Of course, you will get varied opinions on this, but for my money, Mac's best amp ever produced is the MC7200! No autoformers here, direct-coupled, with great sound! Rated at 200 wpc @ 8 hms/300 wpc @ 4 ohms. Many of Mac's amps have had "muddy" bass, but not this one. I know your dilemna, wanting to stay with surround sound. I've used my 7200 with my Yamaha DSP-A1 processor, and very happy with the results. I also have a 7200 in my audio room, and it's great there, too. One thing about it, you can always sell a Mac amp and get your money back if you're not happy with it! Try that with some of the others! |
MC402 400 watts is so fine. These are great amps as are the lower power ones 250-300 watts. Effortless and tube like with great detail and texture at the same time.
Bill |
Bearotti, you made no mention about what vintage Mac Amp? New?, Older?
For an older unit, a clean used MC-7270 would fit the bill quite nicely, with 270WPC RMS. I've never heard, or seen in person the MC-402, but the MC-352 is a killer unit, and I believe these can still be gotten new. Mark |
Mark, I made no distinction on purpose as it doesn't really matter to me. I guess I am just looking for opinions on what the favorite was regarless of vintage. |
good thread.....here goes including one over and one under your watt range, but hey even an mc275 tubeSS will drive almost anything. .....mac BEST BANG for the buck....mc7300(narrow-smooth assilk sound)....mc352(for most louspeakers of any size and efficency this is an end all)......4300 receiver(yes receiver)the finese of a big mac with a nice tuner, and a phono section that is as good as any outboard ive heard for 1k to 3k.......mc7200(identical smoothness of the 7300, but cosmetically a little more primitive(at least in mac terms). mc252(one of the best buys currently out there.matches well with lots of speakers, but until the mc352's dry up its a close second). |
I have to agree with Grannyring. The 400 watt MC-402 is an amazing amp. I've only had mine for 12 days and bought it as a local sale here on Audiogon. I have a 200 watt SS Mac (MC-202) which I like very much, but the 402 is just in a different league.
I was looking for a MC-252, MC-352 or MC-402. When I saw this unit avilable in true 'mint' condition, without the shipping worries, I bought it.
There are still some NOS MC-352 amps available and they are supposed to be a great amp as well.
Good luck! |
well im gonna step out on a limb here & go against the grain,out of all the amps mentioned here in the wattage range your asking about i like the mc7106,300x3 @ 8 ohms, no autoformers.
the 7106 blew away my mc300 & wasnt that far off from performing as well as my mc252,the mc7104 is also a fantastic sounding amp with 200x2 @ 8 ohms.
for the price they sell for used you cant touch another 300 watt mac amp & they perform as good or better that the 2 channel amps.
aside from the mc1201's that im running right now the mc500 was my next favorite mac amp. |
I had 7200;7270;MC-300;MC-352;MC-402 in my system.MC-402 was the best on all respects.352 pretty close to 402.The worst sounding amp from this group was MC-300. |
Wasn't the 7106 a 6-channel amp, to go with the MX-130?
And the 7104 a 4-channel Amp? I think so. mark |
hi mark,your correct on both amp's.
the mc7106 is a 6 channel amp that is rated at 100wpc @ 4 ohms with all 6 channels driven & the mc7104 is a 4 channel 100 wpc channel amp that is rated at 100 wpc @ 4 ohms with all 4 channels driven.
when you bridge the 7106 you get 300 wpc @ 8 oms in 3 channels & bridging the 7104 brings the power up to 200 wpc @ 8 ohms in 2 channels.
i loved both of those amps in bridged mono & im currently looking for another mc7106 or 7104 to replace the one's i foolishly sold. |
Zikhmark, Thanks for your post and opinion of the various Mac amps you have owned. I had the 7200,7270 and MC-300 on a short list last year when I finally bought the MC-202 amp. I'm glad to have made the jump to the MC-402. It's interesting to note that of these 5 amps, in your opinion, the MC-402 came out on top. If I had bought the MC-252, I most likely would have loved it, but would have always wondered how much better the MC-402 would sound. |
Zikhmark,
I see you use the 501monoblocs now. What is the difference and to be gained by moving up from a MC402 to the 501s? |
I too feel the 7200 is fantastic. After trying out the 202 a while back, I kept the 7200 although I would like to try it again now that I have different speakers. The 402 is the best amp I have ever heard but the 7200 KILLS it (along with most of the other Mc amps) in terms of value. |
Nwavesailor-your very welcome;Hassel-with MC-501 evrything better-power,image,soundstage,more deep bass...it just step up from MC-402. |
