Depeche, I have heard the Mac 252 and I was disappointed to say the least there are way better hybrids amps, the build quality and sound quality of the 252 was nothing spectacular in our opinion and the glowing leds under the tubes was such a gimmick also at 28 lbs the amp doesn’t have a massive power supply we heard it clip at another dealers showroom and it wasn’t even that loud.
Compare that integrated with a Unison Research Unico Primo or the higher end Unico 90 the Unico 90 is a newer version of the older Unico series which bested all other $5k integrated amps we tested at the time which included the Luxman and the Hegel..
http://www.unisonresearch.com/en/products/unico-series/integrated-amplifiers/unico-90.html
The Unico 90 weighs 40lbs is also a hybrid with the same power rating of 100watts. Much harder to find then the Mcintosh but really amazing sounding warm, punchy, huge sound stage. Just awesome.
Also the CXN is an okay streamer yes for roughly a $1,000 it is decent but both the CXN and the 851N get easily bested the the Lumin D2.
Hence the original recommendation of the Micromega M100 you get a very warm midrange, incredible bass and a superior dac all for $4,500.00
So before you get seduced by the Mcintosh, look at other hybrids and also consider that just because a device uses tubes it may or not be better then the Micromega.
Also if you are going to look at a straight integrated try to demo the Luxman class A 20 watt even though it is a 20 watt amp it was fantastic we thought the Unison was still better howerver, the Luxman might be easier to find depending on what part of the country you are in.
Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
Compare that integrated with a Unison Research Unico Primo or the higher end Unico 90 the Unico 90 is a newer version of the older Unico series which bested all other $5k integrated amps we tested at the time which included the Luxman and the Hegel..
http://www.unisonresearch.com/en/products/unico-series/integrated-amplifiers/unico-90.html
The Unico 90 weighs 40lbs is also a hybrid with the same power rating of 100watts. Much harder to find then the Mcintosh but really amazing sounding warm, punchy, huge sound stage. Just awesome.
Also the CXN is an okay streamer yes for roughly a $1,000 it is decent but both the CXN and the 851N get easily bested the the Lumin D2.
Hence the original recommendation of the Micromega M100 you get a very warm midrange, incredible bass and a superior dac all for $4,500.00
So before you get seduced by the Mcintosh, look at other hybrids and also consider that just because a device uses tubes it may or not be better then the Micromega.
Also if you are going to look at a straight integrated try to demo the Luxman class A 20 watt even though it is a 20 watt amp it was fantastic we thought the Unison was still better howerver, the Luxman might be easier to find depending on what part of the country you are in.
Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ