McIntosh Integrated

I thought this might be helpful to others...I have a MA 6900 on home demo right now from my local dealer. I've always been curious about Mac & my dealer was kind enough to indulge me. Granted my speakers, Coincident Partial Eclipse 2's are ideal for tubes, I've also heard they are excellent w/SS. I could live without retubing, biasing, etc. The bottom line is....the Cary SLI-80 is head & shoulders better everywhere except bass which is more pronounced & defined on the Mac, which should be given, it's 200wpc. I was expecting & hoping for more, but the Mac just lacks the magic of the Cary. All IMO, of course, given my setup, room, etc.

I have owned 6450, 6500, and 6900. All are excellent. I now use the C220 preamp & MC275 IV. Even though there is less power, a tube warm up period, it has been my biggest improvement by far!

Sure, tubes rule!! I have had all manner of SS amps and none of them compare to my McIntosh MC240.

Arthur

The highs on the McIntosh SS integrateds are grainy although the 6900 is marginally better than the other two. The difference between their high-end gear and the three integrateds is quite large to my ears.
regards, David

In absolute terms, I agree the MA6500 has slightly grainy highs. But for $2000 used, that is not a fault - only a cost savings.

Arthur