McIntosh’s gorgeous DS200 streaming DAC is here, thus completing the nonpareil hi-fi system of my dreams

If you’re reading this (thank you for that, by the way) you’re no newbie to the hi-fi game. You know McIntosh – you remember the US specialist’s MA6300 integrated amplifier, from the mid noughties, noted the firm’s much more recent striking Bluetooth speaker, considered the compact, good-for-anything audiophile amp with streaming smarts and perhaps even visited the company’s elite House of Sound venue. But this proposition is new again.

This is the McIntosh DS200, and this big chunk of metal, buttons and classy casework is specifically a streaming DAC. It’s the separate for you if you’ve already got a compatible power amp and preamp (if not, might I suggest Moon’s North 791 and 761 solution?) and of course speakers – here, let’s go for the Focal Diva Utopia, because this is our hedonistic hi-fi haven and we can imagine whatever we like. Just missing the high-end streaming component to complete it all? McIntosh’s got it covered with the DS200.

What makes a McIntosh separate? For me, the sound