2. amps-preamps
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McIntosh MC611 vs Parasound JC5

My system:

Parasound JC 5 stereo amp, JC 2 pre amp, JC 3 Jr phono pre amp  Pro-Ject X2 turntable. Integra Research CD player. Pair of Rel S-510 subs. Eversolo streamer.

 Recent purchase of B&W 802 D4 replacing my Kef R3 meta. 

 My room is 22x19 feet.. Listening volume is between 75-90 db. I love the way my system sounds.

Would I benefit from adding an additional JC 5 amp and  Bi-amping each speaker  vs adding a pair on MC611 mono blocks vs keeping system as is ? 

Speakers were auditioned in showroom with McIntosh amps which also sounded great.   I plan to upgrade the streamer at some point but this post is about the amps. 

Thanks in advance for any advice.  

toothdoc

Showing 1 response by avanti1960

avanti1960
1,545 posts
 

@toothdoc

I had the JC5 amp for a while and while it was super powerful and had authoritative bass, my cherished midrange seemed to be lost in the mix compared to my reference Pass Labs XA25.  

Fast forward to my current, final amplifier the McIntosh MC312 a newer Mac with 300 conservative watts / channel.  

The Mac loses just a touch of the JC5s bass authority but it is still substantial.  Treble is a positive and is very clean, sweet and grain free.  Surprisingly the midrange is the star of this Mac's show, soaring, separated and blooming.  I cannot tell you how much I love this amplifier.

If you value midrange like I do, the MC611 monos would get my vote, especially with the synergy of your B&W speakers which could use a little midrange presence.  The JC5 seems like it would have less than ideal synergy with your speakers.  

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