Mcintosh Quality after buyout by D&M holdings

Ditto Joekapahulu's remarks. Mac has gone through several owner changes, but all have left Mac alone to do their thing, and all seem to have infused a lot of money into their investment. Mac's laser-cutting machine for the glass faceplates is just one of the things Mac benefitted from by Clarion's ownership. So don't worry about Mac, the quality is still there, regardless of what your dealer inferred. I do have a problem with the pricing of the newer pieces, to where it's getting to the point that "Joe average" has to sell the farm in order to own the new stuff. That aside, Mac's look is second to none, and oh, those beautiful blue meters! "The sound is like music", not fatiguing, and a pleasure to listen to. So have no fear about buying that new amp you want, you will enjoy it for many years to come.

I have owned a few Mc amps and more recently I had a MC352 that was a product of McIntosh when Clarion owned them, then traded in for a MC402 which came out of the D&M era. The 402 is a much better amp in all areas of sound reproduction. As mentioned above they are now owned by the same company that owns Audio Research, Sonus Faber to name a few, so I expect only better will come out of Binghamton in the coming years.
It seems that no matter who owns them that the engineers at McIntosh are allowed to produce the best product they are capable of designing. As far as what will drive the C1's best, your ears and budget will be the deciding factors.

Matt4551,
As one who has owned the Pass X250.5 as well as the MC 402, and 3 other Mac amps, I would strongly advise you to hear both in your system before purchase. The Pass was thin and electronic sounding in comparison to the Mac 402. Of course, that is to my ears and my taste, but the difference was plain enough to advise caution. Both companies offer great customer service though.

First of all, I really appreciate everyone's input. This was my first post on here and it has been very helpful. I would love to audition each amp but I cannot afford a new Mac amp and I don't have a Pass dealer close to me. At this point I was leaning towards the Pass x250 for the price. I am looking for something around 2-3k and a decent MC402 is at least 4k. I'm currently using the MC150 and it seems somewhat flat and was hoping that was because of the cables. Right now I'm just using generic 12 gauge wire. I am about to purchase some Transparent speaker wire.

My main question for someone that has owned the C1's and hopefully paired them with a mac amp. Should the MC150 be enough to properly power them? I hear so much about the C1's being power hungry and I feel like the 150wpc isn't enough. If it is enough than I know to look somewhere else for the problem whether it be cables, placement, source audio.

In your price range, look for a used MC252, it will be closer to 3k but it will mate very well with your C50 and be more than enough to drive your Dynaudio Signature C1's.