Conrad Johnson CA200 vs. Mcintosh MA6900

I've got a c-j CA200. It is a really nice sounding integrated. No harshness or grain. I'm not familiar with the Mac or the Mac house sound. Some people like it some don't.

The c-j has one quirk, it doesn't have a power button. You press the mute button on the face or remote for 3 seconds to turn it on and off.

Tomcy6, Is this to wake the unit from standby mode? I like that feature, solid state amps can take a long time to warm up, but three seconds can be a long time to hold a button.

I don't think you could go wrong with either. If it were me, I'd probably get the cj. Its a tough call though. The mcintosh I think will hold more value. The mcintosh also I think will have more bottom end power. Its a toss up for me, flip a coin.

beerdraft

I seriously considered both units and after listening ended up with the ARC VSi-55. It all comes down to synergy I guess. To each his own.

Good luck.

I don't think that the CA200 is kept in standby mode when it is shut off. The manual does say that it sounds better warmed up, but you have to either leave it on or listen to it cold for a little while after turning it on.

I don't know why they didn't put a power button on it. They put it in the 18LS case and just ran out of buttons I guess. If you are very impatient the 3 seconds may seem like a long time but for me it's not a big deal. Some people feel that at this price they shouldn't have to wait. Everyone has to decide for themselves if it's too much of an inconvenience.