How awesome is the McIntosh MC501?

depends on priorities.

i continue to own them b/c
1) they sound quite good (and their sins are not annoying in nature)
2) they run ice cold (big for me)
3) they have power to spare (also big)
4) extremely reliable
5) excellent resale value
6) aesthetically beautiful...those blue meters are lovely

i will gladly dump them for an amp that sounds better, runs ice cold and has 1kw of power (much like mikey fremer, i believe you have to have lots of power to make a monkey coffin come to life). let me know when there is such a product.

With the right speakers, MC501s make very satisfying music. I bought Sacman's last summer, mated them with Montana EPS2 speakers and a C2300 preamp, and the combination had good synergy. The EPS2 are forward in the mids with some brightness in the treble; MC501s are very smooth through the mids and a bit lacking in HF micro-detail. The combination worked well. Recently, I replaced the Montanas with PMC IB2i, which are simply extraordinary, balanced through the whole range. The smoothness of the Mac electronics was no longer needed or appropriate so I sold them. I enjoyed my time with them but I have no regrets about moving on.

I like them. They work equally well with both my Eggleston Andra II's and Thiel 3.6. I listen to mostly classic rock and they crank out dynamics effortlessly.

What does the 650mcx do differently?

I'm always thinking Krell will be my next stop.....

There goes Stanwal with another anti Mac comment...