McIntosh's MB20 Bluetooth Transceiver brings Bluetooth 5.0 streaming to virtually any home audio system - no matter if it's McIntosh or not.

Firstly, the McIntosh MB20 can work as a Bluetooth transmitter, meaning that it can send aptX HD hi-res audio wirelessly from your hi-f to Bluetooth headphones or speakers. This means that you could be listening to an LP playing while you're in the kitchen grabbing a drink. Additionally, thanks to Qualcomm's Low Latency tech, if you feed your Blu-ray or TV audio through your hi-fi to some Bluetooth headphones, the sound will stay in sync with what's on your big screen.

When in transmitter mode, the MB20 uses a “high-performance analogue-to-digital convertor” (ADC) with a quoted 110 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

Meanwhile, in receiver mode, you can stream audio the MB20 via Bluetooth from any compatible device, including smartphones, tablets and laptops. When used as a receiver, the MB20 deploys a high-performance onboard 32-bit/192 kHz DAC. Although it can't be used as a stand-alone DAC, it can be used with existing DACs with the MB20's digital output then fixed at 96 kHz for compatibility.

Furthermore, you could use a pair of MB20s to create a wireless encode/decode bridge from one part of the house to another.

The MB20 sports coaxial and optical digital inputs and outputs for its DAC and ADC sections, while a switch on the rear panel is used to select which mode you require.

McIntosh boasts that the MB20 is one of only a few Bluetooth devices to offer audiophile-quality balanced connections (inputs and outputs), making it ideal for adding high-performance Bluetooth to high-fidelity home audio systems.

The MB20 costs £649 and comes in a black, custom-aluminium chassis with a black-glass top-panel to complement any existing McIntosh system.

Visit McIntosh for more information