McIntosh MA6500 vs. MA6900

I have owned both, and used them for my Magneplanar 1.6 speakers.

For sound quality the 6900 has the 6500 beat. I do like the fact that the 6500 has terminals and switching for 2 sets of speakers.

The Autoformers in the 6900 insure full power delivery and lower distortion. The 6500 is a direct coupled amp. This causes the amplifier to work harder as the speaker impedence is lowered.

The phono stages in both are very good, and sound the same to me (very carefully checked with AKG 701 headphones and Sennehiser phones.

My personal favorite feature is the 7 band EQ. I love the usefulness of being able to adjust tone on old recordings to maximize my pleasure.

Do it right - go with the MA-6900!

For your speakers, I would go with the 6900. The 6500 is a great integrated but the smoother top end of the 6900 will be beneficial.

Arthur

I own the McIntosh MA6900 Integrated amp (200 wpc) for my Sonus Faber Grand Piano Domus speakers. I have a large room with high ceilings and I like the high power of this amp. I also have the McIntosh MCD205 CD player running balanced from the cd player to the MA6900. The system sounds very good to my ears and my friends. I recommend you listen to the MA6900.

agree with the above....autoformers rule