I got into higher end audio with Adcom equipment back in the late eighties and early nineties. The stuff was rock solid and to my ears sounded great. I kept it until I was offered a great deal through a local McIntosh dealer on a C42/MC352 combo. The C42 was from another customer that changed their mind before delivery and the MC352 was already on order. Unfortunately, the purchase would have to be made based upon reputation alone as the local dealer did not have much on display. I decided to pull the trigger figuring that all those McIntosh owners could not be wrong.
Due to shipping of the MC352, there was some time between having the McIntosh equipment home and selling my Adcom equipment. When the the amp finally arrived, I raced home and hooked it up to the C42 and the Adcom CD player (the only Adcom piece I had left). I thought that I was going to be blown away but boy was I disapointed! Where was the bass?
ALL of my low end was gone. My speakers no longer thumped the way they had with the Adcom equipment and it wasn't a minor amount of loss, it was a huge difference! I gave it a few months and I will say I enjoyed the mids and highs, but what good are they without the low end to accompany them. The music should be felt too when turned up. That's when I discovered a popular online listing site and happily sold the C42/MC352 combo.
Figuring that maybe it was just the particular pieces I purchased and that many happy McIntosh owners could not be wrong, I decided to give it another try. My next piece was an MA6900, one of the prettiest pieces of equipment (the MA2275 is pretty too) McIntosh ever made with the chrome chassis and the starburst dashed lighting around the volume and equalizer controls (where is the starburst lighting on the new pieces). Unfortunately, it was not beauty to my ears as it too did not have the bass output which I had enjoyed with the Adcom equipment but was admittedly much better than the C42/MC352 combo. Because of this, it was off to the online listing site and I figured that I was done with McIntosh and I wanted my old Adcom system back.
Since the economy was doing a lot better at the time, a new dealer opened up in my area and they had everything Mcintosh offered on display including a new tube integrated, the MA2275. I decided to listen to it and fell in love and knew I had to have one. When I added it to my system, the MA2275 turned out to be a great piece. I don't understand all of the MA2275 bashers out there as it is a wonderful sounding piece of gear and the 75 watts of tube power turned out to be fine. It is also very beautiful and unlike most people on this forum, I don't like handles on the front of my amps, so much so that I would never consider the MA7000 because of them.
Anyway, a remodeling budget that went out of control forced the sale of my beautiful MA2275. I was lucky enough to find an old MA6450 in mint condition locally on craigslist at an extremely low price to fill the gap. But now that things have been paid off from the remodel, I too am considering a change. I will say, laugh if you must, the MA6450 is actually a great little integrated amp. It offers the variable loudness control, a simple layout with an auxilary in (which the MA2275 and the MA7000 do not offer), a smaller size, and with a change to the end caps, it will match any of the new components out there.
Well time has passed since making my previous purchases and so have my source choices as I don't use a CD player at all. I, like everyone I know, use a computer with an outboard D/A for my audiophile source second to, dare I say, my iPhone using the digital output through a dock. Because of this, I am hesitant to purchase a new integrated amp from McIntosh. None of the current models have an input named D/A which I don't understand since D/A converters have been out for years and have become more and more popular. I also don't need a CD player so the MCD500 with the built in D/A does not tempt me and neither does any McIntosh CD player after three MCD205's and one automotive McIntosh CD player all which did not work. And why McIntosh keeps putting a second CD as a main input source will never make sense to me. At least the MA6600 does give you an AUX input, but again, why not also a D/A input since McIntosh makes a D/A converter and there is an input button named D/A on their remotes. Regardless, I have auditioned an MA6600 and it does sound nice even though it doesn't have a chrome chassis (a little jab at McIntosh for not including this on the MA6600). I think the next step may be a home audition or forget my OCD tendencies and just get another MA2275 and not worry about the input names.
In conclusion to my ramblings, my advice to anyone considering McIntosh is to go and listen and decide on your own what sounds good. I made the mistake of using opinions from my peers to make my early decisions and they turned out to be wrong for me. The fortunate thing regarding McIntosh is that they have a rather large selection of choices all with a unique sound so you are bound to find something which will appeal to you. And take your time, a lot of money can be lost buying and selling this stuff, I know.
