McIntosh MC150 Amplifiers
McIntosh MC150 Amplifiers
USER REVIEWS
[Mar 13, 2014]
John Morel
AudioPhile
Little beast amplifier with the typical Mcintosh sound. I matching with a preamp C42 and the result is a big and neutral sound. 100% recomendable. Of course the big blue meters rocks !!!! |
[Mar 08, 2010]
sharpeman
Audio Enthusiast
Balanced and rca inputs . Great musicality. The sound only mcintosh has. Very dependable and reliable . Have had many amps and this is at the top . |
[Apr 11, 2003]
ADIMAC
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Wide dynamic range, musicality, beautiful disign including blue watt-meters. Power-Guard, Sentry-monitor for protection of the speakers.
Weakness:
No The Mc.Intosh MC 150 is really a fine amplifier! It's a real Mac with the legendary outoformers. It sounds very dynamic, transparance, a musicality with much timbre. Mc.Intosh labs. has done their job very well by manufacuring an excellent 2x150 watt power amp! Similar Products Used: Mc.Intosh MA6400 integrated model. |
[Oct 21, 1999]
Allen McLeod
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
If you want an amp to do what an amp is designed to do: reproduce the music faithfully, then this is the amp you want. For the home listening experience, the MC-150 (150 watts/channel RMS) goes plenty loud (keep in mind, there is only a 3dB increase if you buy the MC-300 or 6dB for the MC-500!) The power guard does work, and the watt meters suck you in. The looks of this amp are very wife freindly. The sound itself is aggressive, dynamic, and colorless. Good for movies, excellent for live music production! I have seen a lot of pro-grade amps in the music industry and the sound quality and build quality of this amp does not fall short in any way, it just looks prettier!
Weakness:
As far as an amplifier goes, this amp has no weaknesses. But I did not like the way this amp sounded in the home. In my opinion, this amp is too good for the home. Okay, maybe I am crazy. But here are my two bits. When you go to a live performance, miced or not, the "true" music of the intruments bounce off the stage, walls, ground, people, and other objects of varying densities and materials. So by the time the music gets to my ears, it is no longer pure, it is colored, blended, and attentuated. There is more sound there. This is not a bad thing - this is natural - this is the real world. I like this sound, it is more full, has more depth and space. In the home, there is not enough room for the recordings to "color" as they do in bigger, more open spaces. So I felt that the MC-150 took away from my listening experience, because it had no color. The music is dry, hollow, and shallow. Digital recording technques have not helped. People are still recording music the same way they did when the stereos did have color and it sounded great, because the recording was perfect and the stereo added color to make it sound natural. Now equipment can playback music exactly the way it was recorded. I know this is the goal of Hi Fi. However, if that is the case, recording artists need to be more creative about recording music in a more "live" setting. On the other hand, people seem to like the uncolored, digital sound of this era, so, please, be my guest, buy an MC-150! So, if you are in a band or want perfect sound from a perfect amp, give me a call. As for me, I am going to buy an antique stereo and fix it up, tubes and all, I think that will be closer to the Hi Fi I am looking for. Similar Products Used: I used the McIntosh C-22 with this amp, which helped me with my delima, but it was not enough. I used all kinds of speakers on this system, ranging from Jensens, B&W matrix, Meadowlark Shearwaters, JBL Pro line, and just for a laugh Sonys. Funny enough, none of them worked by themselves, but in combinations. That just proves that there is not enough diferent sounds in one pair of speakers. I know I am crazy, but any of you can take advantage of my uniqueness, because I am currently selling all this equipment, including the MC-150. |
[Oct 09, 2001]
David
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Clean, non-fatiguing sound. Great Dynamics. Sweet mid-range,
Weakness:
None that I have found so far. FIRST OF ALL - PLEASE TOTALLY IGNORE THE HASKINS "REVIEW" Similar Products Used: Adcom 555 Mk. II, Various Sony and Onkyo mid-fi stuff. |