Disappointing On Mcintosh......help


 3 Months ago  I went to NYC and stopped by the WOM  and auditioned several MCintosh gear...........and left a bit disappointed or not impressed...then I told myself   " lets give a second shot"  and went today to a  HIFI store and again Good room accoustics10K speakers , MC Preamp , MC Amplifier........ and again  the same disappointment I felt 3 month earlier.

Is that the "warm" sound people reffer to about Mcintosh?  
The sound is ample, base is powerfull  but the the sound is simply  not to clear, the hights are not too "crisp"  It sounds like the treble is set at 3 and needs to be adjusted at 9 or 10.
It seems like  the sound is  coming through a thin layer of paper ...that is the way I describe that sound.  

Then 20 minutes later I auditioned a Parasound A21+ and a JC5 and the sound was more clear and the highs were crispier

Whats your take on my experience?  or That is the MC "warm sound? 
128x128cydrone
I have not been impressed with most McIntosh equipment, especially the solid state, but I have heard the 275 Mk. VI is a good amp.  I have heard it demoed and it did sound good.  I prefer Audio Research, but that is usually more expensive.  As far as Parasound goes, it has always been extremely good sound for the money.  They used to have reliability issues, even with new gear.  (I used to sell Parasound gear and we had a LOT of issues)  Are they more reliable now?  
I have a C47 preamplifier and it passed the dac direct to amplifier test of resolution. So those who say McIntosh is veiled compared to ARC are just full of it... or just tried older McIntosh pieces or their warmer tube preamps...

What kind of test am I talking about ? You connect a sota dac direct to your amplifier with sota interconnects. That gives you the ultimate resolution you should get from your dac. Then you add the preamplifier you want to test in the mix. It’s very easy to ear if you loose any resolution in doing so. If you don’ t loose anything compared to the dac to amp direct link, then your preamplifier is transparent to the source. Add to that the benefits of a preamplifier in the chain... a bigger soundstage, better dynamics and bass weight, a denser midrange, etc. Everything else another preamplifier can bring ( like ARC or any other you may like ) is either color, euphonics, and prat...to the taste of the listener.

That confirms the latest magazine tests of McIntosh solid state gear. Like the Absolute Sound review of the C52 preamplifier.


A few months ago I was in the market for a stereo overhaul.  I was leaving behind a NAD Master Series system, composted of the M3, M4 and M5, coupled with Sonus Faber Venere 2.5 speakers.  Also in the mix was/is a Gold Note PH10, Acoustic Solid Metal 111 turn table with their WTB213 tone arm, fitted with a Benz Micro Wood L.  The TT sat on Acoustic Solid's dedicated isolation platform.  There was mishmash of different cables, some Cardas, some High Diamond.

I was eyeing Sonus Faber' Olympica III speakers and either a McIntosh integrated (MA8900 or MA7200) amp or a Moon integrated, like the 600iV2 or the 700iV2.  I opted to keep the TT, NAD M4 (tuner) and the Gold Note PH10, and replace all of the cables with Cardas Clear Cygnus.  

The place where I bought the speakers also carried McIntosh.  I still remember my conversation with the sales person about amps, and he asked me if I liked a "warm" sound?  That is such a subjective adjective that I had no reference point, other than the same term is often used in describing guitar amps.  "Warm", in the lexicon of guitar amps, usually translates into tubes or "tube-like".  In other words, not overly bright, not PCB based circuitry.  Needless to say, there's an endless array of tonal possibilities between those two points.  The sales person was also steering me towards Hegel, another decidedly high end product.  He did not use the words "warm" or "bright" when discussing Hegel.

I had done some research on Simaudio, the Canadian owner of the Moon line of audio products and had read many decent reviews.  Reading published reviews, I find, is not always to be the best measure of a products' actual performance: I find that reviews can be overly biased, usually not critical enough, especially with these bench mark products.  I don't think I ever read a single negative review about either McIntosh, Hegel or Moon products.  Reading reviews on audio components is a lot like reading reviews on wine:  they are filled with colourful adjectives, designed to invoke a virtual listening experience with our ears.  With both audio and wine, however, in order to understand what the writer is telling us, we need to understand what those words mean, what they translate to in real life.  If you don't like vanilla, for instance, the wine writer's use of that word in describing a wine is not going to be of much use to you.  What if you don't like "warm" sounding speakers, that place that delivers the sound from the amp?  Hell, what if you don't even know what "warm" means!!!

I decided to comb through the various audio sites, such as this one, and read buyer's reviews to hear what actual owners had to say about their purchase. When comparing owner reviews of those who bought either the McIntosh (integrated) or the Moon (integrated), the response was disappointment at the McIntosh for being too warm, "muddy" and that translated into a lack of dynamic range, lacking detailed highs.  Many buyers openly admitted to buying the McIntosh, purely off reputation and the love of the blue lit power gauges.   

When I told the sales associate at the store where I bought my speakers that I was going with the Moon 700iV2, I couldn't believe how rude, inappropriate, and misinformed he was.  He sounded like he was personally insulted, and that McIntosh was a far superior product.  This is the same guy that appeared to suggest to me that I might not like the McIntosh for its "warm" sound.

All in all, I have no doubt that McIntosh makes an excellent product, built to last a life time. Maybe audio tastes have changed, maybe not  On the front panel, Moon delivers you a simple product: there are no tone controls, much like the NAD M3, another award winning amp. I have never found the urge to be able to dial down the treble or the bass.  The tone is rich, and balanced.  Bass and drums sound like a bass and drums should, as does horns, pianos, stringed instruments, and so forth.  The Moon 700iV2 (and the 600iV2) are described as "musical".  The words "warm" or "bright"  seem to be absent from writer's reviews.  Since purchasing the Moon 700iV2, I have not been left the least in looking for another sound.  Happy camper.
Whats your take on my experience? or That is the MC "warm sound?


No. It is Religion (in a way, the American Answer to Linn).
Each his own. There is a US Forum, when you write something negative about this gear, you will be kicked out from the owner (he owns a boatload of it).




Recently auditioned Mcintosh, Bryston, Simaudio, PrimaLuna amps mated to Sonus Faber, Fyne Audion, audiovector, Kef, dynaudio. At this point the Mac/Sonus pairing is the winning combo, to my ears, with my music. Musical, sweet, huge soundstage, detailed, foundation cracking bass.