McIntosh SS Amps - Old vs New - Sonics

I can't tell you much about the older macs, but I do own a pair of 501 monoblocks. To say they are impressive, would be an understatement. I have also heard the 402 amp and was also very impressed. I chose the monoblocks over the 402 for the added degree of transparancy and palpability. While the difference is not huge or night and day, it is there. I have also heard a fair share of other SS amps out there, none touched me as much as the mac amps. Huge power reserves to drive any speaker from bookshelf to the most inneficient behemoths. Smooth, grain free, tube like midrange, delicate highs that actually make cymbals sound like brass and not breaking glass, very tuneful, musical bass. What else can you ask for?

Hi Grant,

If you hear the 402 please post your impressions. I own the 402 and really like it but would be interested in how it performs in your system.

Here's a review that I wrote on another site of the MC402: This was the second Mcintosh amplifier that I have purchased. The other being the MC252. Compared to the other amps that I have owned, this amp has a very natural presentation. What I mean is that the timbres of instruments sound like what I hear in unamplified music. The simplist explantion I can give is it is like hearing someone talk to you in person vs hearing that same person even at the same volume speak through a microphone. Amplified human voices have a different sound. This amp does the amplification without adding that artifical quality to sounds. I noticed that the piano especially sounds natural and unamplified sounding. I think this is a quality that few amplifers possess and perhaps one of the reasons for the rave reviews of this amp. The amp,like any amp has some shortcomings. What I notice most is a lack of detail compared to other amps I've owned. It's funny, the high are very extended, the music is extremely natural, but somehow it seem like you don't get the extreme detail that some amps are capable of inspite of the natural sound. It's a strange thing. On one hand that an amp give a sort of more "detail" when you consider how much more natural it sound. The extra naturalness but without the detail is hard to really discribe. In the end I would say that most will likely find the sound of the amplifier so pleasing that the trade off in extreme detail will not be an issue. It's not for me. Bass response is also very good but not as tight as my California MCA 2500 but no other amp that I've tried is either. Again, the bass is natural and you can sort of feel it in your body. It's deep and powerful. I think what impresses me most about the amp is the imaging. Wherever the singer is , damn, you can close your eyes and hear exactly where they are! This amp images better than anything else I've owned or heard. Really excellent in this regard. I mean REALLY excellent. Something else that strike me about the amp, is how cool it runs and the build quality. To peer insided the amplifier channels, it's not hard for me to imagine that this amplifier will last 25 years without breaking a sweat. I truly believe that if you want to use this amp that long you can. Most other amps are busy baking themselves to death. Touch them and they are very hot. If you really think about it, any electronic product getting that hot has to have a much short life span and be subject to much more breakage. I almost forgot. My wife loves it. Every other time that she has heard a new amp that I've purchased, she thinks that it sound goods. Usually that her only comment. "It sounds really good." A few times, she has commented on how extremely detailed some amps have been. This time, the first time ever, the first thing she did was start snapping her fingers and dancing in her seat.It was a Cd which she's heard many times before, but this was the first time I"ve ever seen THAT reaction. She's usually more analytical. So I'd sum things up by saying if you are looking to enjoy the music, buy this amp. If your looking for a scientific analysis, there are many amps that can be your microscope. She did make one other comment, "It's so CUTE. Looks much better than that other big black thing." LOL

Bulldogger, excellent writeup. While you may not win prizes for precise prose (and I mean that in the best way), it is clear that your words came from the heart and you weren't sitting there thinking up audiophile lingo and buzzwords. Your language makes it quite clear as to what you hear from this amp. Try getting that from a professional reviewer, guys.
Thank you.