Mcintosh mc 352 or 602 overkill?

i bought a mc602 from audio classics back in 2011 for 6k. you don't really see too many of these for sale on the internet. can anyone tell why?

The MC 352 is one of the best sounding amps McIntosh makes today. Power is a good thing.
You can pick up one of these for around $3000. You won't be disappointed.
Else, the MC 2102 tube amp $4500. Tough to go the extra $ but will hold it's value better over time.

Glad to hear someone else find the 402's new front panel ugly! We should sign a petition so that the next amps won't have that same treatment!

I think the 352 brings more power to the table than the 100's need but I love mine. The 352 is a great amp. I see them here on AudioGon all the time for 3000 plus/minus. That is a terrific buy since new @4500. I also have a 7205 that I am only using as a center surround now, when I added the 352 my speakers(old infinity Kappa 7's) opened up and sound so good I have put off buying new speakers.
I agree with everyone else the 602 is way overkill. You may consider the new 402 it has new enhancements I wish the 352 had, with exception of the UGLY front panel.

I would go with the 352 also. One of these days I will have one on my Paradigm Reference 100.2s as well. I auditioned these speakers for the first time with a MC602 and C42 and I can tell you they will handle the power - every bit of it! The salesman was absolutely cranking the power on and the needles were hitting the 600W mark on Revel's Bolero pretty frequently. I have never heard such sound in a very large room - it was so good I bought the speakers. They are fairly efficient so I would say that 350W will definately get you there unless your room is 30x30 or something (the dealer's room was).

I can't afford the 352 yet so I am using a McIntosh MC7100 100W amp (although for 6 ohms, the graphs in the owners manual show an output of 200W continuous) that really makes them kick like I would not believe. (I had a McIntosh 2125 for a while that could not do what this little amp does.) Very impressive sound and power and bass finesse. Therefore I would say a 352 will really suffice. Nice to have headroom anyway.

Also, there is nothing like pairing up a McIntosh amp with a McIntosh preamp. I experimented with eliminating and replacing my C712 preamp and there is just nothing that beat the two together. So, check out the 352. I wish I were in your shoes! Take care - Arthur

Yes the 602 is definitely overkill for the Paradigm Studio 100s. The MC 352 sounds great.

i currently own a 602 and a 352...they are outstanding throughout the musical range...they also get bass out of speakers that other amps just can't...the best of both worlds..