McIntosh MA6500 Integrated amp

Brianmgrarcom,
I went from a vintage Luxman L85V integrated to the MA6500. Needless to say the improvement was immense. The Mac is super quiet with low distortion so detail is extreme with no listening fatigue.....zero!
My brother has the MA6900 and both amps sound very similar but not the same. One thing to consider is the 6500 (without autoformers) has a greater damping factor which should control your flabby speakers a bit better than the autoformed 6900. I confirm this in comparing our two systems.
My only peeve about my Mac is the cheap plastic knobs....should be aluminum. Also, the meters although pretty put out some heat. Wish they could be turned off.
All told I like my MA6500 a LOT. Good luck and happy listening.

Before you buy that Mcintosh ma6500, go listen to a Anthem i-225 int amp !...the best of both worlds !...

This thread was started 9 years ago!

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Yes...the plastic knobs are shameful. Would never own a piece of gear that had plastic knobs. Don't care much for Mcintosh anyway but....all that money! they should be ashamed.