Depth, imaging, soundstaging, tonality and power. Plenty of oomph and punch for my hungry 4 ohm Magnepan MG 12 speakers. | San Jose Driveway Company

none . .

Beautiful Sound!! Typical McIntosh to look at. Very flexible.

Clumsey speaker cable connects.

Bought used from high-end shop. Have used Mac separates before, but have gone through a series of "up-grades" (Ha-Ha), trying other high-end offerings, both tube and SS. Came back to the Mac integrated while doing some apartment living during a relocation. Was bi-amping with Bryston gear and just didn't sound like I wanted. Moved back to the MA6850 and was very pleased with the depth of the presentation and over balance of the system. Just great to listen to. Music is like it is supposed to be. So, of course, the left meter quit after three months. Found out that McIntosh tried an order of meters from Japan and they had high failure rates. So, rather than fix I traded for an MC500 and C39. Am back in a house and very, very pleased. The MA6850 offered everything I wanted but the power to fill my bigger room. I highly recommend for critical listeners. The autoformers ability to match to difficult loads is well deserved. I am running 6 ohm speakers which have a low peak of around 3. The MA6850 didn't even notice. And, one always has that stunning McIntosh visual presentation to look at.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston B-60RP.

clean power and sound

none detected thus far

I had been thinking about this piece of equipment for some time and finally decided to pursue a MA6800 but came up dry when attempting to locate a new or very like new piece. I bought a MA6850 and added external amps for the turntable and headphones (Creek & McCormack). This gear simply blows me away. By far, the best piece of audio gear, I have EVER purchased. Which is really high praise based on my past thinking and beliefs. I now understand why McIntosh has such a cult following. I am finished chasing perfection, it has been achieved.

Similar Products Used:

Harmon Kardon

I bought in fact a 6800 (=6850 with phono) and my old vinyls sound marvelous, i did not find anything negative yet

are there? yes, the screws to connect the speakers are a bit old-fashioned.

after reading one of the comments on the smaller 6400, i decided to listen to the mcintosh my dealer had in his exposition room. I tried it on JBL tik6. My only comment to the seller: why didn't you make me listening to this amp before?? (he always tries selling his valve amps).
This amp is just very good. so good i took it home, compared it with some others (marantz pm 16 and pm 14 and brinkman) and decided to keep it. It was just far the best, and it has a very good phono (the 6800 i mean) and i think that tone control is absolutely necessary if you want to play your old led zeppelin stuff and so on.
The controlled bass is marvelous, the music is just nice and "full" sounding. sound can be influenced by changing the output from 4 to 8 ohm (my tannoy are rated 6 ohm, are nicest sounding when connected to the 4 ohm outlet)

It was also the only amp that digested the tannoy where the others put themselves in "security mode" : when the marantz stopped playing , i thought there shoud be a short-circuit, measured my cables, and found a fault in one of my speakers
that measured 0,5 ohm resistand with a multimeter...
That speaker is in repair now, but it did not bother the mcinthosh at all...
Waiting for my system to be complete, i connected my old speakers of Tandberg. Surprise! they never sounded so well!

I think many other amps would do fine in my room, but i feel that i won't feel the need to change my mcintosh in the next 15 years or so.

It was just the nices buy i did in a long time. If it is in your budged, i don't think one should hesitate: just go for it.

Similar Products Used:

tannoy d700, cambridge dac3 + transport, B&O1902 recordplayer (an old one!)

Well built amp.The speaker connectors at the amp are very good for firm grip.

None.

Very smooth sound giving every detail with authority,this
makes recordings transparent.listen to classics you'll know
what i'am talking about.

MY GEAR,
THE MA6850 INT AMP,
THE MCD7010 CD PLAYER,
KIMBER KABLE 4TC & SILVER STREAK FOR SPEAKER
WIRES AND INTERCONNECTS RESPECTIVELY.
ALTEC LANSING SPEAKERS 401's 250 MAXIMUM
PROGRAMME(IF THERE IS ANY OF YOU WHO KNOW
ABOUT THESE SPEAKER's specs
please email me.)

Similar Products Used:

THIS THE VERY BEST AMP THAT MONEY CAN BUY.

Fellow audiofriends
I listened to this Amplifier with Dynaudio boxes and was impressed. I think it sounds as good as the the new more expensive Levinson integrated or the Accuphase 407 which both are more expensive.
Now I am considering to buy this product for my B&W 802N Speakers. Is it a good match for the B&W? Could i go for the MA6500 as well or is it a big difference?
Thanks!