McIntosh MC150 Amplifiers

McIntosh MC150 Amplifiers 

DESCRIPTION

150 Watt Power Amplifier (1995-1997)

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-5 of 5  
[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 !!!!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[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 .

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[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.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[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.
I will still give this amp 5 stars, becuase it does what an amp should do.

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.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 09, 2001]
David
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Clean, non-fatiguing sound. Great Dynamics. Sweet mid-range,
clean highs, great bass extension. Great Build quality. Those great blue meters.

Weakness:

None that I have found so far.

FIRST OF ALL - PLEASE TOTALLY IGNORE THE HASKINS "REVIEW"
POSTED BELOW!!! He has made similar totally negative posts
for a number of other MacIntosh products. Probably a dealer
who lacks the stability and/or resources to carry the
MacIntosh audio line. Or someone who just hates the MacIntosh line for some reason. (Probably got stuck with a
lot of those "audiophile darlings of-the-month" written up
in the audio magazines; and can't unload them without
giving them away!)
I have just moved up to MacIntosh separates this month
after using a similar setup with Adcom components for the
past five years. I have to say, first of all, that I'm
enjoying my music as never before. Better extension and
tighter bass, sweet mids, and clear, non-fatiguing highs.
I bought this amp thinking that I might not have enough
power for my Thiel 3.5 speakers. (My Adcom amp was rated
at 200 watts.) But have had absolutely no problems with
this amp at all. And of course there are those cool blue
meters!!!
If you are looking for an amp in the 150 to 200 watt
range; give this amp serious consideration. Great build
quality, a 50+ year old company to provide support, and
absolutly clean sound! Five stars all the way!

Similar Products Used:

Adcom 555 Mk. II, Various Sony and Onkyo mid-fi stuff.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-5 of 5  

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