2. amps-preamps
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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 2 responses by raysmtb1

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raysmtb1
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Do it! You’ll love it! It’s an amazing, amazing piece of equipment. I think that it’s a sweet deal that Macintosh is doing. I’m going to try and take advantage of it myself.

raysmtb1's avatar
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raysmtb1
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To the OP I have the same situation as Jeffrey W in the above post. My C8 preamp has the DA2  DAC and I have a DCS bartok. Switching back-and-forth between the two you can barely tell a difference. You could argue that there’s no difference because it’s so close. It comes down to which one do you prefer. My friend while we were switching back-and-forth like everybody else, it turned out that he’d like the Macintosh better. It’s so close that I decided to sell the DCS while it’s still has a decent resale value. There is no difference between the module that’s in the MA 12,000 for the C8. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t get the same enjoyment out of the M a 12,000 versus a separate DAC. Save the space and the money.

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