, I say you have sh** for ears. Whats the point?

I put a sticker on my car and the stereo was louder by 3dB! AND it added 10HP! I say we just invest in stickers to make our cars louder and faster

? if there is a point make it, taking a sarcastic note implies your point is already made

Hey I wasn't the one to start pooning about this amp for this and that amp for that. Oh... that was you. Well, there ya go.. :eyes:

And I will go there everytime someone begins to spew about it. I know the entire argument and for all the opinions and rhetoric there is and always has been only one statement that is true: Nobody has ever proven they can consistently tell the difference between two unclipped amplifiers playing music at the same level. This is unrefutable so we don't even need to hear the argument.

Relating the Bit1 to the 701. A good processor should be completely transparent when set flat. I'm still waiting to see one. They all add a little 'something' to the sound. Considering what's going on inside, really, it's almost inevitable. The game is to decide what 'something' you can tolerate.

As for needing a processor - this isn't even a discussionary topic. Anyone worth their salt will agree that if you aren't 95% of the way there with zero EQ or T/A, then you screwed up. Plain and simple. Minor bumps and tweaks are not major alterations in sound. :ohwell:

Your attitude that came across was uncalled for. Why would you crap over someone’s comments, especially over such a debatable subject. Not a fine example from admin stirring the pot first with something that everyone knows is guaranteed to start a fight. I’d expect something like this from a novice user, but being an active and experienced forum member you should know better. And now, you single-handedly opened up a potential floodgate of retarded comments from other members which can potentially destroy the thread. I don’t recall seeing you post comments that come across in such a malicious way, so the only explanation I have is that you were having an off-day, and that may have clouded your better judgement. Way to keep the thread alive. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but can you tell me why you had to give yours in such a provocative and aggressive manner? As for my opinion, I have yet to see someone win an SQ competition without proper T.A. no matter how great their install is. You can do all you want with speaker placement or shifting polarity on the tweeter and/or another mid if necessary, etc, and whatever else they do to monkey around the real deal, the system is disqualified from the start in my book. And is all this aggression stemming from me saying that I like a system tuned with T.A. as opposed to without, and/or because I offered to take time out of my day to extend my generosity to a fellow CCA member by offering them to demo a highly regarded amp in the SQ community, or did you not see it that way and thought I was trying to make a shameless sale via someone else’s thread? And you have to “barf” over someone suggesting they can hear amp’s sonic sigs like the other 50% of people who always fight over this topic vs those who can’t. I could be saying you can change an install, but not the ears, and continue with the bickering, but instead I would rather explain myself and let it go, as this is futile and old.

What attitude? I presented my statements matter of factly maybe, but I do not believe aggressively. Perhaps it is because they are inarguable? Or was it that you didn't like what you were hearing so I'm a dink?

I'm sorry if I offended you - really I am. Here's what I saw though - you were opining that the member NEEDS a processor and they NEED expensive amplifiers or they are wasting their time. Obviously I disagree - especially when they are running a well respected, if mainstream, brand. This kind of rhetoric is what keeps people with "real world" systems from thinking they can compete in the first place. What kind of example are YOU putitng forth? One of elitism IMO :dunno:


I need to ask for some assistance though. I keep seeing "you need THIS amp" and "oh don't get THOSE amps" on various forums. I've been looking around but have been unsuccesful in finding the Amp Rating Chart. Who authored it? I'm looking to buy new amps for my next SQ system and want to get "good ones" and not "crappy ones". Or is there a dollar/watt level I need to be aware of or do they need to be hard to find? Whats the FOTD? ...see now I'm being sarcastic :cool:

ahhh i want that

Car audio is a lot like transportation, Dukk, some people use a car, some take a bus, and then there are some who walk, and that's you, Dukk.

Dukk you're the fittest of the bunch! Anyway, totally agree with you dukk, too much bs being flaunted as fact in the electronics world. I guess nothing's new about that, i've been hearing that since the early 70's, luckily for me i started doing my own research and listening tests to avoid blowing good money on nonsense.

I am with you, Julian. I just dont know why people want to fight over this subject still. I understand that this is a place of diverse opinions, but when you start putting "barf" emoticons, etc, that does not relay neutrality, and calling certain things a myth that still hasnt been proven. What I keep hearing again and again is people on tight budgets clinging to this all amps sound the same business. By same reasoning all decks sound the same, etc. If that were true, Dual decks are better than Mc, cause they are cheaper, thus making it a much better piece, so why waste money on non-sense.

Did some tests tonight with my Parasound separates vs a Zapco DC Ref with my Parasound Pre amp.

I'm not going to bore everyone with the details on what is what.

I ask my wife to listen to two tracks on my home system and she went back to here facebook as I changed amps. I put the zapco (w/cascade psu) in the mix with the same speakers, cables, preamp.

Her thought were I'm not sure what it's called but I like this sound better.

My wife has no interest in this and if she can tell - I don't see why u can't DUKK.

i've had many amps, but i have never listened to multiple amps without changing anything else in the setup.
so you guys have piqued my interest, next chance i get i am gonna see.

not changing my pdx amps though, i've chosen them for many other reasons.


...i don't think you can compare the sound of a head unit to an amp though. how a headunit picks up and reads data and sends a preout is completely different in my mind than amplification of a signal. thats just me though.

I just switched out amps and heard a huge difference between the 2, and my ears aren't as finely tuned as Julian's. I went from a Memphis Belle running bridged on my fronts to a Memphis 16-MC3004 running the same. Now from what I know they both use the same board for the 4ch section. The highs are cleaner and clearer, and midbass seems a little better as well. Nothing else was changed but the amp. :dunno:
Nick

How far fetched is it, really? If one head unit does what you describe better, why can't an amp do a better job amplifying and keeping truest sound, while having better grip on those speakers, and many other aspects...?

...problem is; no one can pick the amp in a controlled test. I think cd players they have, though even that was hard, speakers were easy, but amplifiers and cables...no. Unless you think that little resistor is worth 3x the price of the amp just to change it's audio signature is worth it? Amplifiers are supposed to be transparent, so any modification of the waveform is distortion (whether good sounding or not). Does that make some amps sound differently, sure does if they incorporate eq circuits. The real question is; what are you paying for then? An engineer's idea of what good sound sounds like (his eq circuit) or fidelity (transparent electronics that reproduce the source material accurately). When you have a properly level matched test (removes the effects of sound processing) between $20,000 amps vs. a $100.00 amp and golden ears (audiophiles who claim they can hear better than most others) can't pick which one is playing with their choice of music and speakers...that's something to think about.

Don't attack me. There is no point, which is exactly what I'm sarcastically implying. This thread has turned into a processor/amp/I'm-right-you're-wrong war. If that's where it's going to go, move and rename the thread. What does anything about processors and amps have to do with a McIntosh MX406??!??!? And I don't want to hear examples of how they are, because I could start talking about the quality of RCA's and start thatwar. Just because they connect to the deck doesn't mean we need to argue about other components. We're way off track here, hence why I made the sticker comment.... Sorry that went over your head :eek:

man are we suckers as consumers then, if this really is the case then alot of us really need to reevaluate why we buy the amps that we do.
is there any studies that can actually be shown on this either way?
or is it all just talk from both points of view?
that would resolve the issue alot quicker in my mind anyways.

.....and everyone tone it down a little, why get hostile over online opinions?

The reality is that sound is very fragile when being reproduced. The slightest imperfection in materials can "colour" the sound, let alone if the system introduces "noise". When you consider all of the things going on inside a car, plus inside the electronic devices you have interconnected, there are alot of opportunities to alter the sound. A deck, processor, amp, crossovers, etc. can all alter the sound. The biggest altering factor to sound is the area it's being reproduced in.

The deck needs to be able to produce a clean signal to start with. It is the heart of the system, not an amp or processor. The ONLY fuction of a processor in a PROPERLY installed system is to compensate for peaks and valleys in the frequency range created by the vehicle itself. This can be time correction, or simple adjustments to specific frequencies that aren't accurately being percieved. An amps function is as simple as it's name.... To amplify the sound, aka make it LOUD! All of the components can alter the sound. Rant over. Peace