McIntosh MC207 or MC402 w/MC205??

i came at it from the other direction- preferred the 207 to the 205 so i got the 207 and used all 7 channels in a 7.1 setup---then was unhappy with the phono stage in the 207 so got an arc ph-5 as a separate phono section and mac 501 monoblocks for the fronts and use the 207 for the other 5 speakers-absolute sweet vinyl sounds-in audio nirvana ( for the time being)-never thought about the bi-amp possibility but not sure thats possible-better check with mac on that--if you do use the 207, the pipes on the 1,4, and 7 have an extra something( i think transistor but can't remember what chuck at mac told me )so you can reassign them to make sure you use them(ie- on mine, 1,3 are now surround ( instead of fronts)and 4 is center----have fun

There is a definate difference in Macs with and without autoformers. The amps with autoformers sound fuller and smoother with more weight- better!

Not true about the autoformer. All the autoformer does is help match the impedancet of the output of the amp. to the speakers so the amp. runs cooler. I have both a pair of MC501's and MC207 (which has new circuitry which does the same thing as the autoformer). The MC207 is a fantastic amp. and will actually do more like 300 watt/channel x 7. The MC207 has the largest transformer of all the single chasis amps. made by Mcintosh. Both are terrific amps. which have different functions. I doubt you could hear any difference between the two in a stereo setup at reasonable volumes. I highly recommend the MC207.