McIntosh- Sweetest, Smoothest sounding Solid State ?

There are tons of great, fabulous sounding SS Integrated Amps, Pre Amps, and Amps out there. Moon by Simaudio, Bel Canto, Ayer, Boulder, Luxman, Belles, AVA, and on and on. What are you looking for sound wise. Or was that rhetorical?

I love Mac but not a big fan of their SS. Older valve units.. I have them all. Their SS I’ve sold every one I’ve ever owned.. 1.2k on down.

Cary took my breath away after a rework.. V12r what a jewel..

Syrup comes to mind with Mac.. And no idea why.. I run small planars..

Pass design was always my go to amp. Ampzilla was a close second..

NO I haven’t tried everything, but I’ve herd a few through the years.

It went down from there. Of course there is a ton of class ds. I put them in a class of their own.. From crap to fantastic.. I sure like NC500s. ICE too, good modules..

I always wanted Mcintosh equipment and it took 20 years before I could justify spending that much. Finally got some and had it for  years and was never really happy with it. Changed speakers, inputs, etc. Always made the music sound soft, rounded, mushy. Replaced it finally with a Class A amp at a quarter of the power and have never looked back. But that was my experience. My friend has one of their newer integrated amps and it sounds a bit better, he loves it, I am still very content with my decision however. So for some yes, for others, myself included, no. The answer for just about everything in audio. And cars. And….. 

Who cares?  
Transparent is the goal.

But fuzztone I like lipstick on my pigs.. :-)

Make that "Passion Pink"

Regards