McIntosh- Sweetest, Smoothest sounding Solid State ?

It depends on which McIntosh amp. Not all of their amps are created equal. In fact McIntosh makes a ton of stuff I would never buy, having said that I have been a loyal fan of their amplifiers for many years. My system changes from time to time but my amplification has never changed, McIntosh gives me truly no worries, and to this day after almost 15 years of use with no problems ever my Mac MC352 power amp still sounds amazing.
Matt M

I thought McIntosh used output transformers on their SS amps to purposely give them that rounded tube like sound. Not for me, but Which is best is up to the listener.
Carver SS amps of yore used to provide outputs or a switch for tube like sound. Just made it Sound dull, not tube like. 

Check Point Charlie is a Con-man As much as I like the Gear... he is not to be trusted... wouldn’t get involved in a dealer issue.. AT ALL When he Should have

I was effectively ripped off by a mcintosh dealer

Seeing as my filter broke partying  Tom Passafuime, House of High fidelity and Mcintosh are ALL guilty of ripping me off for IT work.
 

 

McIntosh does have a,nice relaxing sound when needed,,not the best for rock or metal, but depends on the,speakers and source. 
 

they are a great quality product. Out of my league, but have auditioned so many over the years!  They are great! Always wanted the 1000W. MOnos!

   Plus that blue glow is mesmerizing and relaxing.

 

 Won’t ever be in my wheelhouse, but there is a lot of as good and better out there!

 

"It may to you"

I have MC 302 and am upgrading (in my opinion) to Moon M400 amps.  I've upgraded my C2600 preamp to Moon 390 (again, my opinion).

My McIntosh system always sounded good to me and that's the feedback I heard from others.  My shift is a result of a need for more power and comparing McIntosh with Moon - I didn't compare to Moon when I upgraded from NAD.

Therefore, "it may to you" is my response.  And as long as you like how it sounds and it pulls you into to listen more and get more enjoyment go for it!

If you want to look at other brands there are many out there and they sound 'different' sometimes.  And sometimes different isn't good or bad until you start assessing how it makes you feel.

I was never disappointed with my SS Mac gear - if not for wanting more power and testing other options I would have been very happy to keep it.