Originally Posted by jdandy
Mike.......I reread your Pass amps review today. As I stated, it is a good read, although I was negligent in not commenting on the above paragraph in my first post, but I will do it now.
I don't agree with your conclusion about the speed of the MC2301 power amplifiers, not even a little bit. There is no way they sound like a revolution behind 33-1/3. What a strange analogy. Maybe you should put a stobe disc on your turntable. That comment reminds me of comments one hears occasionally about Sonus faber speakers only being good with violin and chamber music. That is so far off the mark as to be almost comical.
I have had the opportunity to directly compare my MC601's and MC452 to my MC2301's. There is no timing differences between these three amplifiers. I can play ZZ Top - Tres Hombres or Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn't Stand The Weather through the MC2301 amps and get the same blistering guitar leads with the same dynamic impact and bite that is delivered through my McIntosh solid state amplifiers. I can play Edgar Winter - Winter Blues, Santana - Abraxas, Al Di Meola - Kiss My Axe, Eric Clapton - Crossroads Guitar Festival 2004, David Gilmour - On an Island, and any other great guitarist through my MC2301 without any sensation of lost pace, rhythm or timing. The MC2301 will accurately and faithfully showcase ANY genre of music played, reproducing it in a way that generates excitement and desire to hear it again and again. Do the 2301's sound fabulous with female voice, baritone sax, piano, acoustic guitar and double bass? You know they do. Is that all they do well? Not a chance. Do the 2301's kick ass when the source calls for it? Absolutely, without a doubt! Is the MC2301 capable of effortlessly delivering its full rated 300 watts without a whimper? Of course it is, it's a McIntosh.
While I can appreciate your infectious enthusiasm for your new Pass Class A amplifiers, and I am positive they sound fabulous, the McIntosh MC2301's do not take a back seat to them in any way, shape, fashion, or form. Your opinion is valid for you, but that does not necessarily mean your opinion is fact and the same is true for my opinion. The subjectivity of sound and hearing gives us both merit for our points of view. I have auditioned Pass amplifiers on several occasions, always leaving with a positive impression, but never returning to my systems thinking how much slower they are. That simply isn't true and is not represerntative of my personal experience. Most assuredly, everyone is entitled to their opinion and I respect yours, even if I hardily disagree.
|