{"id":155810,"date":"2023-02-25T11:19:55","date_gmt":"2023-02-25T11:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techweekmag.com\/?p=155810"},"modified":"2024-06-19T15:59:08","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T15:59:08","slug":"magnat-mc-400-review-plays-it-all-perfectly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/hi-fi\/magnat-mc-400-review-plays-it-all-perfectly\/","title":{"rendered":"Magnat MC 400: Plays it all perfectly"},"content":{"rendered":"

To get a complete system with all the functionality that is in demand in our time, it is enough to connect speakers to this device.\u00a0Whether you want to play your music from vinyl, CD, flash drive, local server, FM broadcast or online service, the new Magnat MC 400 offers you every choice.<\/p>\n

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Over the past few years, Magnat Audio-Produkte GmbH has significantly expanded its range of electronic components and now offers a variety of options for the widest range of music lovers.\u00a0The company does not pursue the record power of amplifiers or the super resolution of DACs, scrupulously respecting the correspondence between the price and quality of its products in German.\u00a0With regard to our current test CD-receiver MC 400, the company’s credo can be formulated as “all in one and nothing more.”\u00a0But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.<\/p>\n

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Uniting generations<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Interest in devices that can replace an entire rack of components is growing for a reason: there have been more and more people who want to save space and cut costs lately.\u00a0And the very thesis about the advantages of separate Hi-Fi has lost its relevance: modern technologies and components make it possible to create tightly packed equipment with minimal influence of its individual parts on each other.\u00a0And the benefits are obvious – less space, fewer cables and remote controls.\u00a0And the most important thing, in my opinion, is less financial costs.\u00a0What, in fact, we see on the example of the new CD-receiver Magnat MC 400.<\/p>\n

Indeed, this model is designed to play music from different media, both physical and virtual.\u00a0First of all, I would like to note the presence of a built-in MM phono stage with separate Phono inputs on the rear panel.\u00a0Care for older music lovers is also evident in the integration of a slot-loader CD drive capable of playing CD-Audio, CD-R, CD-RW, mp3 and WMA discs.<\/p>\n

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In turn, the file player supports mp3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, APE and WAV with resolutions up to 24\/192, but DSD playback is not provided.\u00a0The contents of flash media are read by the USB 2.0 port, and only in the FAT system.\u00a0The MC 400 can also receive content via the DLNA protocol, incl.\u00a0wireless via Wi-Fi (WLAN).\u00a0Setting up is easy thanks to the proprietary Network Wizard assistant, which is called through the menu.<\/p>\n

Of course, there is also a Bluetooth module (fixed on the rear panel), and not just any, but advanced from Qualcomm version 5.0 with support for aptX HD.<\/p>\n

The built-in DAC can also be fed through coaxial and optical inputs, as well as through the HDMI ARC port.\u00a0So the MC 400 will also come in handy for improving the quality of the soundtrack for TV shows.<\/p>\n

And, finally, we note an FM tuner with RDS data output on the display, as well as a DAB receiver, which is not useful in our country.\u00a0But you can listen to Internet radio through the Tuneln service.<\/p>\n

The analog section consists of a pre-amplifier with three line inputs (one for a 3.5 mm jack on the front panel) and a volume control.\u00a0Additional settings are possible through the menu and from the remote control: tone correction for bass and treble, loudness and stereo balance setting.<\/p>\n

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There are two analog outputs: adjustable for connecting an active subwoofer and linear for recording.\u00a0Jack 6.3 mm for headphones – on the front panel.<\/p>\n

Working with the MC 400 and all manipulations with the settings is conveniently controlled on a 2.8-inch multi-line display.\u00a0With a resolution of 320 x 240, it displays both text and graphics clearly, including album art.<\/p>\n

The final amplifier, built on powerful bipolar transistors, in class AB produces 2 x 60 W (4 ohms) and up to 100 W peak.\u00a0The power supply is linear, with a solid toroidal transformer.<\/p>\n

Five Approaches to Music<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To test the CD receiver, a system was built, and exclusively from Magnat components.\u00a0The popular MTT990 turntable with a Goldring G1042 head was used\u00a0as an alternative source, and the sound quality was evaluated with the connection of Signature 909 floorstanding speakers\u00a0. prefix “super”, works up to 55 kHz.\u00a0So we will have all the features of the MC 400 sound path in full view.<\/p>\n

It is also worth noting here how the power amplifier controls the impressive Signature 909 cones: on Boris Blank’s “Convergence” record, the bass notes are clearly embossed, the beats are fast, and the subharmonics go into the infrasonic region.\u00a0The dynamics in general are very impressive, the amplifier shows sharp contrasts convincingly, the lack of power is not felt on the beats.<\/p>\n

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Let’s go to CDs.\u00a0The difference is predictable: the picture becomes sharper, the tonal balance is lighter, depth and volume disappear from the lower band, although objectively the tonal balance is aligned to perfect linearity.\u00a0In addition, the CD has more information in the upper band, the timbres are literally polished, but in terms of emotionality, the sound is noticeably inferior to well-recorded vinyl.\u00a0This is normal, in general, the DAC of the MC 400 under test does not give rise to criticism.\u00a0And he builds space in a classical way: in accordance with the sound engineer’s plan, the speakers either disappear from subjective perception or participate in the formation of a wide foreground.<\/p>\n

Hi-cuts from flash drives are very good.\u00a0You can feel the volume of space, the scope of the stage, and the transparent, literally washed-out upper range.\u00a0There is a little less energy than a CD, but this is more than compensated by an abundance of small nuances that create a rich sound spectrum.\u00a0Micro-contrasts are surprisingly distinct.<\/p>\n

Now – Tidal on the local network.\u00a0The scene is slightly simplified, it has less depth, but it is interesting to listen: the timbres retain their naturalness, the bass really hits the body.\u00a0Serious compromises in the sound are not noticeable either in the overall dynamics or in the naturalness of the sound of the instruments.\u00a0There is a feeling of some convention when playing symphonic classics, but only very advanced and expensive streamers can get rid of it.<\/p>\n

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The final of the tests was the broadcasting of music from a smartphone via Bluetooth.\u00a0This is where the MC 400 really surprised: in terms of such indicators as the amount of space, the filling of the lower register and the purity of the upper register, this playback method even surpassed Tidal.\u00a0The reverb tails on some recordings were slightly shortened, which made the sound a little dry, but of all the digital options described above, I would choose the wireless one.\u00a0The phone is always at hand, the resolution is quite sufficient for any musical genre, you forget about the innate compromises of Bluetooth in five minutes.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

In general, the MC 400 makes a really good impression, especially when you realize how many high-fi components it can replace. And if you look at the price tag…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To get a complete system with all the functionality that is in demand in our time, it is enough to connect speakers to this device.\u00a0Whether you want to play your music from vinyl, CD, flash drive, local server, FM broadcast or online service, the new Magnat MC 400 offers you every choice. Over the past […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10404,"featured_media":155818,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[642],"tags":[778],"class_list":["post-155810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hi-fi","tag-reviews"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}