Big Mcintosh MC1000 pwr amp s?

mac amps spec out great. but sound is lifeless and uninvolving. 2 dimensional sound. bass has no definition and is bloated, very bloated in the bass to midrange area.
the mac mc series is not about music or finesse. they are about specs only. mac cares only about 30 year reliability not true audiophile sound. too bad.

Maybe Avnut should listen to the newer designed amps before commenting - he probably never has owned any nor has he auditioned becuase if he did he would know better - I own a mAc 352 and it has a really balanced non fatigue sound quality - unlike say the Levinson 331 which I found to be edgy and brought listener fatigue. The big boy Mac amps I auditioned were great - just costly.The 30 year build quality is not bad either.

I've owned MC-1000's for four years and hated to part with them a year ago but I had to---baby. But I kept my Dynaudio Consequence just in case my fortunes turned around one day.
The problem most people have with Mac gear is unfounded.
I read this month's peice review on the 1201's and I was really pissed. They had them hooked up to a pair of Utopias and I couldn't help but think if these people really know what they're doing.
The only way to really judge muscular amps like these is to drive an impossible load like my Dynaudio Consequence-83dB not with 91dB speakers. The macs only come alive at around 300 watts or so.
I used to drive an old pair of B&W 800's 93'dB and they didn't sound as good because I didn't have a gymnasium to turn them up full blast. When I did, the sound was bouncing all over the place.
The moral of my story is the the big guys sound best with hard to drive speakers.
As for quality and comparing them to the new ones I'm sure they have sped them up a bit but as any Mac fan will tell you, we like it warmer so the former are probably better.
Besides, great deals can be had on a new pair of the old ones but as I said before, I'm still not ready to pull the trigger--Spring is coming and I have to invest in a new backyard fence for my little girl safety.
Buy a new pair of thousands and enjoy!
Douggie in Toronto

In response to AVNUT, after I sold my thousands to MATHERTON in San Diego, I brought home a pair of Thresholds 12e's to audition. After four years with the macs I was able to tell the difference right away. REBA McEntires' "walk on" {forgive my taste in music} was not nearly as crisp and detailed. Her voice was coloured and lost in the band. Believe me---every day for four years I knew that song in my sleep.
Funny thing is Threshold Krell,Roland and Levinson pretty much sound the same from what I'm told.
McIntosh isn't about specs, although their feeling the pressure- they're about AUTOFORMERS and it's been there property since the 50's.
Thank god for patents!
Douggie in Toronto

in response to "ljgj". i have listened extensively to the mc602's for about 20 hours on my friends system and at the store. in each case i found the sound slow and boring without any hint of realism. they are not etched true. thats because their dull. the sound is not clean. its dull. you tend to miss a lot of details in the music because of the macs veiled sound. question? why would you create an amp that only "sings" at 300 watts plus? at what point is "anyone" actually using a full all oout 300 watts continuous? maybe some but not most. i really wanted these amps to work with my 801n's but the separation between the layers of sound was not there. almost seemed like a mono sound. i'm keeping my vk1000's because of it. by the way, my dad actually bought the 602. as an audiophile of 30+ years he finds the sound to be very slow. not laid back slow, just slow.