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Comparing McIntosh MC462 vs Hypex NC502 objectively

CDMC

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If money were no object I'd get the Mcintosh MC462 just because is beautiful

To me this is a perfectly valid reason. It is amazing the justifications that people will go through in a purchase rather than just be honest that they like the way something looks and will spend extra for the aesthetics. I love power meters on an amp and would spend extra for them.
 

carlob

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I'm waiting for somebody to put Hypex or Purifi modules in a beautiful chassis with big vu meters, these assembled amps are top for price/performance but very boring design.

maxresdefault.jpg
 

CDMC

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CDMC

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I could also live with a Purifi module in a Jeff Rowland case :oops:

But could you afford it? The 535 which uses an inexpensive $400 Pascal module is $5,900. They would probably charge $10,000 for a Purifi.

You could always buy and older model, gut it out and put the purfi modules in and have the best of both worlds.
 

March Audio

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So if the MC252 has 250w into 8om with 2dB of headroom, which hypex module based amps would match or exceed it in power?

2dB of headroom would equate to 396 watts for the MC252.

Amirs measurements showed the P502 has about 1.2dB of headroom reaching 655 watts into 4 ohms. So based on the 350watt 8 ohm spec, this equates to 460 watts into 8 ohms.

March Audio P502 Hypex Stereo Class D Amplifier Peak and Burst Power into 4 Ohm Audio Measurem...png


So the Hypex module in the P502 beats the MC252 in this respect also. The nc1200 module in our P701 beats it without taking into account any additional headroom

P701 Power Output
  • 2 Ohms - 1200 W rms
  • 4 Ohms - 700 W rms
  • 8 Ohms - 400 W rms
 
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March Audio

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To me this is a perfectly valid reason. It is amazing the justifications that people will go through in a purchase rather than just be honest that they like the way something looks and will spend extra for the aesthetics. I love power meters on an amp and would spend extra for them.
I have no problems with this, if you like the look that's absolutely fine. Spending 9x the price to get it is also fine. Just my personal opinion, I find McIntosh rather gaudy in its aesthetics :)
 
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March Audio

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:(
But it also continues to do A / B class like the MC462 and many others.
They have obviously recognised that Hypex class d is a excellent performing technology that they are unable to replicate to the same standard in house, at least in a cost effective manner. ;)
 
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March Audio

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Aesthetically I actually like the MC252 better :) But the idea would be to see which of the class d modules would be equal or exceed in power, and would they objectively measure better than the McIntosh. The McIntosh wins in looks for me of course. It also has many features that protect speakers such as power guard and sentry monitor. View attachment 72955
Regarding the power sentry and power guard

  • POWER GUARD®
    McIntosh designed and patented circuit that prevents speaker clipping. Photo-optics react in 1/1000th of a second to regulate power levels to speaker, protecting the speakers and the amplifier. A waveform comparison circuit continuously monitors both input and output signals. Power Guard dynamically adjusts the input level to avoid clipping while preventing harsh sounding distortion.
  • SENTRY MONITOR™
    McIntosh designed and patented circuit that activates in case of accidental “shorts" in speaker wires. Fuse-less short-circuit protection circuit disengages the output stage before current exceeds safe operating level-resets automatically

The Hypex modules also have sophisticated non intrusive monitoring and protection circuitry for excess output current, dc and amp circuit failure. Otherwise I would hope that most of us can hear the "harsh sounding distortion" brought on by clipping and would turn the volume down. :)

Regardless, as an aid for this we are just about to introduce a clipping indicator on the stereo amps which will be available in a couple of weeks.
 
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Dj7675

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Regarding the power sentry and power guard

  • POWER GUARD®
    McIntosh designed and patented circuit that prevents speaker clipping. Photo-optics react in 1/1000th of a second to regulate power levels to speaker, protecting the speakers and the amplifier. A waveform comparison circuit continuously monitors both input and output signals. Power Guard dynamically adjusts the input level to avoid clipping while preventing harsh sounding distortion.
  • SENTRY MONITOR™
    McIntosh designed and patented circuit that activates in case of accidental “shorts" in speaker wires. Fuse-less short-circuit protection circuit disengages the output stage before current exceeds safe operating level-resets automatically

The Hypex modules also have sophisticated non intrusive monitoring and protection circuitry for excess output current, dc and amp circuit failure. Otherwise I would hope that most of us can hear the "harsh sounding distortion" brought on by clipping and would turn the volume down.

Regardless, as an aid for this we are just about to introduce a clipping indicator on the stereo amps which will be available in a couple of weeks.
Very cool, thank you for the info and the upcoming added feature info.
 

preload

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I had an MC352 a while back and loved it. The only reason I sold it was because I moved into a new house and there just wasn't room. Sad times.

What are you hoping to gain out of replacing your MC252 with an MC462 or a hypex-based amp? Something to consider, the MC352 and MC462 are both quad-balanced (i.e. two amps operating in push-pull). Your existing MC252 and the MC302 are single-ended. The MC302 and MC352 will have flat faceplates (i.e. no center hump like in our MC252). The MC462 is also flat, but has the giant front handles. The MC352 comes with incandescent lights on the VU's that dim over time, so you'll probably want the LED upgrade kit (or look for a unit with it installed already). It also has cheesy binding posts, whereas they ones used in subsequent models are high quality.

My personal opinion - Macs seem to match the retro aesthetic of your JBL's. If you have access to THD vs. power output curves, you may want to see where you are compared to your normal listening volume. As you may know, a class AB amp driven closer to its max output is likely operating at in its lower THD range. You may end up increasing your THD by purchasing a more powerful amp. On the other hand, in theory, the quad-balanced Macs supposedly have lower THD because of the push-pull design.
 
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Dj7675

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I had an MC352 a while back and loved it. The only reason I sold it was because I moved into a new house and there just wasn't room. Sad times.

What are you hoping to gain out of replacing your MC252 with an MC462 or a hypex-based amp? Something to consider, the MC352 and MC462 are both quad-balanced (i.e. two amps operating in push-pull). Your existing MC252 and the MC302 are single-ended. The MC302 and MC352 will have flat faceplates (i.e. no center hump like in our MC252). The MC462 is also flat, but has the giant front handles. The MC352 comes with incandescent lights on the VU's that dim over time, so you'll probably want the LED upgrade kit (or look for a unit with it installed already). It also has cheesy binding posts, whereas they ones used in subsequent models are high quality.

My personal opinion - Macs seem to match the retro aesthetic of your JBL's. If you have access to THD vs. power output curves, you may want to see where you are compared to your normal listening volume. As you may know, a class AB amp driven closer to its max output is likely operating at in its lower THD range. You may end up increasing your THD by purchasing a more powerful amp. On the other hand, in theory, the quad-balanced Macs supposedly have lower THD because of the push-pull design.
The decision I am considering is keeping or selling my MC252. If I sell the purpose would be to replace it with something less expensive,ligher, but not loose any power. With 250w and 2 dB of headroom, I don’t need any more power but don’t want less either. It seems the NC502 at a rated 350w gets in the ball park of power so it seemed like a good comp. With the McIntosh you do get aesthetics (which I do like), repairability, hold their value, and will probably will still be going strong after I am long gone. In this setup it will probably stay. One thing unique about the MC252 is its size. While very heavy (94lbs) it is only 14 inches deep. Most of their amps tend to be around 20 inches deep.
 
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Dj7675

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2dB of headroom would equate to 396 watts for the MC252.

Amirs measurements showed the P502 has about 1.2dB of headroom reaching 655 watts into 4 ohms. So based on the 350watt 8 ohm spec, this equates to 460 watts into 8 ohms.

View attachment 73071

So the Hypex module in the P502 beats the MC252 in this respect also. The nc1200 module in our P701 beats it without taking into account any additional headroom

P701 Power Output
  • 2 Ohms - 1200 W rms
  • 4 Ohms - 700 W rms
  • 8 Ohms - 400 W rms
Thank you for taking the time to help with the comparisons. Very informative and helpful. If I switched I think the the NC502 would be a nice fit and as you have shown exceed performance of the MC252. Thanks again.
 

restorer-john

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I love power meters on an amp and would spend extra for them.

I love them too. Power amplifiers have a whole lot of front panel real estate and nothing looks better than big lit up meters. Pretty much all my power amplifiers offer the ability to switch off the meters and the few I have with no meters at all just look boring, especially alongside a metered unit.

Meters on power amps sell. They always have.
 

restorer-john

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DonH56

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$389 + $185 shipping to the USA seems a little stiff, but I don't know what a good power amp case (with meters no less) costs these days.
 
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