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McIntosh MC402 vs. Bryston 4B SST

Can anyone enlighten me on the differences between these two amps and how to make a good decision between the two. Other than the obvious price differences which I may exclude from my decision making process and I believe there is also a big difference in warranty. I guess I am more concerned with the differences in sound and listening quality? I have always heard about how great McIntosh's are and had wanted to get one since I originally heard about them, but now I see that the Bryston is highly rated, but how does it stack up to the Mac - or does it stack up at all?

Thank you in advance - confused in the northeast
johnp_coast
aball
2,018 posts
 
It will depend on your personal tastes and how your system sounds now. The Mc has more body and favors microdynamics a bit more whereas the Bryston is a little cooler and more analytical. They are quite different. IMO, the Mc is more refined sounding.

Arthur
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
arthur's descriptions are pretty accurate. neither is a slouch
johnp_coast OP
2 posts
 
Thanks for response,

So, when you say that the Bryston is a little cooler and more analytical, can I interpret that to mean that the sound is a little less realistic than a live performance?

After all the technical specifications - my assumption is the goal is to have something sound as a reproduction of a live performance
bobschneider
27 posts
 

I recently upgraded from the 4B ST to the MC352 - each amp is the immediate predecessor of the ones you are considering. While the Bryston is no slouch (I was happy with it for 5 years), I find that the Mac sounds less like audio, and more like live music. I'm definately listening to my system more since I upgraded.

While the Mac warranty is decent (3 years), nothing compares with Bryston's 20 year warranty. On the other hand, Macs are very cool running and long lived amps - there are lots of 20+ year old Mac amps still in service. And if you do need a repair, there are plenty of places that specialize in old Mac gear, and lot of parts are still available from the factory for vintage Mac gear.
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