Mrd,
Glad to hear the positive report on the service at Sugden.
My,34 Class A watts do a fine job running the Nautilus 805s.
Sugden does seem to be a stodgy old company. I see they are finally putting a remote volume control on their 25 year old A21 design.
Our retailer has the A21 matched with the Quad 11L speakers. Very tidy system.
Wish you were close by and we could swap integrateds for a spell.
I'd still like to hear the MA6900 in my room. |
Hi Jeff
really glad you like the sugden. Many many years ago i had the priveladge of owning a sugden amp it was an A48 mk2. I had for over 10 years. I noticed your comments that they are a little known company however they are one the oldest british manufacturers and have a long history of well regarded components, mainly amps. I used to live in Yorkshire quite near to thier premises. i bought the A48 not just because of how it sounded but because of sugdens superb reputation for aftersales (and because at the time i could not afford a qaud) after having the amp for approx 7 years i upgraded my cartrige to a MC and needed to change the phono board in the amp. I phoned sugden they asked me for the serial number, the guy went away to check his records and came back with all the build details of the amp including the retailer who sold it and my name. The connectors to upgrade the phono stage were dispached to me free of charge along with fitting instructions....I was very impressed. I will always have a soft spot for sugden and would love to hear the masterclass. I suppose one the reasons for not replacing my old and trusted A48 with another sugden was the need for a bit more power and tone controls....Now there's another discussion for another day. |
I did listen to the E407 against the E530. The Class A E530 seemed a bit more enjoyable to my ears.(could it be the price of the E530 is $1000 higher so I THOUGHT it sounded better?)
Both pieces sounded terrific and the build quality is superb. I think you would enjoy either unit.
I would avoid the Class A products if you do not have good ventilation to dissipate the heat.
I was convinced and ready to buy the E530 but then stumbled into the, Class A Sugden Masterclass integrated and purchased that after listening with my speakers.
Very little info on the Sugden products available but my ears told me to buy.
Matched with the Electrocompaniet CD, the sound is remarkable.
DISCLAIMER:
My opinions may be completly bogus, trust your ears. |
Jeffjarvis , did you hear the Accuphase E530 against the E408 ? Comparisons ?
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I like the Mcintosh, especially the way it looks and the resale is not to shabby either. I wanted to buy one.
I listened several times to the MA6900 and MA6500 with my speakers and preffered the Accuphase E530 and the Sugden Masterclass Class A Integrateds. So much more detail and "live" sounding.
The Accuphase has the tone controls, meters and loudness button, similar to the Mcintosh. I strongly urge you to check it out. |
Great Integrated and has almost everything you would want in an integrated. The only thing i did not like was the remote. Wish Mac would make something like the Levinsons do even if it costs a bit extra.
Used mine with TDL Reference Studio Monitors & loved the combo.Very musical. Have upgraded to Mac power + tube pre now. Definitely one of the best integrateds out there !!
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I love the way my MA6900 comes through on Von Schweikert VR2s... very musical, well balanced with superlative performance from the VR2's tweeter. |
Get IT, GOT IT ... LOVE IT !!!
Am using it with Copland CDA822 CDP both well isolated ,and ProAc Tablette 50 Speakers on weighted stands and quality cables all around and ... The Music IS SUBLIME :)
TKM |
Great choice! I really like mine with a pair of Soliloquy 5.3 speakers. I am a vinylphile so think it is just great with vinyl (VPI HW-19 Mk III/SME 309/Ortofon Kontrapunkt B). Using an MC cartridge requires an exteranl phono stage. But I prefer that. Can up-grade without a new preamp. |
I bought the McIntosh MCD205 CD player and the McIntosh MA6900 Integrated amplifier. The overall sound quality is excellent with my Sonus Faber Grand Piano speakers. The extra power plus the tube like quality of the MA6900 make these speakers really stand out. I was very suprised at how good it sounds (and so were my friends). cheers.. |
I have this amp and will treasure it always, driving big castle howard s3, it sound very relaxed, detailed and open with smooth highs and tight, fast deep bass. Like all top amps you need to be careful with cables in order to squeeze the very best from it. Basically i will not need to buy or upgrade to another amp I'm very happy with the big mac |
I have only heard it at dealer with SONY SACD/DVD 999 player and Totem 1k$ speakers, it sounded at best as mid hifi.
I was going to buy it based on reputation buy at could not After this audiotion. Maybe in different configuration I would feel different. Unfortunetally in HE in SF McIntosh was only in HT configuration. So it lost my interest. |
I LOVE my MA-6900! Driving Vandersteen 3A Signatures... |
There's been lots of commentary here about the MA6900. In summary, nearly everyone who has discussed it loves it. Lots of power with great, smooth, warmish sound. I used to have it then upgraded to Mcintosh separates. It should mate well with your other components. |
