MA9000 VS MA8900

I have been auditioning the MA8900 at home for about two weeks now. I am coming from a Prima Luna DiaLogue One tube integrated, which I love. I am using both with Sonus Faber Elipsas SE’s and an Oppo 105. Cables are mostly Nordost.

The Mc is a wonderful integrated. I am selling the Prima Luna (here) but my goal is to upgrade to the Premium version of the same amp instead, because I’d love to have both SS and tubes in my system, and both amps have their strengths (a testament to the Prima Luna, which cost me $2400 back in the day, vs. the $7500 that the Mc retails at... still, for an US-made amp with all the features and quality on offer, the Mc is fairly priced, I believe). I will write in more detail later, but a few words I would use to describe the 8900 are:

- musical, warm, non-analytical. Wonderful midrange.

- In many ways, it sounds more tube-like than my tube integrated. But not as "chunky" and without some of the "glow" that I get from my EL-34’s. Still, very smooth and warm.

- non-fatiguing (you can listen to it for hours and hours, and I have been doing just that lately)

- not overly detailed (which explains the above), but not "flat" nor "lifeless", either. Just seems "right" (most of the times).

- contrary to what I thought, it sounds wonderful with jazz and classical. Strings, in particular, have a very tactile and vibrant quality. Rock and metal sound great, too, but it does not have the merciless and gut-punching "slam" that you may be expecting from a 200 watt SS amp. (at least, not in my small room and with my speakers).

- the DAC is great. I am going straight from the Oppo 105 to the Mc’s DAC via digital coax. Love the fact that I can streamline the entire signal path.

- Not a vinyl expert, but what I listened to sounded very good through the built-in MM phono stage. Much better than my $200 external Pro-Ject phono preamp, for sure.

From what a Mc tech explained to me over the phone, the MA9000 is exactly the same amp, with the same dac, same everything else, etc., but it has an extra 100 watts, more EQ bands, and the front handles. I would say if you can swing it and have a big room go for the 9000. If not, the 8900 should be more than enough in 90% of cases.

Hope that helps!

I don’t have the MA 8900, but I do have an MA6600 and at 200wpc, it drives my GE Triton One speakers with authority.  Make sure the Integrated has the output transformers, because without them, you won’t get the McIntosh house sound.   My Mac integrated blows away the Parasound Halo Integrated I was using previously.   My Integrated doesn’t have the built in dac, but my main rig has a Mac tube preamp with the built in dac and its a killer.  

@beyondarkness thanks for the detailed response. I also did notice, during the audition that the MA8900 did not quite have the slam I am used to, but on all other counts it was quite good.
But then, with the Key Reference 1s, in my small room,  bass is not something I am worried about. I had to move my speakers around quite a bit to tame it down.

@stereo5 thanks for the comment, both the MA8900 & MA9000 come with output transformers.

Just for fun, I compared the MA8900 and the Prima Luna DiaLogue One (running EL-34's) just now.

I've had the Prima Luna for almost 8 years by now (bullet-proof), so I am very familiar with its sound, but had not listened to it in about 2 weeks (since I've had the Mc in its place).

One is a 200 wpc solid state behemoth with the well regarded Mc autoformers, and a ton of functionality and flexibility.  

The other a 36 wpc tube integrated running in push-pull. 

In other words: both could not be more different... on paper. 

But in practice, it's a different story.

Long story short: it is *not* night an day between the two. The Mc is definitely on the warmer side of solid state, and the Prima Luna packs a true punch. In fact, during some passages the Prima Luna sounded more purposeful and with more impact, even slightly more extended on the top, although brighter and not as smooth as the Mc, which sounds a little more relaxed.  

The Mc is perfect if you care about music first. It will allow you to actually *listen* for hours and hours without worrying about any of our daily audiophile nonsense (hey, I am also guilty as charged!). I find this truly refreshing and a decisive factor. The rest are flashy gimmicks that win you over at first, and tire your ears pretty fast afterwards. 

The Prima Luna is truly an amazing product, and offers genuine value. But the Mc is more refined. Still, it is not a big difference by any means. 

I know nobody asked me to compare these two units, but hopefully the above helps you to get a better idea of what to expect from the MA8900. It truly does not have any of the weaknesses one normally associates with solid state.