McIntosh MC312 vs. ARC Reference 150

@bimmerlover 

Depending on the tubes used in the ARC, both amps can sound similar, but…. Do you what KT120’s they bought? Were they matched pairs? Do you know if the other tubes have been replaced? If so with what? Any updates or mods? 
I bought a tube amp maybe ten years ago and it came with new tubes. Unfortunately they were the bottom of the line EH tubes and the amp sounded awful!  Anyway, if the Ref 150 is anywhere close to spec, I’m sure you will love the sound.

@curiousjim thanks for your response. I don’t know any details yet about the tubes, such as if they were matched pairs, etc. except that they have been exchanged about 150 hours ago.

When I asked I was told that the previous owner replaced them with KT120s, and not KT150s that some do. 

I fooled around with MacIntosh and ARC, once upon a time. It was expensive. I ended up dumping all my Macintosh for all brand new ARC equipment. Nowadays I have a mixture of ARC and solid state.

I think the comments above are correct, Macintosh is not so defined and more boomy. The ARCs tend to have finer detail and a more open presentation.

Saying this I know Macintosh enthusiasts will defend their product to the end and so be it. But I have to treat it like it’s just another piece of audio gear bought and sold.

In the end both companies are fantastic and you pick or you choose the one you wish.

Certainly you are not hurting with either.

@bimmerlover 

Yeah, a lot of people put in the kt150’s.  ARC put them in the SE model as well.

Question,  do you have a 20 amp outlet near your rig?  ARC uses 20 PC’s on almost everything.

@curiousjim yes, I have a dedicated 20 Amp circuit for the amp.

As for KT150s, it might be something for the future as I have not even received and plugged it in yet… :-)

Four matched pairs of KT150s (I.e., 8 in all) from Upscale Audio would set me back about $1200-$1300, so I’ll cross that bridge later.