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Review 2 of 4
Price Paid:
$2249.00
from online Summary:
The McCormack MAP-1 is a single-ended 6 channel analog preamplifier. All the processing/decoding of playback must be performed by the CD/DVD player. There is NO analog/digital conversion done by the MAP-1 at all. This lends itself to some remarkably clean playback of multichannel audio SACDs and audio DVDs. The MAP-1 has 2 six-channel inputs, 1 six-channel output, 1 two channel tape-output, and 3 two-channel inputs. A phono stage is an option for an added cost of approximately $500.
Strengths:
This is one clean sounding preamp. You can hear the clarity of this device from the first moment you cut it on. The MAP-1 is, according to its designer, a McCormack RLD-1 multiplied by 3. The bloodlines of this preamp are extremely impressive. It was designed by the one and only Steve McCormack, it is built in Fairfax, Va. at the Conrad Johnson facility. Due to the fact that this is not a preamp/processor, the controls are few and simple (no "on-screen" menus that demand a television monitor to n avigate through). For those who have an interest in multi-ch! annel au dio more than home theater, this is exactly what the doctor ordered. It is an audiophile level preamplifier that will allow you to get all the boops and beeps and zaps out of your Star Wars DVD, and not compromise the sound of your multi-channel SACD of Brothers In Arms in the slightest. Call it a "Big A, little v" A/v preamplifier.
The MAP-1 also has something called ARM (ambiance retrieval mode) that is a far cry from those preset modes that one finds on A/V receivers. Activating ARM while playing from a 2 channel source immediately routes a signal to the "extra" channels. Honestly, I have found this feature to be crap on everything I have ever listened to... until I heard McCormack's version. Wow. I don't know how it works, but it works. Somehow, McCormack figured out a way to send aspects of the audio signal to the center and rear channels without buggering up the main audio channels. The net result is you can get 5.1 audio from a 2 channel source and it doesn't sound like it's being squeezed into one DAC and out of another.
The design of the MAP-1 is such that it maintains a flow of current across its internal circuits as long as it remains plugged into an active outlet. This means no "warm up" time at all when you power it fully on for some listening. Weaknesses:
This is a pre-amp that is not for everybody. It is almost Spartan in its functionality. As this is a matter of design, I hesitate to call it a "weakness", but a buyer should be aware that this unit is not designed to be the heart of a home theater system, rather it is designed to be the heart of an excellent multi-channel audio system that has the ability to playback your favorite movie in surround sound, provided that your DVD player does its own processing (look for the various Dolby and DTS logos on the face of your DVD player if in doubt). It does not have any provision for HDMI. Again, not what I would call a weakness, but I do wish to give people a heads up.
In my original review of this preamp,! I dinge d the MAP-1 a full point because the remote would not cut the unit off and on. Over a year later, I have discovered an undocumented function of the remote: the mute button, when held down for 2 seconds, will power the preamp on and off. This effectively removes the only item I had identified as a “weakness”, and I now give the MAP-1 a Five Star rating. Similar Products Used:
A/V receivers almost without number
A vulgar number of mixing boards pressed into service
Rotel RSP 1068
Rotel RSP 1098
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