I'm listen MC352 in over a month & find this's a MAGIC of Mc solid state amp.This's really a breakthought since several years after Mc to produced solid products - especially the tight bass & tube like's airy. Highly recommended.

I thought it was a good amplifier... until I was able to compare it with Audio-Research VT100MKII with the same source, same preamplifier, same cables, same speakers. The comparison was a disaster for the MC352... A real disaster. The sound was really less "transparent". Power, power, but only power for the Mc...

Build quality is excellent; style and personality.

The first time I listened to this amp in my system I knew I had a keeper. The music just has an ease about it. The soundstage is wide and deep, midrange is perfect, delivers solid bass,too. The treble sometimes has a touch of glare, maybe typical of solid state, but voices are natural enough without causing fatigue. Delivers plenty of clean power at live listening levels to full range speakers. No sweat,enough headroom. Runs cool all day at full load. The blue watt/db meters are beautiful as well as a learning tool. Built like a tank. There is a charm to McIntosh gear not seen in most other stuff. It makes you want to touch it. Kinda like a Harley! What more can you ask for in any amp? PSB gold"i" speakers, Cambridge Audio preamp & CD, Millersound cables and interconnects.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood, Bryston

Neutral to Warm Sound

None that I can detect

I'm still blown away by this amplifier. It's very refined, yet authoritative, neutral, yet warm. In other words, it just lets the music comes through as it was recorded. The handling of the frequencies is marvelous with deep bass and extended highs, the midrange warm and seductive.

Listening to string quartets is a treat, as every instrument comes through with its texture and sheen intact. Here lesser amps sound hazy with massed strings having plenty of glare. Not so with this amp. The brain does not need to do any work, deciphering the soundstage, everything just comes across effortlessly. With orchestral music, it displays good layering of instruments, and with vocals, it's very rich and velvety.

It helps to leave the amp on most of the time, as it develops its full potential after a one hour warmup period. (I only turn it off at night).

This one is for the ages.

Similar Products Used:

Hafler 9500, Conrad Johnson Premier 11, Audio Research VT100

Dynamic, lively, very lush for a solid-state, authoritative bass control, very detailed but not etched. Closest to the smoothness and bloom of a tube amp, but runs very cool. Overall it's very well balanced for what it is.

It sounds less than impressive in an all-McIntosh system.
Compared to some tube amps, especially SETs, it doesn't sound as palpable

I've never liked Macs before because, here in Singapore, they are always demo-ed in an all-McIntosh system, the main weakness there being the speakers. In fact the sound can be rather constrained and boxy. But I recently heard them matched to a B&W N802 and a Martin Logan ReQuest, and wow, it really came alive.

I don't believe it's the 'best', there's no such thing; SETs have an immediacy and palpability that's untouchable; Audio Research and Jadis tubes have a lushness and warmth that's hard to ignore. But for what it is- a powerful solid state muscle amp- they are incredibly delicate sounding. McIntoshes are unique in that they are the only solid state amps that use transformers instead of transistors, and I don't know if that's the reason, but it comes closest to the magical midrange of a good tube amp. All the instruments and vocals have that last ounch more 'air' around them when compared to other solid state amps.

It's hard for me to rate amps on their own, as obviously they have to be heard with a speaker, so here are the top amp-speaker combinations I've heard, in order of preference:

1. McIntosh MC 352 - Martin Logan ReQuest
2. ARC VT 100 - Proac Response 2.5
3. ARC VTM 120 - Martin Logan Sequel 2
4. McIntosh MC 352 - B&W Nautilus 802
5. Cary 300 B SE - Vienna Acoustic Beethovan
6. Cello Encore - Genesis 500
7. Conrad Johnson Premier 8 - Sonus Faber Amati Homage
8. 2. Jadis JA 50 - Quad ESL 63

As you can see,
1. I like tubes, and if not for the Mac, 5 out of 6 of my top choices would be tube gear;
2. What I've heard is not neccessarily 'top of the line'. A McIntosh MC 1000 and a Martin Logan Prodigy or Statement will probably sound much better, as will an ARC Reference 300 and a Proac Response 4, but I've never heard them, so I can't say. I do not however, think that more expensive is always better.

I have heard far more expensive which I didn't like, some of which are : McIntosh MC 352 (and 602) - McIntosh speaker; FM Acoustic - Genesis 2; Gryphon Antilion - Hales Trascendent 8; Sonic Frontiers Power 3 - JM Lab Grand Utopia; Mark Levinson 33- B&W Nautilus 801; Krell FPB 600 - Apogee Grand.

One last thing I'd like to add. Here in Singapore, McIntoshes are more expensive than in the US. An MC 352, which sells for US $4,500 is sold for something like US$6,200 here. Audio Research, Krells, Mark Levinsons, Specrtals et al are sold at exact conversion rates or less. Even so, I think it's something I'd seriously consider. But if I were in the US, it would be a no-brainer. For $4,500, and considerably more, I can think of no other high-powered solid-state amp, and possibly even tube amp (with the notable exception of the Audio Research VT 100) that is remotely as good.

Similar Products Used:

Aragon Palladium
Audio Research Classic 120
Audio Research VTM 120

AUDIO NIRVANA...doesn't do justice to the emotional impact of this amplifier. I was hunting for an amp to replace the Classe' S700 that had grown "a little too familiar" over the past four+ years, and had auditioned a Sim Moon W-5 in home. "Wow", I thought, "that's the presence that's been missing...the personal involvement with the artists..." I also lined up auditions with the Plinius SA100, and Pass X150 (a new-bee). Then, the unexpected...a local audio purveyor recommended I consider the Mac..."are you kidding?" I mused. Oh, well, why not...END OF SEARCH. I am running an Audio Res. LS3 pre-amp, Hales Rev.3 speakers, CAL Audio Labs Tercet MKIV CD...Aural Symphonics As-One connects, XLO Pro speaker cables. I can't put into word exactly what happened...call it "absolute synergy...my skin was crawling...I had to keep looking around the darkened room to find out where the strange noises were coming from. It was like there were other people in the room...instruments were so accuratly reproduced, and ambiance created so lifelike as to bring tears to my eyes. Jazz at the Pawnshop never sounded this incredibly good...the sax would float up forward from the back of the stage and then slowly fade back as another solo floated up...DAMN...I'm cancelling my subscriptions to Stereophile and tossing the last year of any equipment reviews I have pondered over. Don't need 'em no more...set for the new millenium. My 13 year old son asked me...hey, dad, can I inherit the amp??? Sure, son...just don't get jaded by the perfection...you'll never hear it any better. Recommended with no reservations.

Price(yes!), performance

doesn't sound as good bridged

OK. The MC 352 sells for $4500. Among its competition at the same specs (solid state 300 watters), only the Classe 301 is priced as inexpensively. Krells, Mark Levinsons, Cellos are all way more expensive.

Ironically, I found that the 2 best 300 watters were the Mac and the Classe, the cheapest of the lot!

Amps stand or fall on their midrange and timbre, and the Mac and Classe stomp all over their competition!

When compared to one another, it's a much tougher choice. Overall, I give my verdict to the McIntosh because it's sound is a touch more organic and natural.

One thing that surprised and disappointed me was that they sound less transparant when bridged. So now I'm running 2 amps not in bridged mode but in stereo in a vertical bi-amp configuration.

And still the best after all these years.....

Similar Products Used:

Classe 301, 401, ML 333, 335, 336, Krell FPB 300, ARC VT100,VTL 450