Mcintosh sound

I have had mcintosh Pre-amps and amps for years. I feel that you really can't beat the overall value of the amplifiers or their pre-pros. The magnetic switching promises many years of trouble free service. As far as sound goes. There maybe better, there are definetley worse.
I would sum up the amp sound as a warmer tubelike sound that extends through the complete range of frequencies. I get a very good impact on music that requires it and a the soft soothing sounds as well. I know a few people (BW) that just plain don't like the sound, but obviously a business that has been around since 1949 can't be doing everything wrong. Also one of the strongest re-sale values out there. I did just add an Audio Research LS26 pre map and it seems to be developing a very good harmonic synerygy
that I was skepitcal of at purchase time. I would say that you won't be disapointed and if buyinng used and disatisfied, you should do fine on the resale.

Argyo,Theo,Mechans & Nsgrach, Thanks agin for the subjective input it has helped me as to my seeking at this point. My room is not very big (18x12 roughly) and I sit about 6'-7' from my Slants (near field). What I am hearing is that my current Classe w/ARC is just a bit cool but I want to find a balance between the slam of a Krell and the great tightness of the Classe too but into a bit more warmth WITHOUT changing cables and still retain that crystal top end that I have. Arygo & Theo you might have pointed me more seriously to Mac, Mechans & Nsgrach you are surley right that syngery is what I'm looking for as I listen to my system flat and want to expose just what's recorded and not artifical ingredients, plus I don't know about any of Mac's features and what they do even from the websight so again asking questions is the best thing to do.
Theo I don't know why I hadn't thought of a Mac/ARC combo before with both being some of the must respected names in the business and execptional service backing as well. I've had Aragon 2002/18k that I used before and it was authoritative excellent control on both The Infinity Kappa 8s before I got the Apogees and with the Apogee but I introduced an ARC LS 3 and the difference was literally astounding! I've asked in the Apogee fourm as well for some help and gotten suggestions of;Pilinus, Bryston, Pass, MF,NAD trouble is I don't have local dealers to hear or try them for a couple days, plus I want to get an integrated that retains the PRAT and the NAD has what needed but has lacked in the PRAT area from what I continue to read. My Slants are hybird, ribbon/6' bass and I'll never part with 'em for me the Apogee sound is me and everything fits I just want to warm it up a bit more and get some more of that liquid midrange as well (I never ask too much:). Keep the responces comming becue they are helping to guide me, i appreciate and respect your views it's how I continue to learn as well

I always wanted some Mc stuff, but have never taken the plunge until recently. I picked up a MAC 4100 receiver the other day locally on Craigslist, for 500 bucks. They go on ebay and here for 800-900, so a pretty good deal. The tuner needs some alignment and adjusting, but the unit is really clean and sounds great, no switching noise or hums. This is like a 4th system for me--I sure didn't need it! I am using it as a garage system for now, and am using old crappy speakers, and it sounds great, much more powerful than a typical receiver. The build quality is unreal. Sure, its not the most refined sound, but it's a lot of fun to play around with. A warm, solid, and authoritative sound is an accurate description (previous post above) for sure. Probably not the most transparent you've experienced. Good stuff, try it out and the resale is rock solid. Foreign collectors really seem to love McIntosh stuff. Have fun!

IMHO, I would say McIntosh does not have a lot of PRAT (now that I read your post above) so their products may not meet your sonic goals.

I actually at one time had the Kappa 7's and when the time came for me to switch from a Yamaha amp to Mcintosh I could only afford a MC7205. It sounded better and brought out what I thought was lacking in mid's. Then I bought a MC352 with autoformers and since the Kappas had a reputation for being hard to drive, I feel the autoformer solved that. At that point I had new speakers, the Kappa's had never sounded better. It allowed me to keep them longer than I had expected to. I really belive that McIntosh Amps are under rated. In the sense of power a 350 watt rating is conservative as to what it really can deliver. I have coined the phrase that when the watts can't do it McIntosh torque kicks in and gets the job done seamlessly. As mentioned if you are not happy you shouldn't have any trouble selling it. But I really doubt that we will see it listed.