McIntosh vs. Accuphase

Hi Brian, While I cannot recommend one brand versus another in this situation, and peobably many can't accurately, due to not having both particluar brand Amps in front of them to A/B test,

I believe that damping factor specifications are a over-emphasized one, and perhaps shouldn't be used as a "yardstick" by thinking that one amp that has a damping factor of 1000, must produce tighter, cleaner bass than another Amplifier that has a damping factor of only 200.

Particularly in this case, the damping factor of McIntosh Amps versus others.

While I'm no Nelson Pass to start quoting Amplifier designs, and their distinctive inherit traits, many of the McIntosh Amps over the years have had low damping factors, one comes to mind, my own MC-2105's with a damping factor of I believe only 16.

I know it can be very hard judging equipment, especially if one walks into one shop, hears Amp "A" driving brand X Speakers, and then walking into another, and hearing Amp "B" driving brand Y speakers.

I have no solid answers for you I'm afraid, and maybe others too won't either, even though they've perhaps owned both brand Amps you speak of. Mark

These two designs are very different. McIntosh uses an output transformer much like tube amps and is an A/B design. Use of output transformers probably limits damping. Accuphase amps are usually class A designs with large power supplies. Accuphase was started by Kenwood designers as a higher end brand.

the specs are absolutly worthless. there is no way to say which one you would prefer until you put them into your system and see- they are both solidstate push/pull amps of high power, how much musical difference is there really going to be-not much. from a build quality standpoint, I would say they are both in the very good camp. I think the looks and feel/ergonomics is the only real issue here.

I haven't seen any real numbers to make this more than observation through the years, but I believe that one of McIntosh's strongest market presence is in Japan. That would lend me to believe that maybe Accuphase hasn't quite duplicated the McIntosh sound or level of acceptance. Again just my observation, no toe stompin' intended.

All right, that being said. What would you say is the Solid State McIntosh and Accuphase "House" sound? Are they similar from top to bottom or does one thing stand out from the others say driving the same speakers in a similar setup or are we mostly saying cosmetics is the biggest difference between the two and it's mostly personal preference?