Which solid state power house: Naim NAP 500DR or McIntosh MC611?

Nice room Jered and exciting times for you picking a system.  If it was me I would decide on speakers/amps first and work your way up.   Once that combo is picked for synergy there are tons of great preamps to choose from and do not have to be the same brand.

in my experience preamps have the most effect on the sound, keeping in mind of course that every link in a system is crucial.  

@jeredh 

$75k for just the power amp or for everything? 

At this point, $75k for the major pieces of equipment seems reasonable based on my interests and what I've discovered over the last couple months. This would include speakers, amp, preamp, DAC, streamer.  This is a loose budget and can be flexible.   Last weekend I flew to NYC and visited 4 stores, and listened to a good bit of equipment. It's so damn subjective and not an easy process. I feel I have a good room, and am ready to pick equipment and start the install, and then room treatments.  I'm trying to not get impatient.

Well jeredh just to let you know that the Naim 500DR power amp alone is $22k, and if you go with the Focal Sopra 3, which retail for $19k/pair. The power amp and speakers will cost you $41k.

I highly recommend that you partner the Naim gears with Focal Sopra 3 speakers. The Focal Sopra 3 were actually voiced with Naim 500 DR amp + Naim NAC 552 preamp since the merger of the two companies. They will sound great together and have great synergy. System synergy is very important in high end audio or hifi. Fyi, Focal acquired Naim couple yrs ago.

Naim also makes great analog linestage preamp (500 series) to go with the Naim 500DR power amp. The Naim NAC 552 linestage preamp will run you another $22,400 including its partnering external power supply unit. Now so far you are at $63,400.

And for digital front end the ideal partner for Naim 500 series gears would be the ND 555 streamer/DAC and I suggest you add the 555 PS DR power supply unit to the ND 555 to significantly improve sound quality of the ND 555. The ND 555 streamer/DAC costs another $19k plus the 555 PS DR power supply unit for another $9k to $10k.

So, the total costs will far exceed your $75k budget. These do not include cables. But you will be more than satisfied with the overall performance with these Focal Sopra 3/Naim 500 series gears combo. The Focal Sopra will have great synergy with these Naim 500 series gears. They will sound spectacular together.

It will cost you much less if you go with McIntosh MC611 amps and the C2600 preamp/DAC since the MC611 monoblock amps retail for $14k/pair and the C2600 is around $7k. That’s it. For electronics alone they will run you for only $21k plus speakers but the overall musicality and sound quality won’t be as good as the Naim 500 series separates (NAP 500DR amp w/ it’s external PSU, NAC 552 analog preamp w/ its external PSU, ND 555 + 555 PS DR PSU). Not even close imo.
And the Focal Sopra 3 will sound better paired with the Naim 500 series gears.

Btw, as far as speaker choices, you shouldn't ruled out Wilson Audio and Sonus Faber. They both make fantastic sounding speakers. I personally prefer them over the Focal. But again when it comes to speakers choices it all comes down to personal taste and preference as well as your own musical tastes. 

Thanks caphill - this is good information and certainly pushes the needle towards Naim. Pricing is a slap in the face. Console space is another consideration, and the number of Naim components is something I need to address if I go with this choice.   

I listened to Wilson Sabrina (Simaudio powered) and Sasha (McIntosh powered) and they were not for me. I feel their resin enclosures kill too much of the low end. Listened to Sonus (Audio Research power) and they lack the aggressive punch I enjoy.  Yes, personal tastes vary from one to the next. I  have a lot of thinking left to do, and appreciate the input!