McIntosh MA6500 Integrated amp


Hello all,

Thank goodness the list is back, thank you Audiogon!

I am looking for people who have had a chance to audition or owns the McIntosh MA6500 integrated amp.

I have read a few user reviews on this amp lately that have given it high praise. I was in a shop today and was able to try it. It was hooked to Kef Model Two speakers and the source was a $500 Marantz Carousel. I too was very impressed with this amp.

If anyone else has had any experience with this please share.

Thank you.
brianmgrarcom
Why do they carry 2 Integrateds with the same power output I wonder?
At 8ohms, the MA6500 is 120W, while the MA6900 is 200W.
Some people are willing to spend the extra money for the autoformers so McIntosh takes advantage of the situation. Many long-time McIntosh owners do not what to part with the perceived advantage of the autoformers. I toured the McIntosh lab before purchasing my MA6500 and confirmed with the engineers that the MA6900 and MA6500 sounded the same.
Williammeredith,
You cannot confirm with the engineers, but with your ears only. This I have done, and these amps sound different, as experienced by others who have compared them - see the thread mentioned above. As far as MacĀ“s engineers are concerned, they are very much from the measurement-school. Chuck Hinton e.g. told me it did not pay to bother with speaker cables, "as they sound all the same". However, changing speaker cables has made one of the most noticable differences in my present Mac-system.
Brianmgrarcom,
I went from a vintage Luxman L85V integrated to the MA6500. Needless to say the improvement was immense. The Mac is super quiet with low distortion so detail is extreme with no listening fatigue.....zero!
My brother has the MA6900 and both amps sound very similar but not the same. One thing to consider is the 6500 (without autoformers) has a greater damping factor which should control your flabby speakers a bit better than the autoformed 6900. I confirm this in comparing our two systems.
My only peeve about my Mac is the cheap plastic knobs....should be aluminum. Also, the meters although pretty put out some heat. Wish they could be turned off.
All told I like my MA6500 a LOT. Good luck and happy listening.