drawtheline77

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.60 of 5, 10.00 votes

Price Paid:  $3300.00 from natural sound

Summary:
What can you say that hasn't been said...simply a great amp, very musical...which means it makes you want to listen to music...a tube amp with OOOMPH !! most hi end ss amps sound overly bright after listening to this except mac ss amps...I have 252 and have heard the 501s in my home...all share that great Mac character...open lush and musical...this one is a bargain...even the folks at Mac say that....this is the Dino Ferrari of amps...not the fastest not the top of the line etc...but o so sweet...well done MAC !!

Strengths:
SOUND,quality, and yes Price...it is quite reasonable

Weaknesses:
are you kidding ?? ok maybe a little hard to handle, but how many times are you going to move it...this one is a keeper!!

Similar Products Used:
mac 252 mac 501s.vtl.audio research,linn,naim

Summary:
The local store runs these bridged in mono-block on a set of B&W Nautlis 802's. WOW... Do yourself a favor and listen to TOOL's extended version of "PUSH!T" found on the Salival CD/DVD set. The immersion factor is incredible.
Duke Ellington's Live at Newport is another that will have you dancing in the demo room. hoohaa

Having B&W N803's, with the notoriously rude impedance curve, I was questioning if a tube would give me the low end drive I get from solid state gear... I no longer question. These Mac's kick some serious pancreas!

(Buttnuggets turn off the stupid censoring, we're all adults here.. any positive review of a BOSE product is manyfold times more offensive than the occasional expletive)

Colored sound? Hell yes!!! I've got to get tubes in my system. Too bad this little set is so fricking expensive. Maybe the new Cary SLP-2002 pre-amp would be a good start...

Strengths:
Smoooooooooth and sexy... If you're looking for that LUSH tube sound look no further. Guarenteed to put a smile on your face

Weaknesses:
Sound stage depth a bit exaggerated. Nothing to whine about though.

Similar Products Used:
NONE

Price Paid:  $2600.00 from Upscale Audio (Thanks Kevin!))

Summary:
This is my first attempt at high end audio. I have matched it with a MX110 preamp and really old EMI speakers from the 60's. Even these sound glorious!!! Bass is unbelivable in clairity and presence without being anoying. Highs are crystal clear. Read any adjative into it. If you want the best, this is the amp. Mine is the Gordon Gow reissue. Its stunning to look at, sounds even better. I could go on for a while, but I think I will end it here and go play som music!!

Strengths:
Appearance.(Those who know nothing about audio stare at it!)
Sound..I was afraid the bass would be soft like many tube amps, this has more USEABLE bass than anything I have ever heard!!

Weaknesses:
Price.You get what you pay for though. And it feels heavier than it is, which is alot!!

Similar Products Used:
none, this is a class by itself.....

Price Paid:  $4000.00 from CA

Summary:
EVERYONE that hears my system is blown away.
I see folks review ONE component and tell about it. Well, you listen to a system, not one part.
Everything interacts.
What I have put together is very musical, very accurate.....the guys are playing for you...right in the room! A 180 degree soundstage and sometimes more, depending on the recording. I have heard systems costing up to twice as much that don't sound better.

Here's that I have and it sounds great together:

McIntosh MC275 tube amp
McIntosh C22 tube pre-amp
Tributaries interconnects
Biwired 12 guage speaker wire
Rega Planet 2000
Music Hall MMF-7 turntable
McIntosh MR71 FM tube tuner with the Richard Modaffari Mod from AudioClassics (WELL,WELL worth the price!)
Paradigm Reference Studio 100s Version II

Like I said, it's a system..........all the parts work together!

Deep, solid bass. A midrange to die for. Cymbals that take a year to decay...well not exactly a year, but they sound REAL.

I used to be a solid state guy. No more. Tubes are the way to go. And the famous McIntosh Unity-Coupled circuit presents the music correctly. And isn't that what you want to hear?

Strengths:
Re-Issue...stainless chassis never will rust. Full compliment of the McIntosh branded Svetlana built tubes. KT-88 output tubes.
Also, you can use balanced interconnects to the pre-amp, which in this case is a re-issue McIntosh C22.
I like the fact that it's "Made in USA", too.

Weaknesses:
none. This is a McIntosh MC275 review!

Similar Products Used:
Major upgrading from Carver, Parasound, Adcom,Thorens & Sony equipment.

Price Paid:  $4000.00

Summary:
Off the bat, I want to say this is a very personal and subjective opinion. My sound will not be for everyone. Conversely, I've heard lots of other systems (especially SET amps with horns, which I still don't 'get') and thought 'Huh?', even as the owners of those systems were jumping up and down in excitement.

My 2 MC275s are the most important piece of audio equipment I own. I run them in a vertical bi-amp configuration to my new Martin Logan Odyssey speakers. They are a match made in heaven. The new Logans sound almost as dynamic with these amps as most dynamic driver speakers, while blowing them away in terms of transparancy, quickness, resolution, naturalness and openesss. In the past, I've always like ML speakers, but I thought they lacked oomph when it came to rock, my main musical staple. The new generation take a back seat to none!

From an audiophile point of view, if you wish to pick it apart, you'll have no problems. But as an overall sound, in terms of MUSICALITY, it has few peers. Again and again, you'll read this about the MC275. That's because, when all is said and done, all that matters is the music. And this amp really lets the music shine through.

My system (NOT to be upgraded for a few years at least)

1. SME 20 with SME V tonearm (Having worked in a few hi-fi shops before, I've pretty much heard them all. This is without peer. If you REALLY tried to listen, MAYBE an SME 30 or Rockport is better. But only sometimes. And on some records)

2. Koetsu Rosewood Signature (smooth, sweet, romantic. A gem. Not detailed like a Van Den Hul, but conversely not as 'zingy')

3. McIntosh MC 22, re-issue (Mac's only tube pre-amp. Still stands up well against anything on the market.)

4. Lyra Arion Transformer (a passive transformer that provides 26dB of gain and adds no sound of it's own.)

5. 2 MC 275s.

6. Martin Logan Odyssey (Here it is: seamless integration of woofer and electrostat panels at moderate to high volumes. OK, at lower volumes, you can still hear the seperation. But rarely, and only on some records. Blew the B&W 802s away.)

7. Nordost Blue Heaven throughout (Can't really tell, don't really care. Fit my budget. Cables are a scam)

8. A 5000 record collection!

Strengths:
This is a smooth, warm, passionate, lush, transparant, reasonably detailed, quiet, dynamic(!) and beautiful amp.

Weaknesses:
It's not as detailed as most modern solid state amps.

Similar Products Used:
Audio Research VT 100, lots and lots of solid state amps.