[jpgr4blu]

About a decade ago, owned the MC2102 (100 WPC tube amp) and the Mac C1000 3 piece preamp with Wilson Watt Puppy 7s. I was determined to purchase the MC 2301 monos. When I went to my local dealer and listened to a full Mac system with my preamp and the 2301s , I was ready to buy. Then my dealer suggested swapping out the upper tier Mac electronics for a mid level Audio Research preamp and amp---just for a listen. I was a bit insulted at first --as I was a died in the wool Mac tube fan having owned a number of Mac components prior to my then current set up. I thought the salesman was a bit presumptuous to suggest that I might prefer an ARC system which I assumed he preferred at less than a third the price of mine.--I was astonished about how much better the ARC system sounded, especially in the midrange. I heard previously unheard detail on numerous test cds I brought with me. These were cds that I had listened to hundreds of times. I could count the background singers on one Van Morrison track when before they sounded as a massed group. I heard each individual voice and how the harmonies were constructed. This type of detail added to musical enjoyment. On another track from a David Byrne cd, I clearly heard low level detail in the midrange that I had never heard before. And the sound was not harsh, just revealing and much more transparent than Mac with greater tonal color and texture and a light touch of sweetness.
I went back home to my Mac system and listened again to those tracks paying particular attention to what I had heard earlier in the day at my dealer. But what I thought was missing in my Mac system was, in fact, still completely missing. The sounds were simply not there--masked by a slight scrim over the presentation that makes Mac easy on the ears but far from transparent.
I was upset at the time as I knew that I had to sell all of my Mac gear and go ARC. I started with the Ref 5 preamp which worked better than my Mac preamp with the Mac 2102. Over time, I completely converted to ARC starting with the Ref 110, the Ref 40-- then the Ref 150 and now the Ref 160 monos.
I will say, I still favor the sound of Mac gear with certain speakers such as B&W. Of course, others may hear all of the above differently than me and they would not be wrong.