Rock solid basic amplifier. No frills. Excellent fidelity. Low cost on used market.

Shipping weight (& expense) if you buy one.

This is one of the first solid state amplifiers that followed the McIntosh tube amplifier era. As such, it is designed much like a tube amplifier that uses transistors. An example is the use of (single-winding type) output transformers which give the unit a set of output impedance characteristics similar to tube equipment in many respects. Can deliver full power into selectible 4, 8, or 16 ohm winding taps.

While I don't claim to be an audiophile, I think the MC2100 has some of the "tube flavor" that the MC75/275 fans are so in love with. Yet, MC2100's can be purchased for much less. For many years, I used it as an "afterburner" for a Fisher 500C tube receiver. Aside from the higher power level, I could not hear the difference between the Fisher directly to the speakers or through the MC2100.

I first got the 2100 on the used market over 25 years ago. It has been in almost daily use since then. Total maintenance has been wiping off the dust from time to time. Typical conservative McIntosh engineering resulted in massive heat sinks, transformers, open cage ventilation, etc. Even when you push it, it doesn't get very warm.

Its appearance is Spartan. A simple metal chassis with a chrome finish. No fancy backlit glass or meters. After you use it a while, you begin to appreciate its real beauty.

In the 25+ years I've owned it, everything around it has been replaced. Speakers, preamp, tuners, sources have all come and gone. The MC2100 remains with no intention for replacement. Today, it is fed by a C28 and drives a set of KEF 104/2's.

Similar Products Used:

Fisher 500C

Terrific bass, lots of reserve power

difficult to move, heavy and off-balance, strip terminal outputs

One of those "Don't know what you've got til it's gone" things. Flawless, reliable performer. Solid bass. Difficult to tell the difference between it and much more powerful amps.

But it IS ugly as hell and before you know it you start lusting after prettier amps.

Owned and sold one twice due to greedy wife. I swear I'll keep the next one forever.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom 5800, Dynaco ST 416, Aragon 2004. Carver TFM 35x

Clean bass

Too heavy

I purchased this about 20 or so years ago. It's never had a problem. A family member was taking piano lessons a while back with one of those electronic metronomes. He had trouble hearing it while playing at the same time. We hooked it up to the MC2100 to increase amplification. It did that just fine but the low frequency components of the metronome cause the lights to dim whenever it went "tick tock", I kid you not! Never fazed the amp at all!

I've also used this amp in large auditoriums and it's 100 watts per channel deliver clean crisp sound at extremely high volumes. It's a workhorse.

Reliability, power for money

It's not a tube amp,if that matters to you.

Check out Mr. Haskins comments below and do a search for his name on this board. You will find that on 4/13/01, he performed 4 of these "one star" reviews for the MC30, MC150, MC2100, and MC7205. All in six minutes while traveling between two different states. Quite an amazing fellow.

Regarding the MC2100 he claims to have used for more than a year and described as "Worst tube amp I've ever heard in my life....", I have some terrible news for Mr. Haskins: Richard...Its NOT a tube amp. That's why you didn't see any of those glass things inside lighting up. It uses these funny little things called transistors. When operating properly, most users report that transistors do not light up.

Richard, you will have better results if you remember to wire some good speakers to the output terminals, wire a good signal source to the inputs, and remember to plug the power cord into a power outlet. However, it will never be a tube amp, good or bad.

And Richard, if McIntosh products are as bad as you say, why did end up with four of them?