@jheppe815 I made the statement that McIntosh equipment sounds sweet. I like the McIntosh sound, especially when I would go to a Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia Band concert. I think many of us are just offering a different view than focusing totally on McIntosh. There are so many great options in your price range. My reason for bringing up other options is because my local two Mac dealers have very high price tags on their Mac pieces. And I just believe you may find another Class A amplifier that you'll like better for the same amount of money or less.
I guess my bias could come from when someone who had all McIntosh gear needed a turntable and spent a small fortune on a Mac turntable because it matched his other equipment. I had this conversation with the dealer and we both agreed that he would have been able to get a higher end table for the same price or less by choosing a different maker.
If you ask a friend for advice, do want your friend to share his/her honest opinion or do you want them to tell you want they think you want to hear? I'm honestly sharing my opinion and an opinion is all that it is. If you decide on McIntosh Mono blocks, I don't think you can go wrong and I wish you total happiness. I will add that I believe the best McIntosh combination would be a tube pre-amplifier with solid state mono blocks.