Macintosch 8950 or parasound a21

I’m a dealer - McIntosh, Parasound and Klipsch, Sonus Faber, etc.

I personally owned Forte III for about a year and during most of that period I drove them with a MA252. I honestly never loved the combo. It was nice to have a little EQ for the Forte III and that’s one place where the MA352 has more to offer. Not to mention the added power. But I find the overall presentation of the 252 and 352 to lean a little dry and less tube-like. Good with Sonus Faber, less so, IMO, with Klipsch.

Of note, while the Forte III was rated in the mid-to-high 90’s as far as efficiency, I found it to be a little misleading. Continue to read and you’ll find that I drove them with a McIntosh MC462 before I sold them and the difference in grip and speed was palpable. I’d really wonder if part of your issue with the Single-Ended, 300B 508IA may be that the Forte just wants more power.

Eventually my Forte IIIs were replaced by JBL L100 Classics (I’m after a little vintage flare for this system) and shortly after that I went to (and still have) a Hegel H390 driving the JBLs. Before I sold the Fortes, I hooked them up in my main system which at the time was a McIntosh C53 and MC462. I heard what I think Klipsch intended for these speakers to be with the big amp. The MA8950 bears resemblance to the C53/MC462 and with a lot of power compared to the Line Magnetic. For this reason, and because you may find the 5-band EQ helpful, this could be a compelling pairing.

I don’t know Tekton well though I have read good things, especially for the money. If what I’ve read is accurate, they’re efficient, fast and dynamic and may tilt a bit forward. In the past, I’ve found nimble, energetic speakers to be a good fit with McIntosh.

It’s been a while since I’ve heard Maggies but my guess is that either Mac or Parasound would be a good fit there. Quite a stark contrast from the Forte or the Tekton, which I’m guessing is what peaked your interest. There’s a tweaky audio geek in me that wonders if you’d fall back in love with the Line Magnetic driving the Maggies. That is, as long as you’re not looking to rattle the walls...

Of note, the DA2 DAC module is the 8950 is pretty outstanding for what it is, but you’re paying for it. I’m not sure you’ll need it, having the Aurender though. And there’s the rest of the equation which is, the 8950 is a feature-laden integrated amp while the A21 isn’t.

Ultimately, both are good lines from good companies. McIntosh is legendary, has more prestige and great resale value. Parasound still works like a small business with an eye decidedly on value. They’re both great to work with.

As you’ll notice, everyone has their own experiences and opinions, and they can vary pretty widely. Bottom line is, you’ll only know what works for you once you’ve experienced it.

russ69

3,203 posts

02-27-2023 at 09:11pm 

You need to slow down and explore the equipment you have and try to optimize it. 
 

Wow seriously!,, I ask if anyone has an opinion on a few amps,or heard any of these amp and speaker combos and I get stop running around the pool and slow down.Is this first grade? I have not bought a piece of gear in 4 years….if that’s all you have to offer please refrain from posting

Thanks DJmika

For taking the time to share your experiences .The information was very helpful and makes since.I was wondering the same thing about  the Klipsch and the line magnetic if more power would give that extra I was looking for.You mentioned the MA8950 bears resemblance to the C53/MC462 ..did it still seem dry and lean on top? I would eventually like to try a pair of the 1.7s out ,I know it’s a completely different animal …I heard  a pair of Maggie’s 3.6   back in the 90s hooked up to large amp and remember being  struck at how clear and life like the music sounded.I thought they had a great midrange and a lot of air on top and boy did they compress the room.I was thinking the line magnetic wouldn’t be enough power for the Maggie’s?

For Maggies I would go with the Parasound 21. May need the additional power. The new version is the 21+.  I take it the LM508 has preamp outputs for the 21. I would use the LM 505 for the other speakers.

@bobster50 

There is a pretty significant difference between the MA8950 which is a transformer coupled (Autoformer) design versus the MA252 and 352 which are direct coupled. The vast majority of tube amps are transformer coupled due to the fact that high output impedance necessitates it. However, Solid state amplifiers don't suffer the same challenge and rarely employ output transformers. To my knowledge, McIntosh is the only company currently producing them. The advantage to having an output transformer is that the design can be optimize for one consistent, predictable impedance. The different taps represent longer windings, but all speakers (taps) will see the amp's potential output, not just lower impedance options. There are downsides - a large transformer (lots of copper) in the signal path, weight, and especially cost. McIntosh produces Autoformer in house and they're good at it.

While I will stop way-short of saying that transformer coupled solid state amplifiers are inherently better than direct coupled designs, McIntosh has honed the craft which is why all of their top solid-state models employ it. And since many people love tube amps and part of what you're hearing is the quality of the output transformer, it stands to reason that Autoformer amps may share a bit in common sonically with their tube counterparts.

To my ear, recent Autoformer McIntosh amps share the quality of being somewhat smooth sounding. My MC462 has a mild bottom-up presentation, it's dead-quiet and it's utterly smooth across the entire frequency spectrum. 

So, long story short - The MA8950 doesn't possess the mildly dryish qualities I've heard from the MA252 and 352. It sounds more like the 462 to me and I think most who have listened to enough Mac gear would probably agree. 

As for tubes on "harder-to-drive speakers," there is a consensus that they can't do it, but I've been surprised in the past. The Forte III, IMO, wants current. The little Maggie 1.7, while lower in sensitivity and impedance, is different. I once drove a pair of Martin Logan Aerius i with a Canary 300B amp and was surprised by how well it worked. I also had a dealer near me who made a career of driving Maggies with tube amps. He was quite "eclectic" but also brilliant. People in the industry were hard on him, in part because he was different. But I heard a few of his systems personally and I think that if others had, they may have struck a different tone.