New Products

McIntosh today unveiled a compact aptX HD-enabled Bluetooth transmitter/receiver that makes it easy to add high-quality wireless streaming to any legacy audio system that lacks this capability.

Slated to ship in July for $600, the MB25 Bluetooth Receiver is an update of the MB20 McIntosh introduced in 2021 and, like its predecessor, has a switch on its back panel enabling it to function as a receiver or transmitter. Receiver mode enables an existing audio setup to receive audio from a phone or transmitter wirelessly over Bluetooth. Transmitter mode, makes it possible to stream audio from a CD player, turntable, or other physical-media source to Bluetooth-enabled speakers or headphones.

The MB25 provides several upgrades and accommodates a variety of audio setups, providing balanced and unbalanced analog inputs and outputs as well as coaxial and optical digital inputs and outputs, the latter for connecting to an outboard digital-to-analog convertor (DAC). Though the MB25 is equipped with a high-performance 32-bit DAC for receiving digital signals and an analog-to-digital converter for transmitting digital signals, it does not function as a standalone DAC.

Upgrades over the MB20 include an illuminated front panel — in McIntosh’s signature black glass — with a button for selecting the input when the device is used as a transmitter and indicators showing audio signal type (aptX, aptX HD, AAC, etc.) and sampling rate (32 to 192 kHz). Power Control jacks are also provided for integrating the MB25 into a McIntosh audio system, allowing it to turn on and off with the rest of the components.

Housed in a sturdy aluminum chassis, the MB25 is a Class 1 Bluetooth 5.0 device with a range of up to 150 feet that supports aptX, aptX HD, aptX Low Latency, AAC, and standard SBC audio codecs.

McIntosh points out that the MB25 can be used with another MB25 or an MB20 to distribute signals wirelessly between two audio systems in different parts of the house as long as they are within range of one another. For more information, visit mcintoshlabs.com.