Silent except when reproducing signal. Complete tone control flexibility. Very attractive chassis.

No preamp for turntable input. If you need one, this omission can boost the price of the system significantly.

I bought it new in '99 to replace the 1972 McIntosh system that I put in my Florida home that still operates as well as it did when purchased.

The 6450 is on all day, every day. The only part that ever heats up to the touch is the glass faceplate with dial lights behind; the rest of the chassis is always cool. I use the amp along with a 1999 McIntosh 7084 AM/FM tuner. The FM stations that I listen to are in Chicago 85 miles away (direct line) and this combination avoids background hiss completely, unlike my 1972 unit.

I use a Rotel CD player and added a $300 Rotel preamp for
my B & O turntable; one could spend a lot more on a turntable preamp, however.

This amplifier operates two Bozak speakers (each with twin 15" woofers) and two Wharfedale 2-way speakers with 12" woofers for a fuller sound (my listening room is long and tall and has heavy carpeting). The amp is like a straight wire with gain; that is, it is transparent. I listen to a lot of pipe organ CDs and LPs; distortion from overloading has not been a problem. When you buy a McIntosh, it's like a Rolex: It operates well no matter what.

Similar Products Used:

McIntosh MC 250 amp with McIntosh MX113 FM Tuner/Preamp; both purchased new in 1972...and still operating.

Superb Build Quality, timeless styling, excellent sound quality, great features.

No headphone jack.

The McIntosh 6450 integrated amp is an outstanding amplifier unit. I sold my Audio Refinement complete (50w/channel), to get more power and a few more features and inputs. I'm driving Magneplanar 1.6QR speakers which perform best with a substantial power amp.

I hooked up the Mac and noticed immediate change in sound stage and bass. The old amp was great, but the Mac really did it. The beefy power supply an amp section was immediately apparent with first use, and the Mac "does not run out of steam".

I've enjoyed hi-fi for over 30 years, and thought balance & Tone controls ruin sound and "Are not for Audiophiles"!
Well, let me tell you, these controls are so good that I find them very useful, and my overall sound is better.

The quality of this unit is unmatched, and the MacIntosh pride of ownership bug has bit!!

Similar Products Used:

Audio Refinement Complete (used for about 2 years).

musicality; loudnss contour

it's heavy; It won't turn completely off. It has weird electronic swithces that have to be powered to maintain their setting. MAC says these things don't get noisy-- we shall see.

Speakers: Quad ESL-63 + 15" self-powered woofer; Wharfdale bookself. I listen primarily to classical CDs and LPs (I use the Dyna PAT4 as the phono preamp for the MAC).
First off, this is an integrated amp with no phono preamp, not a power amp.
Sterophile called the Adcom/Adcom pair the best sounding solid state amplification for the ESL-63. The MAC is much better. Quad designed the ESL-63 to mate with the 405 amp. The MAC is better. Sterophile called the Berning EA230 (tubes) the best sounding amp of any kind with the ESL-63. The MAC is probably better. I say probably because my Berning was hand built by David Berning and tweeked way beyond the commercial version. If the tweeked EA 230, of which only two were made so forget about buying one, is a 10 with the Quad electrostatics, the MAC is a 9, the commercial EA230 a 7.5, the Adcom a 6 (which isn't bad for the price).
Now we could go into a lot tekkie crap about S/N ratios, distorion measures, etc., but it's more instructive to go to a live concert and then come home and play the same piece of music on your stereo. From this you learn that even the best hifi gear has a ways to go to replicate a live concert, and while the ESL-63 and the tweeked EA230 come closer to "live" than anything else, the MA6450 runs the Berning a very close second.
Like most Mcintosh preamps, the MA6450 has a contiuosly variable loundness contour knob. The human ear is differentially sensitive to high and low frequencies at different volumne levels. This control compensates for that human hearing defect, and it does it nicely (misguided fans of the straight wire with gain, no tone controls school, should note that there is one and only one volumn setting where you can hear a flat frequency response). I usually go a litle overboard to also generate some bass boost.
Bottom line: the ESL-63/MA6450 isn't cheap, but expect to spend well into five figures to try to beat it.

Similar Products Used:

Quad 405; Berning EA230, TF10; Marantz PM94, Adcom 535L, 565; Dyna PAT4

Reliability, Sound, Looks, Build Quality

"Audiophile" friends laughing that I have a Mac.

I have never been a big fan of McIntosh gear, in fact I was once one of those guys who poked fun at Mac gear without ever really "listening" to it. I needed a second system in my bedroom and decided to go with an integrated amp and a CD player. My dealer is a big McIntosh dealer so I brought home the 6450 just for the hell of it. I put it up against the Classe' and Krell and decided it just sounded better.

The Krell and Classe' might have done more Audiophile gymnastics, more extended highs (maybe not a good thing), somewhat tighter bass, but also dryer than the Mac. The 6450 just had a more musical presentation, a shade more relaxed. I have now grown very fond of the McIntosh look that I once made so much fun of. I sold the whole system to clear up some money but the thought of the McIntosh sound never left my memory.

I am now in the process of purchasing an all McIntosh home theater system with an MX-132 and a MC-7205. I have owned Levinson, ARC & Classe' and I'm just not sure that the ultra high price tags on these fine components are worth the extra money. I am going to buy in to an all Mac system confident that it is pushing the limit of fine home audio. I also love the longevity, heritage and reliability of McIntosh equipment, the stuff just sounds musical to me.

"Don't knock it til you try it"!

Similar Products Used:

Classe'CAP-80, Krell Integrated