Mcintosh sound

Bongofury, Thanks for your explaination and (IMO) objective assesment of other manufactures. I'm trying to make that last change in my integrated amp and have struggled with who to look at as well as finance and want to be in position when I decide to make that "last" move. I do have shps that carry some of the above mentioned product laines but.... they don't have a display to listen to and do an order only as requested. That doesn't seem like good business to me but they have to pay the bills. Thanks again for your opinions and help, I'll post again later when I decide on one.

Retail is always a problem. I have been looking to upgrade as well and have found it difficult at best to navigate.

I very much echo Bongofury's comments. Let me say upfront that I have a lot of respect for Mac gear.

From your comments I gather you are a person looking to buy components for the long run. Hence let me strongly urge you to consider Mac. I feel one of the strong suites of Mac is 'Musicality'. If that is your preference you will relish Mac. Also as others have metioned the resale value, reliability, servicebility & pride of ownership will be second to none!

I have used many brands(mid product level) Mac, Linn, krell, Levinson back to Mac & so on. My main preference now is 2a3 SET with horns. But my HT is full Mac (MHT100, MC252) & this pair is there for the long run. Although I love SET I would easily settle for Mac if I had to. As they say about Mac "Sound of tubes for the price of SS".

I too have used NAD for many years. My first THX218 (China) was superb. But as Bongofury has pointed the most recenet stuff from China has poor quality. My T742 had problems & C272 blew up! NAD backed their warranty & issued a new unit without any questions.

Bryston is a good choice as well due to the warranty. This was not my cup of tea soundwise. Could work if matched with the correct speakers.

Plinius is nice & warm as well. Class A sound (SA102). Gets really hot though. Longevity?? There are so many integrateds around offering good sound & value.

I believe as audiophiles we have the tendency toward something out of the ordinary to touch & feel good while delivering the sound we want to hear. If these conditions are met we tend to change gear less freqently while listening more. Personally, I would love to cherish a Mac for the long run. MA6900 would be an excellent choice (my first Mac).

GOOD LUCK with your decision!

Dilly, Thanks for your comments, as Bongofury has said also. I AM IN FOR THE LONG RUN and as I was listening to the Classe/ARC/Apogee combo yesterday it reminded me that when I don't analize and hear for difficenties how enjoyable it is to listen. I am looking for a bit warmer sound but with control as well and Mac sure seems to be leading the way. At this point I think I'd be looking to either an MA6300 or MA6500 but I'd like to get one already broken in (if possibile). The Apogees nominal at 6 ohms and I do listen at lower levels and with the guts of Mac I think I'd be fine. Mac still leads the search then.

I've a new MC402 power amp, biggest audio "investment" I ever made ... yes, its powerful, neutral and musical, drives my Maggies (MG1.6) with ease, even with a passive preamp.
One of the perks is that no dealer where I live now tries to tell me that I need to upgrade my amp!

I had a Krell FPB-200 before this, found it powerful, with good bass slam (though not to the level of the older KSA series) ... but ultimately, not involving enough.