MC 402 vs. MC 7300

Depends on the speakers that you are driving. I run a C45 into an MC402 into a pair of B&W 803's without ever approaching the limits of the amp while pushing the speakers about as far as they'll go. Other than available power, the Mcintosh ss amps sound remarkably similar. I doubt that anyone could tell the difference between a 402, 252, pair of 501's, or an integrated unless the current limitations are reached.

When I went from my MC252 to my MC501's I was very surprised at how dramatic the difference was and I normally listen at very low volumes. I immediately heard more accurate bass and much fuller mid range. If you can, listen to the MC501's before you buy the MC 402.

I have a pair of Dali MS5's. Would I be best served by going with the C45 first?

Winger - Upgrade the amp before upgrading the preamp. The amp has a more difficult job to do - driving a difficult load. The signal levels fed to the preamp just aren't that difficult to deal with - particularly if you are feeding a signal from a cdp. In short, getting the amp right is a harder design task when it comes to home audio. There is the school of thought garbage in garbage out - profferred by those who recomend upgrading a preamp first - that approach is inapplicable for this scenario.

Winger, at the CES last year they had the Dali MS5 or 4 with the MC402 and MCD201 direct sans preamp and it sounded fantastic. I dont usually care for CD direct but this combination had excellent synergy. I could only imagine how much better it would sound with either the MCD301 or the new MCD500 SACD player as they both have variable outputs. FWIW Gallo also was running the MC402 with the MCD201 without the preamp on his reference 5LS line array speakers with equal results. Skip the preamp and upgrade your source to the MCD500, you will not be thinking about the 501's. 402 is more than enough to drive the 803. Ask your dealer if he will loan you a player or bring one over for an in house demo. Good luck!

the mac mc 402 is anice amp i have the older mc352 running martin logan sumits i play my music loud the amp never runs out of power i use a mvp861 for a d player sounds very rich

Back to your original question - I am unaware of an amplifier currently made by Mcintosh with a model number of 7300. There is the 6300 and the 7000. As to driving the MS5 with these different models, The 6300 would be a light, the 7000 will likely work fine for all but the loudest listening levels, but at those levels, my guess is that you will get the power guard to flicker. The 402 would be my choice.

The MC7300 is a 1992 amp. 300W per channel. It's considered somewhat of a classic McIntosh amp by some.

McIntosh info

http://www.berners.ch/McIntosh/en/Frame_Compendium.htm

Another option to consider with the "best bang for the buck" would be to buy NOS MC352/C41 amp/pre combo from Audio Classics for less than what a new MC402 would cost.

LED kits are also available for both-no bulb changes!

the 352 and the 402 would both be a bit of a step up, for anyone who believes in the 'latest-greatest', but the amp I wish I still had is my MC7300n, which I do believe is one of Mac's best.

you might want to talk to mike up in audio classic.com they no mcintosh they helped me alot