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Would McIntosh Auto Transformers affect speaker sound?

I have a question about McIntosh and its auto transformers. The auto transformers allow the wattage to be the same on all ohms. However, you have to pick which ohm to run on the amp to the speaker.

Since a speaker can be dynamic in ohms (dip between 8 ohms and 4 ohms typically), does this mean the McIntosh will not correctly match the dynamic range change? Would it cause the speaker not to give the same soundstage or holographic sound that a traditional amp would give? 

dman777
ditusa's avatar
ditusa
1,927 posts
 

@viridian + 4

Mike

ripordaff
6 posts
 

I am interested in this question. I recently purchased a McIntosh MA9500, which sounds great on my Focal Scala Utopia Evo. I am considering what Amp I want to pair with an on-order set of Wilson Watt Puppies. I originally thought a MC462 + C2800 combo (since I like the sound from the MA9500 and I am sucker for the blue lights). But my dealer is adamant that the autoformers inhibit clarity and engagement, and is pushing the Gryphon Diablo 333 instead. 

audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,869 posts
 

ODDFIO YOU ARE WRONG

ALL THE WORLDS BEST SOLID STATE AMPLIFIERS ARE DIRECT COUPLED

GRYPHON, CH PRECISION, BOULDER, T+a, KRELL, DAGASTINO. PASS, CODA VITUS, ETC.

THE ONLY COMPANY IN THE WORLD THAT USES AN AUTOFORMER IS MACINTOSH YOU DONT DESIGN A SOLID STATE AMPLIFIER LIKE A TUBE AMPLIFIER

AS PER LOAD MATCHING WITH A BIG ENOUGH POWER SUPPLY YOU CAN POWER AN ARC WELDER AND PUT POER INO ANY LOAD

jastralfu's avatar
jastralfu
470 posts
 

And one of the world’s best solid state amplifiers uses autoformers.

johnto
1,040 posts
 

About 6 years ago I was considering a Mac for my Maggie's so I called the factory and they recommended against using their autoformer amps with these speakers so I went with with Pass instead which was a terrific match. 

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