Operational/Interface Performance
Since I work with computers all day, I was a bit leery of relying on one to
service me for the leisurely activity of music listening. I have grown
accustomed to application hangs, crashes, and corrupted files, so I was
anxious to see how the MS300 would stand up to the rigors of everyday use.
Thankfully, the OS was designed with a single purpose on a known hardware
platform. This gives the system an enormous leg up compared to many
competitors which use front end software designed to work on multiple hardware
platforms.
Such an approach yielded the kind of interface performance I had
hoped for. System operation was stable, with a minimum of glitches, and
absolutely no hang-ups. This type of solidity enhanced the overall user
experience and made me want to use the MS300 even more. I was never
concerned whether a quick transition from one section to the next would
cause a kernel panic like I can get with my work PC. I have always felt that
an effective operating system should be invisible to the user, and save for a
few lapses, I would classify this one as transparent.
While on the subject of lapses, I will note a couple of oddities that did
detract, however slightly, from my enjoyment of the system. When listening to
music from my main library, I transitioned over to the iRadio section of the
interface just to browse the available stations. As soon as the menu
switched over to iRadio, the music that had been playing cut out. I
understand the iRadio feature is a separate function from the primary music
interface, but I think it is logical that music continue to play regardless
of your operating experience until you specifically select something else to
listen to. Hopefully, a future version of the OS rectifies this issue.
I also ran into some odd behavior while browsing through albums and
selecting tracks. There were instances when I would select a specific track
from the main navigation menu. As the menu transitioned to the album
specific page, the track selected would skip to the following track instead
of the one initially selected.
When browsing music, you can use the remote to select the letters of an
artist's name, and the system will track down to it, which was a definite
convenience. Unfortunately the remote's keypad mimics a phone in that each
number corresponds to three distinct letters. This made it unnecessarily complex
to track down to artists whose names fall on that third letter of the
corresponding number. I could have used the accompanying wireless keyboard
for direct access, but that was too cumbersome for everyday use. I would have
preferred the addition of a navigation menu via letter, or even better yet, a
search field. I have a relatively small collection, so this feature wasn't
essential, but a search feature could come in handy for those whose
collections run into the thousands.
From a user interface perspective, the MS300 maintained its high level of
performance, save for a minor complaint I will cover later. The MS300's
interface puts every function in the right place with a minimum of visual
clutter and easy to understand visual queues. Don't get me wrong, I like a
pretty face, but it falls a very distant second to being able to successfully
find and select music. I found the layout to be exceedingly straightforward
and made my way through the various menus with ease. Customizations like
personalized playlists and groups were accomplished with a minimum of
effort. Navigation through my collection was equally painless, forgetting my
whining above. In fact, so rarely did I feel lost, that the user manual served
more as a reference rather than a life preserver.
Nits
When you take into account the level of complexity that goes into a piece of
technology as sophisticated as a music server, you come to expect some
measure of undesirable behavioral quirks. The MS300, though wholly reliable
overall, was not without its moments.
As I browsed my collection by cover art, I noticed the Gracenote database the
MS300 employs was lacking in the retrieval of soundtrack and classical genre
covers. I do have some esoteric stuff in my collection, but when mainstream
stuff from the likes of Elfman, Williams, Zimmer, and Horner came up with a
generic soundtrack cover I took note. Even more lacking was the classical
retrieval that left 90% of that genre faceless. I'm a visual type of guy, so
these omissions did curtail my navigation experience.
While I was satisfied with the MS300's user interface, I would like to throw
my two cents in about its visual look. If I had to pin it down, it would be
the color palette chosen. A graphic designer by trade, I can, at times, be a
bit ruthless when it comes to color and how it relates to function in design,
but I have to say I did find the overall look of the OS to be a tad dingy.
The menus feature a collection of browns, burnt oranges, and blues that seem
to compete with one another rather than compliment and highlight data. This
look made text harder to read and drew me out of the experience of perusing
my collection. Overall, I'd say it misses the contrast needed to create the
visual snap I see in interfaces from competitors such as Qsonix.
As much as the bewitching green glow of McIntosh's trademark front panel is
a crowd pleaser to all who visit, I did find the illumination too intense
during night time playback. When you are trying to enjoy Pink Floyd in the
dark expanse of your theater, you don't want to feel like the headlights of
an approaching car are directly behind you. I have encountered this
throughout the industry lately in all manner of products, so I can't single
McIntosh out, but it would have been a welcome addition of a complete front
panel illumination shutdown as well as dimming options.
Another performance issue was that of noise. Since the MS300 internal parts
produce quite a bit of heat, the MS300 employs a fan in the rear to maintain
a proper internal temperature. Unfortunately on some of my quieter listening
material, I was able to hear the fan kick in from time to time. The pitch of
the fan is not terribly high, but it was a letdown to hear my digital source
physically add to the noise floor of the room. By no means was the level
offensive, but the anal retentive in me yearned for silent operation. I did
notice the fan had more than one speed. On what I would classify as its "low
mode" the MS300 was inaudible from my listening position. Instances where
the fan kicked into its higher mode (complex operation, overall room
temperature increase, etc.) is when it became noticeable. Between the fan
noise and front panel illumination, the MS300 may be best housed in a more
remote portion of your listening space.
So that I don't seem overly critical, one area I do give kudos to McIntosh is in
its software updates. There are many products on the market that promise to
add increased functionality through software revisions only to see products
languish in software limbo. When I inquired if McIntosh would suffer the
same fate, they responded with an actual upcoming feature rather than some
obscure, generic promise. This year, the MS300 features peer
to peer networking. This addition will enable two MS300's to operate on the
same network and act as a single unit, thereby doubling the capacity and
analog zones. Best of all, this upgrade will be done automatically to all
internet connected units. As someone who has suffered with software/firmware
updates via rs-232, I applaud McIntosh for not only providing updates, but
doing so with such a painless procedure.
Conclusions
Sonically, the MS300 acted exactly as I had envisioned, which is to say I
never noticed its performance. While that may strike you as a negative, it is
not. The best umpires are the ones you never notice, and the same can be said
for digital sources. Aside from a few hardware and software ticks, the
MS300's reliable operation, ease of use, and impressive network feature suite
satisfied me on the operational side of the equation. With legitimate
software updates in the works, the MS300 further distinguished itself as a
well conceived product that is quite capable now and will remain so for the
foreseeable future.
We have now come to the sticky element of value vis a vis price portion of
our story. With an MSRP of $5,100, the MS300 is a princely sum indeed. I can't
say definitively that this product will represent a value to all. In fact I
know plenty of people who are quite content to continuously rise from their
seat and peruse their collection disc by disc during marathon listening
sessions. I am most definitely not in that camp. I prefer to have my system
work for me rather than the reverse. The ability to enjoy the totality of my
source material from the comfort of my plush leather chair is hard to
quantify. With the McIntosh, I found myself listening to tracks I hadn't in
years. Songs on albums that generally sit collecting dust in my nicely
furnished IKEA CD rack found their way back into rotation. I found myself
delving deeper in my collection, which yielded even more satisfaction from a
system that has already been quite good to me over the years. In the end, isn't that what
it's is all about?
- Chris Montreuil -