Build quality; purity; blue wattage meters

Rupture-inducing weight; will not fit in your present audio furniture

I've had this product for several months. It is the brawn behind a system to which I treated myself consisting of a McIntosh preamp and CD/DVD player and B&W N803 speakers. It's quite hard to give a value rating of 5 stars since I haven't compared this to other high quality machines, and deep down I think I probably could have gotten close to this sound at a far lower price, but to my listening style it easily earns 5 stars for an overall rating. I can't say I easily forked over the money, and I guess there must be better amps out there given how much one can pay for audio equipment, and I can't speak of comparisons between tubes and solid state equipment, but this machine inspires confidence in listening. No way am I ever going to listen so loudly as to produce strain on the sound. The amp produces clean, crisp sound and imparts zero coloration. The 350 wpc is much more than I thought I needed, but I think the headroom is critical to have for demanding passages, quiet-to-busy transitions, and to bring out the depth of the music. Plus, you can have it on all day and it barely gets warm. The real clincher that convinced me to pay up for this machine was my unannounced visit to McIntosh headquarters in Binghamton, where I got a one hour tour of 3 plant buildings. What a throwback, especially in today's planned obsolescence world. They machine stamp all their own metal. The glass front is cut and silkscreened on site. No robotics--everything is made, wound, assembled, inspected and packed by hand. You should see how they pack this thing. The padding, double-boxing and screwed-to-the-feet wood palette alone weigh 50 pounds. Strangely, all this adds to the listening pleasure. And when the lights are turned off and you're cranking up anything from Dave Mathews to Lyle Lovett to La Traviata, those blue watt meters are really cool. If you can't feel this way about such an expensive stereo purchase, what's the point?

Similar Products Used:

None

Huge soundstage, warm and passionate, power to spare

Weaknesses: Distintive Color added to music, not necessarily a negative for some.

Similar Products Used: KAV 250a
Price Paid: $4000
Review Summary: Checked out a lot of revies on both amps. I will leave the technical albeit useful revies to the mags.

I gave in to all the Krell hype and it's rave reviews and auditioned the Krell first. It sounded good, clean and clinical. Good punch. Very tight. Compact soundstage. Not worth $3200

Now the Mc352. Same reference CD's(started with Kind of Blue). I was shocked. The music came alive. The horns jumped out at me. Wide and deeper soundstage. Warm and passionate. I did not care anymore about the whole concept of faithfully reproducing the source with clinical precision, a la Krell. Each CD is as useless as a solitary word unless used in some kind of context. The Mac does just that. Creates an environment to give music life and character.
Do not take my word, go and listen and compare!!!

Similar Products Used:

Krell KAV 250a

Solid construction and quality of sound

The speaker terminals could be done a little differently so that larger cable wouldn't be a challenge to connect-but it's not a problem. (I'm using 10 guage cable now)

I have owned the Mac for six months now and feel I've become familiar with the unit. I'm not going to use fancy words or technical BS to describe this amp. What I will say is that the 352 has both quality and quantity in abundance. The sound is engaging and keeps pulling you back for more. THe same goes for the sound level-low levels have an overall eveness to them and the same goes for high level listening except everything shakes-floors, doors and windows. The term best used to describe the sound is...NATURAL. This unit avoids the pitfalls of other amps in that there are no clicks, thuds, thumps, buzzes or any other kind of unattractive noises. The Mac 352 is a rock solid champion.

Tube-like, smooth, deep tight bass control.

The Audio Research VT 100 Mk 2 exists.

It was a really tough decision between the Mac and the ARC VT 100 Mk 2. The ARC is one special amp, and it showed some interesting sonic trade-offs when compared to the similarly priced Mc 352. It was richer and more palpable than the Mac, and it definately makes a better first impression. The Mac on the other hand was quieter, had a touch better control of the bass, and most impressively, was almost as airy as the ARC. The Audio Research had the better vocals, especially closed-miked vocals, and was generally the more convincing on small ensembles. The Mac was definitely better with orchestral music: there was better layering and scale. It also had better detail. Both amps are timberly perfect.

I finally decided on the Mac for several reasons. Firstly, as a solid stae amp, there are no tubes to replace, and so over the decades, it will be the far cheaper amp to own. It runs much cooler than almost any amp I can think of, whether solid state or tube. Mated to the Audio Research LS 16, it benefits from the magic of tubes somewhere in the signal path while having that last smidgen of control on the bass. It is also the more powerful amp: with 350 unshakable watts, I can match it to any speaker I choose. I also feel it is the better constructed amp.

Over the years, I've heard lots of amps in the $4000 to $5500 price range, and overall, the MC 352 is the best, both for sonic and non-sonic reasons. It's a classic that's made to last a lifetime.

Similar Products Used:

Audio Research VT 100 Mk 2
Classe CA 301
Bryston 7B ST monoblocks

clear clarity,crisp open soundstage,tight smooth bass

not yet

my friend bought a Mcintosh amp model 352 ,bw matrix model 804 speakers and need to find a preamp for it. first sonic frontier was awful then his luxman reciever did not do justice for his new amp.then ps audio Iv preamp of mine was very good soundstage & detail using the tributaries cables "very impressed" (very fine soundstage)that he wanted to use as a reference point.the adcom preamp that sounded very good w/XLR cables very clear & crisp but not haress or
too over extend upper end nothing muddied up or slopped together.I think it would be a hard choice between the two preamps PSaudio IV (if he can find one) and adcom preamp (more modern one)..SOON I will think about new amp for me since I heard natalie cole the song unforgettable love ,what smoothness and clarity from top to bottom made the hairs on my neck stand straight up.like being there in person.....I am sold on Mcintosh products they greatly improved over mc300 to mc352 amp what I buy ..Ooo WOW ooO

Similar Products Used:

sonic frontier preamp,adcom,preamp,psaudio VI (18yrs old),luxman reciever.cd-player rotel 971 w/tributaries cables..

MUSICAL,smooth,tubey

Does not go down very low in the bass

This amp was one of those that says MUSIC,not hi-fi.It sounds musical and tubey,and the power makes it always sound at ease.The bass is not thunderous like some other amps,but more like REAL.The treble is real nice,as it is smooth,like tubes.This amp with the right preamp would be a great perchase,for those looking to listen to MUSIC,not write reviews.

Similar Products Used:

BelCanto,OCM,Krell,Meridian,Sonogy,many others.

Organic sounding. Very musical. Lush, warm to neutral sound. Tight but not overly tight bass. Seriously smooth. Looks terrific!

At its price, none. On an absolute scale of perfection, it lacks the palpability of single-ended tubes.

I bought this at a shop that sells Audio Research, Classe, Luxman and Mcintosh gear. So, I've had lots of time to compare the sound of all of them!

The MC 352 won out in the end because it had most the strengths of an Audio Reserach (midrange lushness, warmth, natural decay of notes) and a Classe (power, control, finesse).

I'm a strong believer in inserting tubes at some level in the signal path, which in my case would be the preamp stage. No matter how good an all-solid state system is, your heart will know something is missing. I've matched the Mac with an Audio Research LS7 pre-amp (got it cheap!) using single-ended interconnects. Hardly ideal, but the best I can afford so far. I've been hunting around for a C22, but I now understand that a C2200 tube pre-amp is in the works. All I need now is the C2200 and another MC 352 (for bi-amping) to complete my dream system.

System:

Linn Sondek LP 12
Linn Linto phono stage
Audio Research LS 7 pre
McIntosh MC 352 power
Martin Logan SL 3 speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Mark Levinson 331, Aragon 8008ST.

The shipping carton is overbuilt. Hey I had to dislike something.

This is a true fully balanced amp that will not self destruct like those that run in Class A, with the timbre and tonal accuracy sought after by any serious music listener.
Check out the competition in this $5k area and tell me who builds a better amp that will give you years of musical enjoyment along with those cool blue meters to stare at and still have the best resale in the business.

Built to last a life time, MUSICUAL, and it's worth every penny.

None

Peolpe, don't get me wrong. I didn't sell my soul to McIntosh. Before I made the purchase I comepared the MC352 to other great amp the it's price range. I had a Krell and Levinson side by side with the Mac. I gave them a try because Stereophile magazine praise them like they are the only manufacture that's worth buying. Anyways, the Mac sounded SO... musical. It gave me the feeling of a live performance. I'm not going to bore you with some buzz words, but if your looking for an amp. Definetly audition the MC352 for yourself.

My System:
JM Lab Electra 915 (speakers)
McIntosh C15 (pre-amp)
Sony SCDC333es (CD/SACD player)
MIT Terminator 4 series II Bi-Wire(speaker cables)
MIT Terminator 2 (interconnects)

Similar Products Used:

Only other McIntosh amps

Highly recommended. The sound quality from the 352 is unbelievably true to source. Clear, crisp, with deep base and tingly highs. Pleasure to listen to at low volumes as well as high. NO NOISE. Incredilby quite.. simply put, one of the best audio products i've owned. Highly recommended.