McIntosh MA12000 is it worth upgrading to.


I'm thinking about upgrading from a MA452 power amp and a MC70 tube preamp, to the MA12000. I like the built in dac. and 8 tone controls. USB connection and more balanced inputs. It would also take up less space.The tube pre section has less distortion.03 MC70 .08 but the power side is 350wpc compared to the 452 at 450wpc. I love my system amazing sound and sound stage would like some feedback if worth the investment. McIntosh as of May 1, is offering 75% of the original MSP, till the end of June. I would appreciate all feedback pro or con.

eoj4952

Showing 1 response by audioman58

You absolutely don’t want a built in dac  ,a Quality dedicated dac is so much better.

withut question , why do you want to change your current electronics ?what is your budget for a dedicated dac ? Please remember your Ethernet cables ,as well as usb cables make a huge difference , in your case I would recommend the Denafrips Pontus2 12 th anniversary dac ,with the Iris DDC upsampler which clears the signal then has a better master clock for $2500 a no brainer ,

it has a I2S input which is the best Wireworld HDMI has the exact pin out for the I2S cable -HDMI , the Mac dac not even close in musicality . I have heard most everything from McIntosh , this applies to all ,a good external dac is much better 

for you just have much area for isolation ,power supplies and better parts quality .