Those of you that own the MP100, tell us how it sounds. Would it be hard to beat for the money? .
I bought one a month-and-a-half-ago and am very pleased with my purchase. I listen most often to vintage records from the 50's and 60's (classical Mercury's/RCA Red Seal and 60's rock in addition to Sinatra/Dean Martin/Judy Garland original grey-label Capitol records). I have my McIntosh MT-5 turntable connected to the MP100 and have listened to it with a Shure V15-Type IIIG (moving magnet with spherical stylus), a Denon 103R (moving coil with a spherical stylus), and my latest cartridge (and the best I've ever had), the McIntosh branded ClearAudio Talismann II which comes standard on the McIntosh MT-10 turntable (again though, I have the cheaper MT-5 which I bought because it was cheaper and had a dustcover included). I have the MP100 plugged into the balanced input of my MX-121 home-theatre controller.
There are two great things about this device. The first is the mono switch. This utterly-necessary-if-you-have-a-turntable control is unfortunately left off of most modern preamps. By engaging the mono switch on mono records being played with a stereo cartridge, you cancel out 1/2 of the surface noise of the mono record since the common lateral/vertical pickup of the stereo cartridge is cancelled out when the mono switch is engaged and the noise from the vertical pickup disappears.
The second is the wide variety of cartridge matching control for both moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges that is really well implemented on the MP100. When dialed in correctly with proper matching of the cartridge, the tonal quality of the sound jumps out at you. Sibilance disappears (unless its from a mis-set anti-skate control), and the sound of your system "comes to life", the stereo image on a 3 mike classical record (such as Mercury's "Hi-Fi-Espana" LP) becomes very precise.
To compare, the sibilance on certain records (the new Columbia Records reissue of the Broadway Cast of "West Side Story" suffers from this on the song "Tonight") is quite apparent with the Shure V15 Type IIIG plugged into the MX-121's phono input. When the same track is played through the MP100, properly matched using the MP100's controls, the sibilance disappears and the richness of the vocals is magically restored. Even the stereo image comes into incredible focus and matches photos of the sessions at Columbia Studios in New York.
Please note... I have NOT compared the MP100 with other competitive high-end phono preamps. I've always used a cheap phono preamp for moving coil cartridges and the MX-121's phono input for moving magnet cartridges. I love the MP100 and consider it an essential part of my system. Playing vinyl through it has become an addiction since I bought it. I don't think I've turned on the CD/SACD/BluRay audio player (the way overpriced and feature-poor McIntosh MVP-891) since acquiring the MP-100.
This being said, the most important thing that you can do to improve your vinyl playback is to make sure that your cartridge is correctly aligned. Essential to this is to know the EXACT pivot point of your tonearm. McIntosh turntables have a little "dimple" precisely on the tonearm's pivot point. Then, you can use a very-easy-to-use device such as the Feikert protractor (or the competitive but similar one from ClearAudio) to properly align the cartridge. The second most important thing is to properly set the anti-skate control on your tonearm. I have used the HiFi News Test Record tracks 8 & 9 on side one to properly set this up. Cartridges with a spherical stylus are less affected by anti-skate, but my McIntosh branded ClearAudio Talismann is very sensitive to it and will "buzz" on either the left (if the anti-skate control knob is misadjusted inward) or right (if the anti-skate control knob is misadjusted outward) on tracks 8 & 9 of the test record. Once the anti-skate is perfectly adjusted, it'll play tracks 8 & 9 with no buzzing whatsoever. The result of a misadjusted anti-skate is horrible sibilance on your LP's that even the best phono preamp wont' fix. Once you have your turntable perfectly aligned as I do, the MP100's matching capabilities will be dramatic.
If you're skeptical, I would try to borrow one from a dealer or buy one with a 30 day return policy. Take it home, hook it up, and you'll be convinced that your vinyl has never sounded better.
