Mcintosh amp IV or V

I have the V but never heard the lV. When I first got into audio many yeras ago one of my forst systems was based upon McIntosh gear. I had a C28 pre-amp and a 2505 power amp. I sold them because I relied upon the "mags" that said Mac gear was not good. I went with GAS etc. I think gthe MAC gear got a bad break. Yes, the Gas gear was better then my origional MAC transitors but the MAC stuff was built like a tank and ooooh those blue meters!!!

Now I traded my Hurrican for a Mac V (2)...here is what I said...

Well it's been at least 5 weeks with one McIntosh MC-275 amp in my system and now I have, for over a week, installed the second one and I now have two mono MC-275's. So let me share my experience.

I'll cut to the chase and say that one mono amp is very similar to two. One 275 (rated at 75wpc) is powerful. Two 275's @ 150 wpc is more powerful. What do I hear? In a word "relaxed". A little more control but a bit more relaxed overall.

My comments of the 275 therefore will be generally a comparison of one (1) 275 (2-sounds pretty much the same with the additions above) versus the ASL Hurricanes DT 200.

Here are the pluses of the Mac over the Canes:

First- I got my mid bass (and bass) back in spades. One of my complaints with that the Hurricane amp was that it had a higher sensitivity compared to my other electronics. I wrote in my review of the Hurricanes: "The sensitivity of the Hurricanes was much higher than my previous ARC amp and therefore, I needed to fool around with the controls on my Infinity crossover to boost the output of the bass columns. The higher sensitivity made amplification of moving coils much easier, but seemed to be bright ,a bit edgy and the upper bass/mid-bass was missing. However, I was struck, immediately, with a new unveiled sound that spread instruments wider across the stage with much more clarity than before."

I am not an engineer nor a tech so what I may be explaining to you may not, in fact, be the reality. However, with the Mac in my system it mated better with my Aesthetix Calypso and reintroduce better mid bass and bass. How this could happen and be, since my bass columns are driven by a separate amp, I am not sure. I'm just the reported.

Second- The Mac is very clear and solid. It is there in your face. There is no drift or sway and it makes you feel like the amp runs at more power then rated.

Third- It is silent. And this is a tube amp? Wow.......

Now here are the ASL's pluses:

First- Stage width with the Mac is good. With the ASL it is great. The ASL add 5-7 more (imaginary) feet per side to the orchestra

Second- The ASL Hurricanes seemed more delicate and cleaner. Less colored? Maybe?

So here I am sitting with my system, enjoying my music and the biggest plus of all (Mac vs ASL) is that I AM LISTENING.
The Mac's have been on without a hitch. Knock on wood. However, just the feel makes me certain that the Mac's are far better in construction (far) then the ASL.

Remember, however, ASL has come up with a better Hurricane and I have not heard it or seen it but I must believe it has to be more reliable then the original. I just could no longer live with break downs with hurricanes.

Finally, if anyone is thinking of a Mac I say "YES". It is quite a wonderful amp with some character and style and plenty of power. And it keeps on running.......

P.S. I have not yet listened to the Mac with better KT88's or x7's or t7's which I plan to as I expect this would provide an overall better sound.

What I am saying is either the lV or V...but are (as Jaybo said...."classic".

Enjoy either IV or V.

Welcome to the McIntosh family.

Both versions put out an honest 90/180 stereo/mono watts. This due (primarily) to the new 490V power transformer.

The V uses non-lead components and solder so it can be sold in the EU.

The volume controls on the IV worked only with the SE inputs anyway. Using the balanced inputs has a couple of advantages, but the most important one is that the splitter/inverter circuit (12AX7 tube V-1) is not necessary and therefore another source of noise is out of the signal path.

Sonically they are both the same, and the stereo unit vs. two mono units sound the same too, but will provide more headroom (afforded by separate power supplies for EACH channel) should if you have LARGE speakers which you play LOUD ;-)

The MAC 275 tube amp is way overpriced for the sound it puts out... slow, gooey sounding amplifier.  There are far better sounding tube amps for less $$$ available.