Build quality, sound quality, lot of power

None I guess

Wow, this Mac is a great one. Makes me listening and really involved with the music. The sound it produces is clean, detailed, warm, transparent, with excellent soundstage. Truly enjoyable!

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Marantz 8, Audion, Audiolab, McIntosh (integrated)

construction, reliability, audio quality

none to me

The sound is nothing short of phenomenal.
Excellent clarity, definition and focus.
The Power Guard system, which can be defeated in the back panel, works admirably and effectively prevents clipping.
It also works well for powering my upper mids in my quad-amped home theatre system.
The Construction of this amp is superb and the reliability is legendary.

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mcintosh 2300

holy mother... read on..made a discovery..

u kidding me?

I have been living with my Mac for a few months now and minutes ago, i made a discovery that i must share with y'all. (perhaps i am the last person who found out about this.)

If you have not tried, please do the following:
1) MC2205 has an inherent advantage over many other amps in that it has volume controllers (pots) for each channel. Therefore, I wondered why I was using a pre-amp when all i listen to is from CD source. soo...
2) My CD player signal goes directly out to big Mac. I am a great fan of simple design, unclutterness-- with the current setup, introduction of noise is to the minimal (CD to mac to speakers). the outcome...
3) there is no need for flowery adjectives to describe the purity and awesome fidelity i was experiencing. I can honestly say I am able to SEE sound stage, dimension and I could FEEL music.
4) conclusion -- simple is beautiful. After all, as audiophiles, aren't we all in search of truth? of true, uncolored music? why introduce noise/distractions from a pre-amp or other devices connected to the preamp? each item adds its own unique sound signature. get rid of it! and you will finally get to listen to music. music, the Mac way.

let me know what u think.
r/Jerry C. Kung

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pass, plinius, krell, audio research.

Quality. Clarity. Effortless sound reproduction. Durability. It simply appears to be a marvel of engineering.

get real, dude.

5 stars. Period.

As Ferris Buehler said, "It is so choice, if you have the means, I highly recommend it."

All light-heartedness aside, this amp is built like a tank, weighs 94 pounds, produces dynamic audio effortlessly in a transparent fashion, and has engineering qualities at which I marvel.

This is one component that I do not know where to begin my description of it. I will never sell it. I am not necesarily a McIntosh freak, however, I am a believer in this unit.

I am using this amp to drive a pair of 40-year-old Acoustic Research AR-3's. AR-3's need lots of power to sound well, and this amp is one of the only one that I have coupled with those speakers that produce audio so effortlessly.

To add further to the above description will lead to incoherent, awe-struck babbling, so I will leave it as it is. Try it out. The MC-2205 is amazing.

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Sansui G-8500, Pioneer SX-1250, Pioneer SX-1050, Marantz 2385, Marantz 2285B, Eico and Knight tube amps, and other less notable items.

The 2205 is a solid piece. Excellent Build quality. With the volume controls you can eliminate a pre amp.

heavy

This is an excellent amp. Power and lots of it. Clean power. This is an outstanding value for the money. I am using it to bi-amp the top end and the depth and clarity it produces is excellent. Nothing like a Big Mac.

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Meitner 101s

That classic Mac sound (transformers?), Power O' Plenty, and truly amazing build quality.

My glass front panel broke when I was a bonehead and let the airline goons throw it around. Anyone have one?

It's one of those stories you just can't believe. A great Mac amp at a fleamart for $20. Then I shipped it home to San Diego, and the glass panel got broken. I still love it. I will never part with it. It plays really great music.

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Used and built lots of amps over the years, both tube and solid state, high and low power, hifi and pro audio. This is one of the top performers, and certainly the best built.

Clean detailed sound. Excellent soundstage. Strong bottom end. Legenday Mac quality and construction.

At times a little bright

I converted from a Mac 2105 and expected more of the same. I was impressed to find the 2205 was far more detailed on the high end than its predecessor was. It can be a bit too bright at times although detail and clarity always persist. I've listened to several McIntosh amps over the years and whenever I audition them vs another amp, they appear strong yet unexciting. Actually, however, that is what you expect from a good power amp - just clearly amplify the signal and don't add coloration.

The 2205 is no exception! The sound is clean and very detailed. The soundstage is impressive with my Maggie 1.6s. Construction quality is typical McIntosh - very impressive and built to last. I had to replace the power switch but the folks in Binghamton quickly sent an overpriced ($27)replacement switch and installation was very easy.

If you see one of these used on the open market, you should definitely pick it up and give it a listen. Macs hold their value extremely well. If it doesn't work well with your system you can quickly sell it on eBay - Highly recommended!

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McIntosh 2105, McIntosh 754

big, clean power. appearance. classic Mac sound.

i have nothing to complain about on my 20+ yr old amp.

this thing is built like a tank. there are no mechanical defacts after 20+ yrs. there are some surface rust, but that is understandable. my unit came to me from S.F. and it was beaten up pretty badly during shipping, but not surprisingly the unit runs perfectly fine.
the sound is big and smooth. not to mention how gorgeous it looks with its blue meters. i must say, this is the best looking amp i have ever seen. my brother described it as owning a big ol'harley davidson -- lots of chrome, black metal, not to mention big and heavy, what a regal presence!

it is a perfect match to my Dynaudio Audience 40 speakers @4ohm. airy sound, wide dynamics. this amp has so much power to spare. very musical. one never feels fatigued from long listening. it exhibits all of the attributes of solid state design (quick response), as well as the warmth from Mac's famous tube amps.

it is without wonder why there is such a huge world wide demand for old Mac amps. if you find one on the market, grab it!

one last word -- it adds another demension to your listening enjoyment when your room is warmly lit by mac's smooth blue lights.

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krell, audio research, CJ, cello, nakamichi