I had the Stellar S300 integrated, the Stellar dac, as well as the DirectSteam
Junior. It was my foray into high res. I now much prefer the Hegel/ Border Patrol SE-I combo with zero up or oversampling. Sounds more natural to me.
Currently running 4 MC 501’s with Klipschorn & Bells - older Mc Music Servers were on the sell list UNTIL PS Audio Directstream, wow!!! I sound like a paid reviewer, music as if it were recorded yesterday,
like a blanket was taken off of the speakers, whole new game!
Old dog learning the new streaming techniques but enjoy listening to new music via PS Audio DAC, convenient and liking more of what i hear.
Over the years the McIntosh amps have outlasted every other competitor and sat available like a vintage Porsche, waiting to be used. Amps are stars of the lineup, not a fan of the speakers at all.
2 Likes
Welcome @Dogmeatuno!
Thanks for sharing.
If you need an amp for woofer control and high dampening factor autoformers are not as friendly with open box or baffle speakers of older designs like Bozaks. The sound is consistent otherwise. There are no quad balance amp offerings without the autoformers. Sealed box or most ported speakers no difference in sound. The integrated and HT amps are available without the formers. The different ohm taps on the former amps are good to control and tailor output. McIntosh has some helpful slides on what ohm taps to select for various acoustic issue. More bass or less bass or tailoring highs akin to swapping cables to tailor sound but you just move taps
1 Like
I’ve never owned Mc but have done a lot of comparison demos at dealers of the brand on different speakers (Bowers&Wilkins 802d3, Paradigm Persona 5f, Mc standmount speakers (forget model number), Spendor D7, Martin Logan 11a, and others. These tests encompassed a variety of Mc integrateds and separates.
I would describe the Mc sound as quite warm. Some will love this, especially when paired with forward speakers, but the downside for me was lack of resolution and detail and clarity at the price point. Obviously the looks of Mc are very distinguished and many love that also. As has been mentioned the history is long and the resale value among the best.
All that said, it’s not a brand I’ve ever been close to purchasing, because for me (important to clarify just one person opinion and everyone hears differently) I am always able to find (much) better sounding amps for the same or less money than what a Mc costs. Examples (again, for me) are Audio Research, Luxman, Gryphon, Ayre, CA Edge, Boulder, Simaudio, …
Can you find great sounding Mc? Yes. Can you find other things that sound better for less? I can for myself, but YMMV because you may value qualities differently than I do and for you that’s the right call.
Haven’t been able to compare against PSA BHK because they are not in dealers, unfortunately
4 Likes
I never owned Mc gear (by intent), but as it’s so popular, I often heard it at dealers (together with other popular gear).
My first encounter was positive at the time. It was a tube power amp, which after several solid state ones a friend tried, was the first, which really played his Wilson Watt/Puppies. It was not the last word as amp for them finally, but fun and showed their ability to produce a realistic imaging, a non PA-like, natural bass and natural tonal colors (both not self evident with most gear and the Wilson’s).
Everything of Mc I heard later (all solid state and with different accompanying gear at shows or dealers), built up my view on them as non-revealing, non-resolving, flat soundstaging, compensating forward/bright other gear, providing a warm, pleasant, covering, but still not rich in tonal colors, vintage sound.
Very often paired with B&W speakers (probably due to the compensation need), which for me together made the worst (from a high demand perspective) you can buy today for a lot of money.
All who have this gear, please don’t feel offended and see me as someone with a superficial perception of it and no extensive own experience…your stuff may sound better than what I heard so far.
4 Likes
Hey kzk…
Thanks for your post…what you found with Mac ss gear is
what I found as well…
As you have said each audiophile has a sonic
preference they seek after.
Which is why Parasound…class A/AB huge
value for $$$$ is my amp of choice.
The following comparisons between the Parasound, Mac and
BHK 250…
Gives insight to the sonic signatures of each amp.
Best wishes everyone…
1 Like
A nice review.
1 Like
Insightful review. I like reviews that will do comparisons to other products. I realize all reviews will be positive, such is the nature of the beast, but at least comparisons provide helpful points of reference. Audio Excellence on YouTube does lots of comparisons, and they are even brave enough to say if they don’t like something.
Interesting! While „thick and dense“ is what I expected from the Mac, I didn’t expect the solid state Parasound to sound more holographic than the BHK.
And they reviewed all of them with the BHK preamp.
There’s no doubt that John Curl is legendary. But so is Bascom King. (And so are McIntosh)
Call me crazy but I’ll pick a product made in the US every time.
3 Likes
Me too !
1 Like
Maybe I miss the joke…any of them not made in the USA?
1 Like
It’s worth considering what “made in the USA” actually means. Not to bash PS Audio, but I believe many of their parts come from China and it’s assembled in Boulder. Should that count as “made in the USA”? I say that as someone who knows that Chinese electronic manufacturing can potentially be some of the best in the world. But what does made in the USA actually mean? McIntosh probably takes it further than just about anyone by manufacturing many of their own parts. But not all parts.
2 Likes
The Parasound is made in Asia
Few electrical products do not have components or assembled, at least in part, outside of the States.
While this is now some time ago, at one point there were more U.S. parts and assembly in a Gold Wing than a Harley Davidson. This amused me.
1 Like
Understand that I’m not bashing Chinese made hifi products. I just have a preference and it’s easy for me to satisfy that preference.
1 Like
I’'m sure that it’s likely that some parts that PSA use are not US made.
But you can’t make the argument that they’re not made in the US.
Thank you Elk,
Could not have said it better myself.
RonP
Where can you get an affordable Class A/AB designed by a
great designer…made here in the USA. Parasound is made
in Taiwan an independent republic…not Chinese.
I love my Parasound gear…Pass Labs out of reach for me
and many as well…would otherwise be nice…