Music reproduction, performance, build quality, soundstage, detail - just good clean power!

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I purchased this amp with a matching McIntosh stereo preamp just over a year ago. I would not nor could I ever go back. As with most hobbies, you can reach that point of diminished returns on investment - Not so with the McIntosh equipment. When I changed to the Mac equipment over my previous, I instantly learned quality over quantity. The clarity and detailed reproduction of music is fabulous. I have since purchased their MVP831 DVD/CD Player to kill two birds with one stone. The video section is super, the audio section with the Burr Brown DAC is amazing. Not to sound too much like an audiophile who speaks mostly to justify the amount he shelled out, but.... the blackness from which the sound eminates and its clarity is spine tingling.

I auditioned many other amps prior to this purchase with numerous speaker set ups. The Mac pieces with my Velodyne sub and KEF Audio Reference 2 speakers produced the most pleasing combination for me.

I've listened to systems costing from $1000 - to $150,000. If money was no object, I would still take mine...I'd just duplicate it in every room!

Just installed my long contemplated McIntosh MC300 Power Amplifier. It looksand sounds magnificient. I really doubted that I would hear the difference
over my aging, but superb Hafler amp. I am amazed just how dramatic the Mac is
able to improve the sound stage. It has really opened up my rebuilt AR9's to new level of sonic performance, especially at the low end. The AR9's are capable
of 400 watts per channel (continuous) at their nominal 3.8 Ohms, and they are completely clean and crisp with the Mac pushing about 300 - 600 peak watts from
its 4 Ohm connections. It is hard to believe how loud and undistorted this sound is. Even at low sound levels the Mac drives the speakers with more punch and accuracy. This is one great amplifier and it is well complemented by the McIntosh C38 preamp I bought with it.

BTW, the Hafler(s) has been a great amp/preamp set. They were one of the first state of the art MOSFET designs produced at a reasonable price, and have performed well over the last 20 years at a tenth the price of this MC300. If
you can find a used McIntosh 7270 or 7300, you'll probably be able to save
some money over a new MC300 and still get the same sound quality.

Bob is a really illiterate person who is talking about Audio. What's "out dated tech", is he talking about PC industry? For stereo components, the technology is matured couple decades ago already, expept digital revolution. For stereo amp, MC 300 is remained its high quality sound and low distortion. I recommand mcintosh products if you are serious about sound quality and have some bucks to spend.

Head room. Clarity. Brilliant highs, details. Large soundtage. Best of tube and solid state sounds.

No handles to lug around

Clean, vibrant, large soundstage.
Actually I bought he MC352 as they do not make the 350.

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Krell KAV150, KAV250

As the next step in my (all of our) never ending search for the "perfect" reproduction of live music, I decided to up-grade my amplifier first. I have been running a pair of Bryston 2B amps in mono-mode pushing a pair of Mission Argonauts (4 ohm) speakers. Source is either a CA9ES Sony CD player or analog using a Thorens with Shure VMX through a Threshold FET 10/pc and Mod Squad Line Drive (100% passive switching box with gold contacts). My preference is the analog, but is so easy to load five (5) CD's in the ES carousel and. In any event, there is no comparison between the 10-year old Brystons and the MC300. The Mac is so clearly sonically superior to the 2B's that I wonder how I listened to the Bryston's so long. The base is not just more extended, it is very much more controlled, tighter and real. The mid-range carries both male and female (I listen to both opera and "classic" late 60's - early 80's rock and roll) voices with no coloration. The sound stage has been deepened an amazing mount. CD's are presented in a "warmer" climate, reminding my of the Audio Research tube amp I listened to for a couple of years in 91-92 before it decided to melt (burned the top of table it was on - like all repaired equipment, once fixed is best to move it on). Needless to say, I have been extremely pleased with MC300 and have decided to move up to an active pre-amp with Aragon's Aurum being my choice and then will go speaker shopping.

Effortless Soundstage, Smooth Delivery at All Frequencies, Unmatched Reliability, Warmest reproduction for all medias.

McIntosh has not found a light bulb that meets there reliability standards. Expect a burned out bulb someday.

This Amplifier has everything for all users. As a home theater unit, it provides incredible dynamics. For raw energy audio, it is virtually unmatched, especially for the price. I have two MC-300's Bridged Mono for 600 watts rms @ 4 ohms driving a pair of Kef Reference Series 4 using a Bi-wire compliment of AudioTruth Crystal & AudioQuest Midnight Speaker Cables. A truly outstanding combination. I have added a Velodyne F1800R Subwoofer and have assigned the crossover to frequencies below 40 Hz, just to add bottom end presence that is lost in most rooms with a lot of furniture. I currently use a Denon AVR-5600 for PreAmp and Rear/Center Speaker Amplification (Kef Ref 2's for Rear and Kef Ref 200C Center). The MC-300's give this system tremendous presence and absoulute (to the ear) reproduction, given the compliment of equipment that I have choosen. May I add that the Denon DVD-5000 24 bit DVD Player has an unbelievable soundstage image, unlike anything that I have ever tested or listened to before. I am contemplating the MX-132 from McIntosh, as soon as I get tired of the Denon AVR. Until then, The MC-300 will remain the heart of this ultimate Home Theater that took me 25 years to eventually afford and collect. Buy it for keeps!

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Denon, Krell,

Beautifully made... pleasure to listen as well as look at

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Highly recommended. The sound quality is unbelievably true to source. Clear, crisp, with deep base and outstanding mids/highs. Pleasure to listen to at low volumes as well as high. NO NOISE. NO NOISE.NO NOISE.NO NOISE.NO NOISE One of the best audio products i've owned. Never go back.

Similar Products Used:

Classe, Krell

Smooth and liquid, beautiful midrange, powerful and well resolved bottom end. Will drive anything.

None that I can think of. This is a truly amazing amp.

I was searching for this amp for quite a while. There are really difficult to find on the used market. Finally I was able to grab one and I've been happy ever since. This amp brought me so much musical enjoyment! My system consists of Sonus Faber Electa Amator II speakers, Conrad Johnson Premier 14 preamp and Theta Pearltransport and MSB Gold dac. The Mac was what I needed here: it gave me the additional liquidity, almost tube-like, rich and full bodied midrange with detailed but very, very smooth highs. There is incredible power in the lower registers with excellent control and dynamics, but that's what you should expect from a 300 W powerhouse. The soundstage extends well beyond the room boundaries and is nicely lit.
There are also no excessive heat, buzzing or humming issues. This thing is dead quiet.
Frankly, before I had a chance to listen to the MC 300 I never even gave a Mac a serious thought. I'm glad I found out I was wrong.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston, Krell, Blue Circle

I have had my MC-300 for about 6 months now. I have fallen in love. I listen to mainly modern and classic rock. This amp has made mine and my friends' spine shiver. It is loud as hell with power to spare, but is as clean of a sound as I have heard from any amp. No matter if I am cranking some hard core Metallica, or kicking back with some Stairway To Heavan this amp comes through like a champ. You also can't go wrong with the reputation of a mac, my father still has his MA-5100 which is still in the same condition as he bought it. He has only had to replace two lightbulbs and a dried out cap. Not too bad for 27 years of use. Mac's customer support is also second to none as I have delt with them. They get you the answer quick and effieciently. As a college student I saved all the pennies I could and have gotten more than I ever expected. It was well worth it.

Detail and clarity, bass control, smooth midrange, depth of presentation

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This is a great amp. Besides all of the strengths listed above, I think the main reason I bought and love this amp is the lack of listener fatigue and especially fullness/bloom in the midrange and mid bass. I listened to many amps to find this qulaity; not all possess it, price irrelevant. What I am talking about is not evident in some lighter music, like some guitar or rock music, jazz, or instrumental for the most part. But if you play something using a heavily layered timbre, like full orchestra or pipe organ, you will hear it. Other amps sound thin in this area, whereas the Mac sounds "right" and full; almost three dimensional. Imagine touching one key (let alone a chord) on full organ, where you cause upwards of 50 or more pipes to play, each its own instrument, producing volumes of rich sound. That is hard to reproduce accurately. McIntosh does it well.
I think it is disappointing that some find Mac to be "outdated" or old fashioned. It should be evident that many expensive (much more usually) competitors frequently (yearly!) change the facades/shells on their products, which become increasingly cooler looking - and heavier too!), while doubling or tripling prices over the last decade or so. Mac has not gone up too much. And have those competitors really discovered that much new technology to put under the fancy shell? Superficial judging of a product should not be applied to audio, which is about listening, not what looks cool and costs a lot of money.

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