“Blown away” just about sums up my opinion on this little AMP/PRE AMP. I now define my audio listening experience pre McIntosh and post McIntosh. I have been looking / chasing “That Sound” since 1983 when I joined the Army and was in Germany during the hay days of PX sound rooms which displayed every name brand of gear and speaker imaginable and had manufacture representatives to sell their goods. All were represented, except McIntosh. I have owned every brand out there and not the BOTL gear for the masses. Vintage Marantz 2270, Vintage Sansui G 8700DB, Pioneer SX 1250, Pioneer Elite C-72 / M-72, C-90 / M-90. Technics Class A stuff, Onkyo, Nakamichi, NAD, the list goes on and on. If it was Japanese and supposed to be good, I bought it and still have much of it. I had heard of McIntosh but thought it was expensive and I figured how much better can it be? It’s all solid state right? WRONG!

On a whim and still searching for “That Sound” after all these years. I was looking around on ePay and saw a listing for a MacIntosh MA5100 spelled like the computer. It was going pretty cheap but I figured it would jump as people began to bid on it toward the end of the auction. To my astonishment, I think due in part to the spelling error I picked it up for a mere $224. I received it in the mail yesterday. After a quick wipe down I plugged it into my 1979 Klipschorns also a Craigslist find for $900 and OMG I was in heaven. How could something produced so long ago sound so incredible I thought? Like other post here praising this little magic in a box. I am now without a doubt a convert. I had Frank Sinatra, Fleetwood Mac, Journey live in my man cave last night. McIntosh makes music come alive.

The sound produced though this amp was nothing short of amazing and this is 1966 technology. As other post can attest I heard things I never heard before and that was with just a CD. I can’t wait to hook one of my Turntables tonight and hit this thing with some vinyl. True there is the slightest hint of dead sound between tracks you can hear, but there is nothing anyone can tell me about any other gear that will compare or change my mind. I am now going to begin the process of dismantling and selling all my other systems collected since 1983 and I mean seven in total all makes and models in order to buy Mcintosh and McIntosh only. Bottom line up from do yourself a favor and get your feet wet. Come on in, the water is fine! For a small investment into some vintage McIntosh which is still made in the good ole USA you won’t be disappointed. As Bogart said in Casablanca “Louis I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”

First off I think it is worth mentioning that those who are experiencing background noise need to understand that old gear like this will ALLWAYS need servicing. The capacitors used in audio equipment will deteriorate over time no matter what and will need to be replaced. Often some of the resistors and sometimes the transistors will need replacing. Mcintosh will service these amps and bring them back up to spec. The difference after a proper service will astound you. More power NO background noise and lower distortion (these tend to spec out better than the stated figures in the Mcintosh literature when serviced correctly).

That being said the MA 5100 is a great entry level vintage Mcintosh that has a very sweet musical non-fatiguing sound. It's an early version of Mcintosh's entry into solid state audio gear that, though not as impressive as the tube equipment, was built to keep the signature Mcintosh voice. It's a very forgiving amplifier that works well with just about any input source and speaker selection. I prefer using this amp on my vintage JBLs to tame the very forward sounding characteristics most vintage JBLs are known for.

If you love your Mcintosh GET IT SERVICED!. you will find these will sound better than any modern gear for the same price. It is also worth mentioning this will avoid any chance of having a dangerous electrical failure.

I am a long time audiophile, and have owned many amplifiers over the years! Marantz, Harman Kardon, Pioneer, Sansui, Technics, Sony, Kenwood, Crown, and many others. For years I heard how good McIntosh equipment was, but was deterred by the expensive prices. I recently found a good deal on, and finally purchased a McIntosh MA 5100 Amp/Preamp. When I hooked it up, I was flabergasted! I was simply blown away by the sound! I simply could not believe what I was hearing from the record grooves or CD discs! With the McIntosh, it is like hearing all my records and CD's for the first time! I hear detail and nuances that simply werent audiable (or were distorted) with my other amplifiers. I have owned a set of large Advent speakers for years, and always thought they were adequately driven, and were delivering optimal sound with whatever amp was connected to them. Until I connected them to the McIntosh, I never realized or actually heard what these superb speakers were truly capable of! The sound is incredibly clean, powerful, accurate and incredibly well defined. vocals and instruments junp from the cones! The richness and clarity has to be heard to be believed! The McIntosh MA 5100 amp is "only" rated at 45 Watts RMS per channel, but quite franklly, it beats the snot out of my previous primary vintage Sherwood amp that is rated at 100 watts per channel RMS! I dont know what the McIntosh engineers did to create such clean powerful circuitry, but in my opinion, they were truly wizards! In short, my McIntosh MA 5100 blows every other amplifier I have ever owed, right out of the water! I dont impress easily, but I am VERY impressed, and am now a McIntosh convert! It's no wonder McIntosh has such a great reputation. The vintage equipment they built is in a word awesome! GH, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

This is simply the most musical amplifier I ever heard. In a long row of vintage and new Quad, Krell, Luxman, Marantz, Jadis, Prima Luna... To me it does everything right. Music comes with ease, the amp letting you hear music, not merely details. It breathes, has good bass, mid en highs. Not the last word in detail, but it outshines the others mentioned in the natural and organic recreation of a musical event. It is important to match it with the right speaker to experience the magic of this amplifier, otherwise you might be disappointed. Wonderful combination with my Spendor BC1 or my Rogers LS3/5as (15 ohm). Right now a MCintosh 275 is playing next to it, but however beautiful it sounds, the MA 5100 wins in fatiguefree, musical listening. Very reliable, mine is completely original after 50 years still functioning perfectly. If you own one, keep it and enjoy, your not likely to find more joy in other amps.
Oh, and of course I forgot to mentioned the cool looks :-)

I bought my 5100 amp from ebay and paid $250 dollars for it. It was a great investment. Presently, I'm using it to drive two Infinity RS325s. I have a Music Halll turntable that I found languishing in an antique store. I restored and refinishe the table and put on a Goldring Electra cartridge. I also use a pair of AKG headphones for listening. As others have noted, there is some background noise in the amp's performance. Also the sound is not super detailed--which is good for my old LPs. But The sound is warm beyond compare. This is a forty year old amp, and it looks cool and sounds warm. I love it.

I had to replace some of the bulbs, and when I did, I accidentally cracked a corner of the black glass. I found out that I can get replacement glass for less than two hundred bucks, and I will, eventually. But that doesn't affect the sound. It sounds heavenly.

1. Quality. The MA 5100 is a quality design built be a quality manufacturer. Mine has worked flawlessly for 38 years. After 20 years in the USAF operating and testing aircraft electronic systems, I managed a product line that supplied $15M to $25M annually to military users all over the world. The packaging is superb.

2. Beauty. The backlit black panel with tringular lights is just, well - cool.

3. Richness of sound. I have several digital audio/video control systems connected to CD players, but there is a depth of audio that McIntosh delivers beyond contemporary sound systems.

Who cares about speaker wires? Who needs speakers? Buy a set of Grado Lab headphones.

In 1968 I was an air force officer in navigator training at Mather AFB, CA when, to my wife's dismay, I bought a McIntosh MA 5100. It cost me a month's pay ($450) and it was worth every penny. The McIntosh factory used to send out a tech rep to their retailers who would test your amp, fix anything that was wrong then post the data sheet in the store window. Total Harmonic Distortion envy!

My MA 5100 drove a pair of AR-3As until the woofers dried out. A pair of Advents lasted about 15 years until 1997. Since, I have tried a number of speakers with disappointing results. This year I bought a pair of inexpensive ($69) headphones from a world class audio manufacturer - Grado Labs RS 60s - to use with my iPod. When I plugged them into my MA 5100, the MAC was back.

Today my McIntosh is connected to an old Technics direct drive turntable. After I converted my records to digital audio files, I still listen to classics - from Klemperer conducting Beethoven to CS&N "Suite Judy Blue Eyes". They just sound better.

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Fischer
Marantz
Sony
JVC
Pioneer
Panasonic
Technics

Power, simplicity, nostalgia, a warm tireless sound.

none.

I've been using audioreview.com as a reference to help me understand charictaristics of various stereo equipment before I buy / bid. It is now my turn to return the favor ... I recently purchased a McIntosh MA5100 amp/preamp. In the past I've owned and loved Denon equipment (early 80's). But IMO Denon has sold out ... they don't make the equipment like they used to and you can buy it in Sears (I really like to buy my craftsman tools at Sears, not my audio equipment.) 3 years ago I sold my old Denon system and less than 1 year ago i got the bug to put together a really nice home theater / listening system for less than $3,000.00. Sparing you the details ... I bought Onkyo equipment (price / performance). Good equipment .. no where near the old Denon. I wanted power, simplicity, nostalgia, a warm tireless sound ... I wanted McIntosh. It is all of those things ... I too like the other reviewer would really like some good 'ol VU meters, 200+ watts per channel and those blue lights ... but I am on a budget. For the price I paid ... I don't think it can be beat.

Similar Products Used:

similar? none. OTHER equipment used: Denon, Sony, Onkyo, Technics (old 4 channel), Kenwood (60's era).

Jazz

I WANT the blue lights :-) With the sweeping power meters and the power.

Hi All,

First off this isnt as quiet as all the new equipment that is out there, I guess the word is background noise, you notice it when you listen to much newer stuff, but when you think about when this was built 1960 to 70's or so its understandable.

But for Jazz which seems to be what I listen too, ahh, fills up my house with warm sounds, Miles Davis sketches of spain. Dave Bruebeck, and more. My friend came over my house and said that on good recordings it sounds like we are at live/ good jazz club.

I like classical too, just sounds really nice, clear, dont feel like Im missing anything.

Every once and a while I can imagine that some people are playing in my living room. Not in the sound image but in the musicality of the piece.

I am begining to think that the more you spend/experient you get closer to that goal(that is the goal, yes??) of "being there" For me it happens maybee once a day for a couple seconds, I assume after you spend more time and money thats what it must be like all the time.

I havent had any problems, I leave it on most of the time. If you like to finesse about stuff, drums sound good, cymbals sound different, depending on how they were hit. Trumpets have a life to them, guitars on good recordings sound really nice, and the piano, is expressive.

You people who have those ultra systems that can here the air around the instrument, Im not there, and I know how cool that is to hear,along with a hundred other things, but for now this is close enough, it has enough that I dont miss what I dont have. Well, except blue dials :-)

I wont be buying anything for a while, happiness, hhmm I bought/got what I wanted, I suggest you do the same, based on what you like too.

Thanks for the eye strain.

MA5100
Cambridge Audio CD6
Nordost Red Dawn interconnect/ Flatline speaker wire
Book shelf homemade speakers (bought in Austin Texas) built by a sound engineer, a doctor and a guy who works at Dell. Sound way to nice for the price I got.

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Tried to listen to as much stuff as I could, in my price range and WAY out of my price range.

Outststanding quality, warm smooth sound, compatible with todays technology.

none

I've owned my 5100 for over 30 years now. It is the most reliable piece of audio equipment I've ever seen. The sound is extremely warm and pure.It had no problem functioning with todays CD technology. McIntosh is a lifetime investment and well worth the money in the long run. The only maintenance I've had was to replace (2) front panel bulbs :-)

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NAD receiver

warmly musical

speaker connections

First what we are reviewing is not an MC5100 but rather an MA5100 45 wpc circa late 60's-early 70's.This is a superb piece of vintage equipment which easily matches up to or exceeds other similar int.amps or stereo receivers I've heard.When I first bought this I intended to use it with DSS but tried it out with some vintage Pioneer CS-05 speakers I owned( sort of state of the art 1972, of course I couldn't afford state of the art back then)MY Adcom amp and NAD preamp went to live with the DSS.The warm open sound and detail which are never fatiguing of the Mac were too good to put in the tv room.This amp is equally at home with vinyl or disc whatever your musical taste,but at only 45 wpc cannot really drive some of the newer power hungry speakers.Match it up with the appropriate speaker and you won't be dissappointed.
As I mentioned the speaker connections are more than a tad awkward,so forget about your Monster cables,but that is a small price to pay for what was undoubtedly one of my best equipment buys ever.
I have no idea where that 1 star review came from.He certainly was not reviewing the MA5100.

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none(integrated amp)