Greetings AA forumites! Brand new community member here, and also first time owner of a McIntosh unit, specifically the MA8900.
I have wanted a McIntosh since I was 10 years old after seeing/hearing one my friend's dad owned. Now that dream is a reality.
I'm upgrading from a Rogue Sphinx V2 which was a very nice amp, especially for the money, but the McIntosh is next-level by comparison. This unit will be the centerpiece of my system for many years to come. By way of background, here's what the whole thing looks like besides the 8900:
- Rega Planar 3 (2017)
- Hana EH cartridge
- NAD C 538 CD player
- KEF LS50 speakers
- MacBook Air for streaming
I am a huge Sonos fan, but their new replacement for the Connect seems stupidly overpriced for what it is, so I'm content to make do with streaming Spotify et al via the spare laptop. Sounds very good, and that's $500 that can be spent elsewhere.
The next obvious upgrade is the speakers; the LS50's are very nice, but now that I am freed from the constraints of the dreaded spousal approval factor, I'm looking to upgrade to floor standers. This upgrade won't happen for a while since I'll need to save up, but my initial thoughts are:
Dynaudio Contour 60's
Martin Logan Impression ESL 11A's
This is a princely sum for loudspeakers for me ($10k), but sometimes life causes you to adjust your priorities, and in this case, I've decided mine is building the best system I can possibly (not) afford.
When I have enough posts under my belt I'll begin a dedicated thread about best speaker pairings for the MA8900, but for now any initial thoughts are welcome.
Being new I'll look to contribute around here as best as I'm able, but I am the furthest thing from the holder of a degree in audio engineering. I just know how important music is in my life, and I want the best reproduction I can afford, even if it's at the expense of other things people traditionally spend their disposable income on (e.g. cars, vacations, etc.)
Looking forward to getting to know folks on this board; I'm a veteran of online communities, so I know the drill.