Upgrade to McIntosh

Vintage is the way to go! Marantz tube gear is great! mc30 and mc225 are my favorite Mac amps. I’m tinkering with HK citation 1 and 2 sound really good too! 
 

@audioman58 I’m not surprised! I don’t like how McIntosh uses circuit boards in mc275. That type of money should be point to point. They must get parts from China because most manufactures do. Assembled in the us. 
 

glowing green leds under the tube are kinda silly. My wife didn’t like that at all. Happy wife happy life lol
 

overpriced, McIntosh vintage gear sounds good. Mx110, mc30 mc225 mc240. Not my favorite can’t beat it if you get a good price for it.  

@perkri 

I don't think any of the McIntosh amps preamps power conditioners receivers cd/sacd players are made in China. It is only their small powered speakers and some speciality items. 

McIntosh has been having their hybrids made in China and  then reinspected in the U.S and  some amps That Don’t have the autoformers .  It’s now more about business and $$ profit  the original owners were Audiophiles 

now I believe S Korea owned .

My two cents: My instincts are to go with the separates in this case and, for that matter, in most cases, in general. However, either of these 2 power sources would me more than adequate for the speakers involved. I haven't heard the MA352. However, a friend and I spent approximately 4 to 5 hours of contiguous, concentrated, serious seat-time with the MC275, critically listening to several pairs of tower speakers I was in the market for at the time. I can't recall what pre-amp was being used but it was a MAC. There is no question, IMHO, that this is an outstanding sounding amp. I would expect that the MA352 would be just as impressive with the speakers involved. In the OP's position, I would plan to schedule some serious seat time A/B'ing both power sources and insist upon doing this with the speakers involved (e.g.  not something similar).

You guys rock! priceless input from all of you.

I was wondering if the general consensus about the ideal setup is tube preamp+solid state power amp, among Audiophiles, for reaching a warm,tuby sound without sacrificing controlled,tight and fast bass? Bu the lack of bass can always be compensated by a pair of subwoofers when running tube power amps?

On the other hand , a combo like C8/C22 tube pre and MC275 tube power amp seems to make many happy. I like listening music loud. I am eclectic.I love the 80s like Alphaville,Depeche Mode. I also listen to Jazz,Blues and Classic.

If only I could hear the MA352 tube pre+power amp hybrid. They dont have it where I am located at. @bjp9738 mentioned they found it a bit harsh in the midrange and lacking top end detail.

Should I hang up on the notion of tube pre+ SS power ?