Sound Qualities, Power, Build Quality, Useful Controls.

Remote only runs other Mac gear, and won't run my Sony ES CD player.

Well, I did it. I sold my Mcintosh MA6450 (previously reviewed here), and bought the MA6500. The 6450 was a superb piece, but did not have the power to get my Magneplanar 1.6qr's to sing! After I sold the MA6450, I had some interim gear, a Proceed amp, Thule preamp, some YBA (loaners). These were all good pieces with unique sonic qualities. The Proceed had detail that was remarkable and lots of power. When my MA6500 arrived I hooked it up wondering if it could better the audiophile stuff. The MA6500 absolutely floored me! When I played my favorite Patricia Barber, Eva Cassidy, and various JVC xrcd's I heard "THE MUSIC"! It was indescribeable, I had detail, warmth, fullness, slam!!!, image. I never expected any Mac to do this. The controls and phono section are great too. In fact I sold my outboard phono preamp (Rotel) because the Mac's phono section is much better. I never thought I would say this, but the tone controls, loudness and balance controls are quite useful, and truly enhance certain records and CD's. When not used they are removed from the signal path for the audio purist left in me. The build quality is perfect and the unit is really a work of art. I finally reached a point of audio satisfaction. By the way, the meters are truly seductive when used late at night in a dark room, glass of great wine and favorite music...wonderful. Worth every penny!

Similar Products Used:

Mcintosh MA6450 (also fine unit), Proceed, YBA, Pioneer Elite (didn't sound good)

Same as stated in earlier review.

Lack of authorized service centers in some areas.

This is a follow up to my prior review of this product about 6 months ago. The MA6500 has lived up to it''s lofty reputation in almost every category. I say almost because I''ve encountered a problem that I thought should be passed on to all prospective McIntosh buyers. At about 6 months of age and average use, the right power meter stopped working. Needless to say, I was very dissapointed that of all potential problems that could arise, the component that has become the trademark of Mac equipment failed. But, being an engineer, I understand that things break even when the most stringent precautions are taken to prevent it from happening. The main tip that I want to pass on is before buying a Mac, make sure you check that there is an authorized McIntosh service facility in your area if your dealer does not offer service. I''ve found out that there are none in the entire state of Iowa. So, my choices are to either drive 6 hours round trip to Chicago twice or ship the amp back to McIntosh Labs, at my expense, for repair. At least McIntosh will pick up the tab to ship it back to me - woopi! Hopefully, this will be my only bad experience with what has otherwise been a wonderful performer.

Purity of details, refinement in mid and bass tones and subtlety finesse in the high tones, extra-power, posibility of connect two pairs of lowdspeakers, elegant shape.

I'm tryng hard, but I didn't find them up to the moment.

Outstanding piece of equipement, with impeccable diaphanousness in the delivery of sound and extremely "elegant" final efect. It has an improved and more detailed sonority than the one delivered by it's "older brother", the MA 6850 (which can hardly stand the competition with the new-born and is obviously called to be replaced by the MA6500 in brief), and with a plus of extra power that actually makes the definitive difference in favor of the new MA6500.
It´s in my opinion one of the few "top class" integrated amplifiers, capable of matching and even outranging the few others capables to accede similar levels, even when they frecuently dubbles it's price and not allways reaches the standards of excelencie rised up by the MA6500 in the category of Integrated-Amps.

Similar Products Used:

McIntosh 6850; Jeff Rowlands Concerta

Quiet, tonal accuracy, power, intoxicating to look at.

None

I'm not a Mac fanatic and this is the first McIntosh component I've owned. I broke down and bought it as an upgrade to my Adcom seperates (amp/preamp) system. I know that many people say that seperate components are superior to integrated amplifiers, and having owned many of each, I've agreed with that assesment until now. Although my Adcom system is powerfull and a great bargain, it wasn't giving me that satisfying feeling we are searching for in all of our gear. The MA6500 is a component that makes me smile even when it isn't on. It's THAT beautiful. When it IS on my smile widens. It has a much warmer and richer sound than the assortment of Japanese designed products I've owned. I listen to a wide range of music at a wide range of volume levels. This amp exhibits no distortion or audible strain at any level. The quiet passages of recordings are void of background noise and very accurate sounding. There is no over emphasis of treble that I had grown accustomed to and tired of with my old system. This maybe to some a deficiency, but to me it seems more accurate in extracting the right amount of tonal qualities from the music which prevents listener fatigue. I recently added a Arcam CD92 cd player and Tara Labs interconnects and speaker cables to the system. These items complement the MA6500 greatly. I can honestly, for the first time in many years of searching for that magic power source, say that I've found the ONE. My excitement may wear as the newness does but I am definetly now a McIntosh fan. It's products don't get the press that the Krell and Levinson products do, but I feel strongly that those products can't compete in the total satisfaction category with the McIntosh MA6500.

Superior sound quality, Impeccable responce in every frequence, usefull tone commands, beautifull building an very elegant look, dubble pairs of speakers conection capability, astonishing power (for an Integrated Mc Amp), great finesse and detailed tone delivery. Modern architectural design and updated technology. It´s a Mac.

Highly adictive: every day becomes more hard for me to go to work and live my MA6500 at home.

After testing this device for almost one year, I can conclude that McIntosh camed out with a completly new, moderniced and formidable model.

It largely surpasses it's predecessor (the MA6450)and will certenly replace the "admiral vessel" of the fleet, the emblematic MA6850.

The technological superiority of the MA6500, conveniently updated by the McIntosh team of experts, could never face a confrontation with the noble veteranity of the MA6850 conception, without puting in evidence it's dign obsolescence: the dethronisation of the old King seems inevitable and his throne will be certanly occupied by the new arrived, the formidable and noble MA6500.

In a matter of fact, the MA6850's are allready on the "Dry Docks", and the decision o dicontinuing it's production has been oficialy adopted. The substitut for this model is aspected to be presented in the first half of 2001.
Only a strategy of this nature could make sense to the lounching of a device of the characteristics of the MA6500, and give a logic explination to the fact of introducing in the market a theoreticaly "intermediate" model that surpasses so entirely the "top model": by the moment, and until the next semester (perhaps), the MA6500 is at the top of the Mc Integrated-Amps family.

The brand new architectural design of the MA6500, which includes sophisticated features due to the incorporation of vanguard technology, is a new turning point in the usualy more "conservative-orientated" tendence of the Firm facing changes, who has traditionaly exhibited a cautios behaviour scarcely propense to radical evolutions in the development of McIntosh devices.

Its time, then, to send my congratulations to the Cheff: as a result of this audacious modern approach, the overall performance of Integrated Mc amplification has been improved again (and this means a lot considering that it was alrready extraordinary). The sownd information delivered is significantly more detailed than in the MA6850 (which my ears tend to classified in the more "bulb-worm" side of the audio spectrum), and never looses it's smoothness and final elegant finesse. I dedicate several hours in the deay, and many weekends in de year, to hear it's delivered musicality without never suffering from fatigue or saturation.

The encreased power capabilites of the MA6500 are also a great step forward: I would never have to worry about the "impedence" of the loudspeakers that I could eventualy connect in the future (particulary if I'm thinking in two pairs of speakers, what I am actually considering). The MA6500 is powerfull enough (thanks to the folks of McIntosh) and, in the theoretical case that I would need/want more power, I can allways connect a second amplifier and pre-amplifier for more punch (thanks again, wyse falks of McIntosh). These wonderfull features converts de MA6500 in a veritable long term (read "life-time")amplifier.

I remember someone complaining about the fact that the MA6500 model has not being provided (as the MA6850 was)with the possibility of incorporating an equalizer. This does not supose a real problem to me, because I belive that the function of an amplifier is just that: permit the amplified traspassing of the audio signal in a complete neutral way. The equalizer would change the tone of the sound which could be an improvement in some amplifiers, but it would be certenly a waste in my case: I want to listen the music, and my McIntosh MA6500 guives me just that...and at the highest audio standards.

The permanent efforts of creativity made by the engineers of McIntosh, combined with it's determinated and srict policy of "no cencessions" in matter of quality of the single parts utiliced to build their devices, as the integrateds, the chassis and the accurated concern for ditails that can be apreciated in it's beautifully refined retro-look, are at the foundations of the unsurpassed quality of the McIntosh final products. No wonder why the prestige of the most distinguished name in the Hi-Fi family remaines unaltered despite the pass of time and the risks that comes with the periodical excercise of risking failure in running the roads that our contemporary technitians must pursue in search of the necessary technological improvement.

Simultanuously, (and I dont agree with many of my buddies in this subject)the gap that separates this highly reputated products from the crowd of less qualified competitors has grown, no matter the efforts of the latters to climb the narrow hill of the market of Integrated-Amps. In their search of a less commited success, they keep in the move seeking the cuttoffs, generaly shaped under the strategy of reducing cost-production an rebating retail prices, what inevitably leads to a poorer quality and a lower performances of their products.

Contrasting dramaticaly with this alternatives,the intransigence of McIntosh in matter of standards of quality had succesfully concluded in the MA6500: the incredible results in terms of refinement, subtility, smouthnes and detailes, combined with the contribution of the engineers to ductility (facilitated by it's cleverly builded tone controls) and it's amazing extra-power delivery, confortabile surpasses the large majority of it's containders, incloudding some that happens to double the price of the Mc beauty.

The outstanding performance of this Mc solidly installs this model in the select (and reduced) group of the "top class" of their category, and I belive that will remain in that honourable position for many years. I highly reccomend this product: ask a loan, sell your car, forget your hollidays...but buyit tomorrow.

Similar Products Used:

Brystol, Audio Research, McIntosh MA6850

Perfect flat response, aesthetic beauty, power

none

I did not need to replace the McIntosh MA5100 that I had owned for 29 years, but things were going well and I thought, "Maybe it's time for a new McIntosh!" I checked on model numbers and prices, and the MA6500 came up on top, so I bought it. The overall performance is EVEN better than the old MA5100 which has been the closest of friends for almost three decades. The difference between the two amps is even greater than I expected, in that the new one is noticably better in both the low and the high frequencies. Of course, I love watching the power meters as I listen to this magnificent piece of engineering excellence, but the bottom line is that the sound of the music I love drives me as far into ecstasy as I am able to go without being in too much danger of having a heart attack.

Similar Products Used:

McIntosh MA5100