McIntosh MB20 Bluetooth Transceiver

MB 20 Bluetooth transceiver

The MB20 Bluetooth Transceiver is a simple, no-fuss solution to adding Bluetooth streaming capabilities to virtually any McIntosh (or non-McIntosh) home audio system of any era. It can quickly transform an old McIntosh system you've cherished for decades, or a family heirloom you've inherited, into a modern home music system capable of playing the digital music stored on your phone, in your... cloud accounts or from your favorite streaming services. It's a small (not much larger than a smartphone), standalone Bluetooth streaming all-in-one solution that doesn't require any third-party apps to use.

As a transceiver, the MB20 is designed to provide excellent Bluetooth connectivity to audio devices that do not have Bluetooth connectivity. As such, it was designed to be a Class 1 Bluetooth device. Class 1 devices can achieve a range of up to 45.7 meters1 under ideal conditions and with few obstacles. As a receiver, the MB20 features an extremely sensitive receiver for better reception, even from Class 2 devices, with maximum range dependent on the capabilities of the two actively paired devices. An external antenna helps maximize range and improve performance. As a transmitter, it has a range 10 times greater than a typical Bluetooth Class 2 device.

connections

The compact MB20 features a variety of analogue and digital inputs and outputs for connection to your home audio system - specifically balanced inputs and outputs. This makes it one of the few Bluetooth transceivers to offer these high-quality audio connections that contribute to top-notch audio performance. It features a stereo set of balanced and unbalanced inputs and a stereo set of balanced and unbalanced outputs for connecting to your system via analog cables. For the digital connection to your system, e.g. B. for use with an external digital-to-analog converter (DAC), it has 1 coaxial and optical input and output each.2

audio transmission

The MB20 uses Bluetooth® 5.0 with support for both the high-bit rate Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) standard and Qualcomm® aptX™ HD for high-resolution audio playback. In addition, it features Qualcomm aptX Low Latency for improved audio transmission speed to deliver the sound in sync with the corresponding visual media. When used as a receiver, the MB20 uses a powerful 32-bit DAC with internal 192kHz processing for optimal sound quality. When used in combination with a separate external DAC, the MB20's digital output is fixed at 96kHz to be compatible with most third-party DACs and to maximize performance and preserve audio signal integrity. In transmit mode, an equally powerful analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 110 dB is used.

As a transceiver, the MB20 can function as either a Bluetooth receiver or transmitter (but not both at the same time). Simply set the switch on the back of the device to the correct setting for desired receiver or transmitter use.

Examples of use

In receiver mode, you can stream to the MB20 via Bluetooth from any compatible device with Bluetooth streaming capabilities; this audio can then be played back through your McIntosh system, regardless of when your amplifier or preamplifier was manufactured.
In transmitter mode, you can stream from MB20 to any device that can receive Bluetooth audio streams. In this case, you could stream the music stored on physical media like CDs or vinyl to your wireless Bluetooth headphones or Bluetooth speakers.
If you have multiple audio systems in your home that are within range of each other1 , a third option is to add an MB20 to each system and set one to transmitter mode and the others to receiver mode. Then you could play music stored on a physical medium, e.g. from a CD player or turntable, from one system to the other system(s) in your home. Or if you need a powerful audio connection from one part of your house to another, but running cables isn't an option, two MB20s wirelessly connected in this way can create a completely wireless encode/decode bridge. The transceiver comes in a black custom aluminum housing with a black glass cover to complement any McIntosh system. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)