2. amps-preamps
  3. 191049-184484

Would McIntosh Auto Transformers affect speaker sound?

I have a question about McIntosh and its auto transformers. The auto transformers allow the wattage to be the same on all ohms. However, you have to pick which ohm to run on the amp to the speaker.

Since a speaker can be dynamic in ohms (dip between 8 ohms and 4 ohms typically), does this mean the McIntosh will not correctly match the dynamic range change? Would it cause the speaker not to give the same soundstage or holographic sound that a traditional amp would give? 

dman777

Showing 2 responses by helomech

helomech
1,753 posts
 

Their “engineers” have been resting on past laurels for decades.

Here in 2024, one can get a $500 “Chi-Fi” preamp like the Topping A90Pro that absolutely smokes the $5500 C49 (yes, I’ve AB’d them!) So Mac would be better off with some new designers. 🤔
 

 

helomech
1,753 posts
 

In this rare instance I actually agree with AudioTroy. The reason Mac amps sound so warm with otherwise neutrally voiced speakers is the autoformers. The same goes for other brands’ transformer-coupled output stages. It’s essentially the complete opposite end of the short-signal path design spectrum. 

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