2. amps-preamps
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Talk me out of buying Monoblocks and into a stereo amp instead

I am planning on buying a McIntosh system. It is a system I have been wanting a very long time. No need to suggest any other brand... I am set on this one.

I am going to get the CP 12000 preamp for sure. However, I can’t decide between a pair of MC611’s monoblocks or the MC-462 stereo amp. It seems like for $6k, the mono blocks are not much more in price and I get a lot more audio for the extra $6k.

Talk me out of buying the monoblocks! Tell me your experience if you had both? Do you like stereo amps better after owning monoblocks? Tell me why.

dman777
barts's avatar
barts
736 posts
 

Monoblocs all the way baby.

@tomic601 You are right about the vette/porsche analogy. 

Ag insider logo xs@2x
hk_fan
506 posts
 

Do it!!  There’s nothing more badass than big monos. 👍👍

daytrader
43 posts
 

No!

avanti1960
1,531 posts
 

@dman777 

The benefits of a mono block amplifier system are essentially more power and current for your speakers per pound of amplifier.  

A 2000 watt stereo amplifier would be physically much larger and heavier than a single 1000 watt mono amplifier.  It would be most impractical to ship, install, move and maintain.  Much easier to deal with two boxes at a percentage of the weight of the single 2000 watt amp.  

Mono blocks are for very demanding speakers in very large rooms.  You are talking about a practical way to deliver massive quantity, not necessarily quality.  

immatthewj
2,506 posts
 

Mono blocks are for very demanding speakers in very large rooms.  You are talking about a practical way to deliver massive quantity, not necessarily quality.  

Not necessarily.  I know that there are, and have been, some way low powered SET monoblocks designed to drive extremely efficient speakers.  As for myself, the monoblocks that I owned were ARC VTM 120s that were only rated at 100 wpc but they sounded great, and I sometimes think that they sounded better than the comparably powered stereo amp I replaced them with.  As a matter of fact, I'd still own those ARCs if they were not so unreliable and when I flipped the switches I never knew whether I would be listening to music or soldering in new grid resistors.  

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