Has Anyone Compared the 2 McIntosh Integrateds?

Hey! I have listened to both and I find that for the cost savings, the 6500 is the way to go. Both are incredibly sweet and the 6900 is a tad more so but I feel it is not worth $1500 more (do you need an equalizer?). Of course, if I could afford either one, I would be tempted to get autoformers since that is one thing Mcintosh is famous for (as well as Finao1's mentioning of better low z control). Having said that, I own one of their direct-coupled amps (MC7100) and I find it is highly underrated. I just love it - it beats my previous Krells to bits in terms of liquidity and balance across the band. Either way for the integrateds since you cannot go wrong with McIntosh IMO.

This post could not have come at a better time for me as I am considering just these two integrateds. I would rather not spend the extra 1500 on the 6900 but am so tempted given the fact that I would one day (probably way in the future) like to own a big pair of Magnepans (like the 3.6R). Can the 6500 drive the maggies?

Right now I am very happy with my Thiel CS2.3's (4 Ohm) which I think could easily be driven by the 6500, I think. One thing I wonder about is on the 6500 the 4 Ohm output is said to be 200 watts even though the amp is rated at 150 wattsfor 8 Ohms. I can live without the equalizer. And if I'm right, on the 6500, you can defeat the tone controls by keeping them in the flat (12 o'clock position) -- is that right? I would greatly appreciate any detailed feedback any of you could offer on my deliberations.........can ya get a price break on this stuff anywhere?

Thank you!

Pardales, as to your tone control question, yes, they are "deafeated" when they are set in the middle. Obviously the signal must run to the tone controls, but the signal is not altered by the tone controls when set at the 12 o'clock position.

According to my manual for the MA6500, power output per channel is 250 watts at 2 ohms, 200 watts at 4 ohms, and 120 watts at 8 ohms. The question of ability to drive large Magnaplanars can only be answered based on the size of your room and the volume level of listening. I would expect either amp to drive the speaker in most reasonably sized installations. The 6900 may run cooler with lower impedence speakers, but if the 6500 was not enough power for the room, I'd expect that neither would the 6900. I would expect a larger external amp would be more appropriate. A switch on the back of the 6500 allows connection of an external amp instead of, or in addition to, the built in amp.
Good deals on the MA6500 via Audiogon classifieds and ebay have appeared. I bought mine in new condition via Audiogon for $2250. One sold for less on ebay a few weeks ago. Being so new, I have not seen MA6900s available on the resale market.

Not only are tone controls defeated at the center position, but "All tone control circuit elements are removed from the signal path when the controls are in the center or flat position." ...MA6500 Manual.