Price Paid:  $450.00 from Online

Summary:
I also own the 2505 version, with the glass face. This is the best sounding amplifier I have owned. I normally listen twice a week for a period of 2 hours or longer. The amp sounds better the longer it is played. I’ve used this amp with my Maggie SMGA’s and now with my Klipsch Quartet (Heritage Series) speakers. The style of music I appreciated is late 60’s/ 70’s brass rock. Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago, Tower of Power, etc… hence the horn cabinets. The warmest section of this amplifier is the mid-bass. The looks of the MC2505 are stunning. I worked at a local stereo store when I was younger and drooled over the McIntosh products traded in for, “upgrades.” I can sit for hours listening to fatigue free music while watching the meters. It looks fabulous paired with my C36 preamplifier and MQ101. If you can find one of these amplifiers for the right price, purchase it. Right away! This amplifier will not satisfy you if you enjoy sub-sonic bass rap stuff. The bottom end is round and not punchy like some of your other amplifiers.

Strengths:
Warm, great mid-bass, handsome build, and of course - METERS. It just keeps getting better.

Weaknesses:
Speaker terminals, nothing else.

Similar Products Used:
Belles Model One, Belles Two, Adcom 555, Adcom 535, Hafler 200.

Price Paid:  $450.00 from eBay

Summary:
This is one of the best vintage amp I owned or auditioned. Only the vintage MC275 ($$$$$$$$$) sounds better than this. On top of all those glowing comments made before me, I'd like to add those $0.02 for your considerations: 1) Be prepared for an update via Audio-Classic if you get this used and non-certified. Jut $100-$150 on top, and you get better-than-new sound from this gem. 2) The speaker strips drive me nut. I am using NBS cables, and those spades are tough as diamond. The spades just don't go with those strips. This is the main reason I have to sell the MC250 quickly after I owned it. 3) Transitional product: This amp is real good for your money (way better than the Dynaco ST70 and the vintage Accuphase I got) AND will get you ponder how good an true vintage tube amp sounds like. It is hard to keep this because this MC250 will make you very tempted to get the real deal like MC240 and MC275. This amp does lose some details, and the imaging as not as precise. In return, you got very sweet and non-fatique sound. For $450, you can't possibly ask for more.

Strengths:
Excellent soundstage and tube-like sound, musical and smooth. Bass a plenty.

Weaknesses:
It's only an transitional product. Once you heard this amp, you can't help yourself from dumping it to get the real McIntosh tube amps! Also, the speaker strips drive me nuts!

Similar Products Used:
Way too many.

Price Paid:  $1.00 from eBay

Summary:
I have the MC2505, which is a 250 with a faceplate and power level meters. If I had to describe the sound of this amp in one word, it would be "organic." It reproduces music with very little coloration, although it can be a bit on the warm side at times. It really shines with acoustic recordings and jazz, where instruments are reproduced with such amazing clarity that they sound eerily like the real thing, as opposed to a mere simulation of the real thing. In other words, instead of hearing the equipment (and its colorations), you hear the music. I wouldn't call the soundstage "holographic" but it is certainly more dimensional than the soundstage that a number of modern SS amps produce. The only complaint I have about the 250/2505 is that it is too polite - too reserved. If you like a lot of bass and are accustomed to the bass "slam" of a modern amp, you might be disappointed.This is not to say that the bass isn't there. It is. But it's not any more pronounced than the rest of the range. The autoformers ensure that you will get full power (50 wpc) regardless of speaker impedance. It's a very flexible amp in this regard. It's also built like a tank. They don't make 'em like this anymore, unless of course you can afford a new McIntosh. Mine dates back to about 1975, and as far as I can tell all of the internals are original. The faceplate has been replaced, and that is something that you want to look for when you are buying one of these. The paint has a tendency to peel away from the glass with age, so if you get one that has had the faceplate replaced recently, you are coming out ahead. Of course, if you are looking for a 250, this is not a consideration as there is no faceplate. :-)

Strengths:
Great mid-range. Sound is clean, clear and very "organic."

Weaknesses:
Not as bass heavy as some people may like.

Price Paid:  $10.00 from garage sale!

Summary:
I bought this amplifier at a garage sale in somewhat dechromed and rusty. The words and numbers are rubbed off the unit and it has shown its use and abuse of 30+ years. I took a chance and bought the misfit. When I got home and plugged the darn thing in, it hammers out the tunes! I did not have to repair a thing, just a bit of clean up and TLC. The amp sounds musical and somewhat warm. It loses some detail when played at theater levels but I'm sure it's just showing its age. At lower levels it is as pleasing as any of the new amps I've heard.

Strengths:
Bullet-proof and heavy, a typical MC product. If this thing was given a better home in its previous life, it would be worth more - what a shame.

Weaknesses:
No off button.

Similar Products Used:
Other MC products, Rotel, Parasound, Counterpoint and NAD.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Every Chis (see below) I've ever run into has been found either never owned a McIntosh, can't afford it and needs to make excuses, or never even listened to one in any half decent setup for ANY period of time. The 250 is one of the best 70 watt/per channel amps you can buy (yes, 70 - rated ate typical too conservative 50 watts by Mc). No speaker, even highly capacitive full range electrostats start to challenge it and coupling it with high efficiency Klipsch Cornwalls/Heresys/Belles/LaScala/K'Horns is can be a system to die for. Chris, if you can't honestly evaluate a piece, keep you comments to yourself.

Strengths:
Well built, with quality components making for a long lasting vintage amp with similar qualities of an excellent tube amp.

Weaknesses:
Sadly, not as many built as the Dyna ST70, hence not enough to go around.

Similar Products Used:
You name it in the vintage market and I've most likely owned it or auditioned it at one time or another.