Back in the 80’s was listening to music through an Adcom 555 amp, Adcom 555 pre, Dual CS 5000 turntable with gold Grado cart and Infinity Kappa Speakers. In took a break from this stereo while I setup a Yamaha surround sound system for watching movies. I got lazy and started to listen to music through Bose and later Sony boom boxes that my phone was connected to with Spotify.

In 2021, my Adcom 555 preamp died, smelled something burnt inside. I upgraded to the NAD 658 preamp. I noticed an immediate improvement in the sound. I would say the music was clearer like a veil was lifted off the music.

My Adcom 555 amp also stopped working. But a quick check found a fuse had blown. The fuse was replaced and I used an air gun to remove a lot of dust from the inside of the amp. It now works fine.

I also upgraded my speakers to Focal Aria 926 speakers. Another huge improvement with sound stage, and detail. They provided a very balanced sound. I also replaced my 30 plus year cables for Kimber Kable 8-gauge speaker cables at the same time.

I also replaced my 30+ cartridge with a new Grado Gold. In addition, I had my turntable professionally balanced. The tone arm weight and settings were adjusted.

I also purchased a Denon 300 Z CD player which also includes bluetooth. 2021 was a big year with upgrades to my stereo which also includes a Crutchfield black tier rack to put all my components on.

I was looking in replacing my Adcom 555. I thought about the M700 in March 2022, I was thinking about the Macintosh MC152 as well. I heard it at a store, thought it was good so I decided to purchase the MC152. Based on info on the M700, NAD 298 and reviews of the M1200, I believe I made a right choice. However I am thinking now about the M1200 amps now which everyone here said are a step up over the 700’s. I wonder how they would compare to the MC152’s.