Upgrade to McIntosh

I think you’ll be very happy with your mc275. In my vintage system I have an mx110z with two mc30s driving Sonus Faber Venere S speakers and the sound is wonderful. My main is a c2300 with an mc500 driving Tannoy Churchill’s and I couldn’t be happier. Go with separates and you’ll have more flexibility in the future should you want to upgrade. 

I agree with separates.  Gives you wiggle room down the road. I currently have a MC2105 paired with an Odyssey Candela tube preamp, and Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor M's. Sounds really great. My room is 11x20 and the little 2105 rocks it. 

@audioman58 

McIntosh is producing product in China?

Which models are being made there?

I have owned the Ma275, Ma252, and Ma352.... If I were considering sound and price, I would buy the Ma252 but if I didn't care that much about price then I would buy the Ma352. Don't get me wrong they all sound really good and you can't go wrong with any of them.

Mc275 is a nice amp! Not sure how many watts you need. McIntosh mc30 monoblocks are nice or marantz 8b. 

I auditioned the Olympus Nova V with the MA12000 and it sounded quite musical with a great soundstage. In the end I went with Wilson because I thought that the Wilsons were less likely to be knocked over. It is easy to find a dealer that represents McIntosh and Sonus Farber. I wanted the McIntosh resale value, but I know that they carried other amplifiers that would have improved upon the MA12000. You best A/B Sonus Farber with the equipment you are considering vs buying based upon our suggestions .

FWIW, MC275 has a very low output impedance for a tube amp, so its bass is plenty tight, so much so that some tube aficionados don’t consider it “tubey” enough!  That said, you may want to look into a VTL ST150 and TL2.5i for a comparison if you can find them. Very high quality and great sound that might surprise you.

Even the McIntosh SS amps are warm sounding. If I ever go back to tubes, it will be only in the preamp section, I never got tight bass with tubes.

Check out the new McIntosh gear, they are hybrids with tubes for midrange/tweeter and large SS for woofers in 1 chassis. 
As for a built in dac, these are always a compromise over a separate dac. I used to have the McIntosh c47 preamp with phono and dac. I played this dac for 5 minutes and never went back to it, my standalone psa ds sr dac sounded much better.

Ayon IS great stuff, but not always easy to find or contend with receiving those beasts on a pallet.  I too have an MA12000, but find it more than awesome in my setup.  Both units are beautiful in their own way and a joy to be around.

I love the MC275 it’s a workhorse and a tank! I wouldn’t pair it with a Mac pre however as the sound is on the dark side I much prefer a CJ like a ET5 is a steal used for the $ and hard to beat. Also tho are you doing the MC275 because it will be on almost all the time or ? As way better soundstage with a CJ amp also but not made to run 8days a week like the MAC. I’m closing do separates but not mono blocks imho I’m very happy with my VTLS200 (another versatile well priced used amp🌟 but if you have efficient speakers and love the MC275 go with it my Uncle loves his and I do to for what it does it’s truly a gem

Trust your ears. 
 

If you like it - that’s what matters. I’ve owned a C2600 and MC 302 with Sonus faber Olympica Nova Vs. 
 

Mc stuff has a strong secondary market. 

If you’re unsure experiment - Rogue makes some excellent hybrid and tube stuff for a great value  

There are many better quality products then McIntosh.

I used to sell them before they sold out to a Asian company 

and some of their products now made in China which is sad .

nice looking meters though . It’s whst inside for parts quality that count most .

for a tube amp Ayon is much better in every respect ,the transformers and chokes 

are the heart of any good tube setup Ayonuse world class Lundahl 

McIntosh nothing special . And inside Ayon uses Mundorf ,Mc maybe wima still.

Ayon machined cases , this is one very good example  sadly McIntosh  is way overpriced for what they provide do your homework. The mc275 is very respectable 

but there are much better out there I just mentioned a few items .

Not really an apples to apples comparison. The MA352 is a hybrid integrated. Tube preamp, solid-state power amp. The MC275 is a true tube amp and probably more closer to the McIntosh sound than the MA352. I owned an MA352 for a while. Wasn’t crazy about it. Found it a bit harsh in the midrange and lacking top end detail. I ended up replacing it with McIntosh separates. If you demoed the MC275 and fell in love with it, you will not likely be satisfied with the MA352.

I don’t think you can go wrong.

1. Room size - take into consideration. Could the C8 + MC275 maybe be more than you need?

2. I have not heard your Sonus bookshelf speakers but do they need that much (C8 + MC275) to drive them?

3. I have the McIntosh MA352 (driving Revel F328Be speakers) and have never been happier. While I might change other components, the MA352 & Revels are the last amp / speaker setup.

Good luck!

I moved from a McIntosh solid state multi-channel amp to a 275 for the front L and R speakers (Klipsch La Scala's).  The bass was MUCH better, in every way, with the 275.  I was quite pleasantly surprised!

I have always liked McIntosh and have had McIntosh solid state Integrated amps. I have never been a tube guy. Not necessarily because I thought solid state was better but I didn’t have the opportunity to demo separate tube preamp and amp nor the funds or space, and was concerned about the power output of tube amps.  I recently traded in my older MA 6900 for the MA352.  I was thinking that a tube preamp section was better than a ss one and then the ss power section would give me plenty of power. Plus, I have always liked the equalization knobs on McIntosh equipment.  I have been happy with it but never demoed the tube setup.  I don’t know if my aging ears could discern enough improved SQ to make the extra expense. I checked out the 225 and the C8 online. The 225 is highly favored and C8 seems to have plenty of power.  So the combo looks pretty good and I would go with the recommendations of the other commentators here with experience with tubes.

A friend has the MC275, C22, Linn Sondek driving Sonus Faber Cremonas. It sounds truly wonderful. And there is nothing lacking or wrong with the bass.

I have Vandersteen Model 5s and ARC tubes for power.

It's all up to your taste and your room. Good luck!

@vonhelmholtz 

+1

I was going to recommend that as an option to the OP. I still am gobsmacked by the quality of sound produced by the DA2 module, though. I also have a separate DAC, and its cost is roughly 15X the cost of the DA2; it is glorious, but not 15X!

One year ago I went with the MA12000. I believe that separates and great interconnects will better this. Once you are in the $1500 range you can better  the DAC2. I gave up separates for the convenience of the all in one, but soon replaced both DAC and phono section.

@wolfgangamadeusaudiophiliac 

I have a C2700 feeding a pair of MC611s. To my ears, it sounds like a 600W tube system with the ability to power anything out there. I love the idea of a tube preamp and SS amp. It gives you the best of both worlds.

Thank you guys for all the replies! This has been a disscussion in the forum before. Tube in the input + SS output power amp vs Tube in the input + tube power amp.

I was wondering if the MC275 would lack solid,tight and controlled bass due to its all-tube design(tube output) at different volumes?

I have some Sonus Faber Concertos that were linked to a McIntosh C220 along with a MC7270.  Sounds wonderful.  Did the same and swapped the MC7270 for a Audio Research VS55.  I personally liked the tube sound much more.  Did the swap with a Threshold Cas2, and while the McIntosh in so many ways blew the older cas2 away, I thought the cas2 was more musically pleasant.  The Audio Research was the overall winner for me.  That said, I would go with the separates as recommended by  @oddiofyl.  This will leave your options more open.  It can be amazing the difference of sound when you start amp rolling. 

Your local dealer might let you demo them in your home before purchase. 

The C-8 is a great value in the mcintosh line. You can also add the dac 2 which will give you arc and digital inputs. Last it sounds fantastic.

Get separates.    You will thank me later.