McIntosh MA 6500 VS Musical Fidelity A308?

I auditioned the A308 with some B&W N804 and didn't care for the sound. It just didn't seem inspiring at all.

The 6500 is just the opposite (although different system and different store). The Mc has life, emotion, and transparency in spades. I have heard it with Tannoy (big Dimensions) and Dynaudio and was very impressed both times. I like the Trivista series but for the money, I would get the 6500. Just my opinion. Good luck! Arthur

The beauty of the Mcintosh integrated is that it sounds great and you can easily resell later, recovering most or all of the investment.
That makes it practically free.

The MA6500 on ebay goes for $2000 and gets lots of attention.

I had just the opposite experience than Aball. I had the 308 paired with B&W signature 805's and was very happy with the sound. Involving and very listenable. Jeffjarvis has a good point though. The Mac gear will always have better resale. But..you could get into the 308 for cheaper than a mac. Last check, I saw a 308 for about 1750 dollars.