McIntosh RS150 - Gloss black

Description

The Compact Wireless Loudspeaker in the McIntosh Reference Series

The McIntosh RS150 is the compact wireless loudspeaker in the McIntosh Reference Series — the most direct way to bring the aesthetic and engineering of the Binghamton house into a living room, a bedroom, an office, or a kitchen without building a separates chain. No preamp, no power amp, no external DAC: everything is built into a single high-gloss black chassis with a black knit cloth grille. McIntosh presents it as "an easy-to-use wireless speaker, that while relatively compact, still delivers a larger-than-life premium home audio performance." This is the RS150 you plug in and use; the rest of the chain (streamer, preamp, amp, DAC) lives inside. Compact footprint 7-3/4 × 14-1/2 × 8-5/8 in. (19.5 × 36.8 × 21.9 cm) width × height × depth, weight 18.5 lb (8.4 kg) — light enough to be moved from room to room as needed.

Native Streaming, No Proprietary App Required

The RS150 breaks with the "one app per speaker" model that dominates mainstream connected speakers. Every current streaming technology is built in natively: Spotify Connect (cast directly from the Spotify app), TIDAL Connect (cast from the TIDAL app, with support for TIDAL HiFi Lossless), Apple AirPlay 2 (cast from any iOS/macOS app), Chromecast built-in (cast from Android or Chrome), and a certified Roon Ready endpoint for integration into a multi-room Roon audiophile system. No dedicated McIntosh app is required — the listener uses the apps they already know. File streaming up to 24-bit / 192 kHz. Network connection over dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz) or the rear Ethernet port for a stable wired link. Google Assistant compatible through a third-party voice-input device (not included, must be on the same network).

Bluetooth 5.0 With AAC, aptX HD, and aptX Low Latency

For a local Bluetooth source (a phone, tablet, or computer not on the home Wi-Fi), the RS150 carries a Bluetooth 5.0 A2DP receiver with support for the three codecs that matter, on top of universal SBC: AAC (Apple's default codec, used by iPhone and iPad, high quality), Qualcomm aptX HD (up to 24-bit / 48 kHz for a genuine high-resolution Bluetooth stream from a compatible Android smartphone or a Windows/macOS computer with a dongle), and Qualcomm aptX Low Latency (reduced Bluetooth transmission delay to keep audio in sync with video when the source is a TV, a video streaming tablet, or a game console). This AAC + aptX HD + aptX Low Latency trio is complete — most consumer Bluetooth speakers support one or two of these codecs, rarely all three.

120 W Internal Bi-Amplification, Titanium Tweeter, Long-Throw Woofer

The RS150's audio architecture is built around an internal bi-amplification totaling 120 W, distributed with respect for each driver's load: 30 W to the tweeter and 90 W to the woofer. The tweeter is a 20 mm titanium dome with fluid damping ("fluid-filled") — the fluid mechanically damps the dome to reduce resonance peaks and smooth the treble response. The woofer is a long-throw driver in an oblong 5-1/4 × 6 in. format (the elongated shape maximizes useful radiating area within a narrow chassis), mounted in an internal enclosure re-sized versus the previous model. Measured result: 48 Hz - 20 kHz frequency response, with the crossover set at 2,000 Hz. McIntosh underlines that the power output has been doubled versus the previous generation, and that the woofer moves from 4 in. up to 5-1/4 in. in diameter — deeper bass extension with lower distortion at the same volume.

Signature McIntosh Illuminated Digital Output Meter

On the front, the RS150 inherits the meter — the McIntosh visual signature that has been on the brand's amplifiers since the 1960s. The version here is a quick-responding illuminated digital output meter developed for the Reference Series: the segments light up in time with the instantaneous output level, with the signature green tint that echoes the backlit logos on McIntosh preamps and amplifiers. Two machined aluminum rotary knobs frame the display — source selection on the left (NET / BT / BT PAIR / etc.) and volume on the right — for direct control without going through the phone app. Status LEDs for power, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth pairing, and network at the bottom of the front panel. The removable front grille is black knit cloth.

Common Questions

Does the RS150 require a dedicated McIntosh app?

No. That's one of the RS150's strengths: no proprietary McIntosh app is required to control it or send music to it. It works directly with the apps you already use — Spotify (via Spotify Connect), TIDAL (via TIDAL Connect, with support for TIDAL HiFi Lossless), any iOS/macOS app (via Apple AirPlay 2), any Android or Chrome app (via Chromecast built-in). For multiroom audiophile integration, the RS150 is a certified Roon Ready endpoint — Roon detects the speaker automatically on the network. Bluetooth 5.0 is also available for a quick local source. Network connection over dual-band 2.4/5 GHz Wi-Fi or the rear Ethernet port.

Which Bluetooth codecs does the RS150 support?

Bluetooth 5.0 A2DP with three advanced codecs on top of universal SBC: AAC (Apple's default codec, used by iPhone and iPad, high quality), Qualcomm aptX HD (up to 24-bit / 48 kHz, for a high-resolution Bluetooth stream from a compatible Android smartphone or a Windows/macOS computer with a dongle), and Qualcomm aptX Low Latency (reduced Bluetooth transmission delay to keep audio-video sync when the source is a TV, a video streaming tablet, or a game console). This AAC + aptX HD + aptX Low Latency trio covers the three main Bluetooth use cases — most consumer Bluetooth speakers support one or two of these codecs, rarely all three.

Can the RS150 play high-resolution 24-bit / 192 kHz files?

Yes, via the network (Wi-Fi or Ethernet). The RS150 supports file streaming up to 24-bit / 192 kHz — TIDAL HiFi Lossless quality (16-bit / 44.1 kHz bit-perfect FLAC) is explicitly supported by McIntosh, and Roon allows local file playback up to 24/192. Note: the Bluetooth connection is limited to 24-bit / 48 kHz (aptX HD codec limit) — for 96 or 192 kHz playback, use Wi-Fi or Ethernet rather than Bluetooth. AirPlay 2 is limited to 16-bit / 44.1 kHz (Apple protocol limit). For local high-resolution playback from a file library, the Roon app is the most complete route.

Can I use two RS150s in stereo?

It depends on the streaming protocol used. Apple AirPlay 2 natively supports synchronizing two (or more) AirPlay 2 speakers on the network and configuring them as a stereo pair from the Home app on iPhone/iPad — so two RS150s can work as a stereo pair in an Apple environment. Spotify Connect and TIDAL Connect traditionally cast to a single speaker at a time, without a native stereo configuration. Roon supports synchronized zone grouping, but not a dedicated L/R stereo pair configuration across two separate speakers. Alternative: McIntosh offers the RS250, an integrated stereo speaker that already carries both acoustic channels in a single chassis — a simpler solution if the goal is explicitly stereo in a single room.

What's in the Box

McIntosh RS150 Wireless Loudspeaker

Removable black knit cloth front grille

AC power cord

Documentation and owner's manual