MDA1000 problem
My beloved McIntosh MDA1000 took a trip to McIntosh hospital this morning... 
Last night, as I was doing some CD listening, I began to notice that my usual beautiful image and soundstage had shifted rather noticeably to the right. I tried CD after CD, and also observed on my amplifier meters that the left channel output was trailing the right consistently using the peak hold feature on the MC501 meters. All other analog sources (Turntable, tuner, etc) did not exhibit this. I tried the usual reversing cables, trying the unbalanced outputs on the MDA1000 instead of balanced to see if the problem remained (it did). It seems to most affect the vocal region. It is listenable, but definitely something is wrong.
I was on a scheduled day off today, and so this morning my troubleshooting continued. All digital sources run through the MDA1000 displayed the symptom, so we know the MCD1000 CD transport is not at fault. Finally I borrowed my Wyred 4Sound DAC2-DSDse from my office and installed it in the system. The channel balance was normal. As far as I was concerned, it was conclusive that there is an issue within my MDA1000.
I dropped it off this morning at ProAudio Electronics in Tampa, paying a rush fee to get it on the bench fast. Needless to say, I miss the unit badly, and I'm quite curious as to whet the findings will be. I'm obviously not happy about having it out of the house, or the prospect of an unwanted repair bill. I think the tech there is as curious as I am as to what is causing this. That may be a good thing, in terms of how fast they get to it.
Stay tuned.... 
__________________
Pete
No. 35
Main System: VPI Prime Signature TT in Rosewood, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Stillpoints LP1 V2, McIntosh: MP100, MR78, MCD1000 Transport on Stillpoint Ultra Minis, MDA1000 D/A Converter on Stillpoint Ultra Minis, MS750 Music Server, C40, MC501's (3), Soundcraftsmen: DC2215 Eq/AS1000 Real time analyzer, DBX 3BX II, Carver C9, Nakamichi Dragon, Crown SX724, Crown D-75A (as headphone amp), Sony XBR55X900E 4K TV, JBL L220A's, JBL B460, Sumo Delilah active crossover, WireWorld Silver Eclipse audio interconnects, WireWorld Starlight and Silver Starlight Coaxial Digital interconnects, Wireworld SuperNova 7 Toslink digital interconnect, WireWorld Aurora 7 and Silver Electra Power cords, Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8 speaker cables, Terk AF-1 Powered Antenna, Oppo UDP-205 4K Blu-Ray Player, Bryson BUC-1 USB Converter, Wireworld Gold Starlight XLR Digital interconnect, PS Audio Direct Stream Power Plant 12 on Stillpoint Ultra Minis, PS Audio Dectect, FuruTech Flux-50 NCF Inline Power Filter, Add-Powr Wizard EM Field AC Line conditioner; Stillpoint Ultra SS's under (3) McIntosh MC501 Amplifiers
Florida Room/Art Studio System: Harmon Kardon T60 TT/Ortofon 2M Black, McIntosh: MR77, C32, MC2205; Crown Power Line Four, Wyred for Sound DAC-2 Digital to Analog converter, Soundcraftsmen AE2000 Eq, JBL 4313B's, JBL 2241-based Sub, JBL BX63A Active Crossover, Oppo BDP-105D Blu-Ray Player, Samsung 5500 Series 32" Smart TV, Terk AF-1 Powered Antenna
Master Bedroom System: McIntosh: MX120 Theater processor, MC206 6-channel amplifier; MR74 AM/FM Tuner, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, JVC HM-DH40000U D-Theater Digital VHS, Phase Technology PC80 Towers (now used as stands), (2) JBL 4401's, (1) JBL Studio 6IW speaker, (2) JBL Studio 6IC speakers, Sony XBR-49X900E UHD TV, Panamax 1000 Line Conditioner, (2) JL Audio E110 Subwoofers, Wireworld Solstice speaker cables, Wireworld Aurora Power cords, Wireworld Equinox and Solstice speaker cables and various other flavors of Wireworld and Audioquest cabling
Office System: Marantz 150 Tuner, Crown DL 2, Crown EQ 2, Crown SA 2, Crown D-75A (as headphone amp), McIntosh MCD7009 (as transport), DBX 3BX Series II, Oppo BDP-103 Blu-ray player, JBL 4401's, JL Audio E112 Subwoofer, Samsung 5500 series 32" Smart TV, Wire World Oasis audio interconnects, Wire World Solstice speaker cables, Wyred for Sound DAC-2 DSDse Digital to Analog converter, Wireworld Starlight Coaxial Digital Interconnect, Sennheiser HD800 Headphones, Sennheiser HDVA600 Headphone amp, Wireworld Silver Eclipse Balanced Interconnects, Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB Cable, Add-Powr EAU-2 AC Harmonic resonator
High Resolution Source: HP Omen 17" Gaming Laptop
Last edited by Vintage Pete; 02-15-2022 at 12:10 PM.
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