McIntosh MC462 Stereo Amplifier Review (by ErinsAudioCorner.com)

[tomtoo]

It is 0.0014%. It is excellent re power capability, gain and input impedance.

 

[Ilkless]

Contrary to many esoteric products, McIntosh simply performs stellar, costs a lot, is worth a lot, hats off

Is it really a lot considering the wider boutique market where new brands can charge 20-30k minimum out of nowhere, with zero verifiable engineering claims? Like Karan, Vitus and Aavik to name a few.

 

[BDWoody]

A lifetime of amplification if somebody wants a end game amp.

Yep. I'd happily watch those bouncing meters until the day I died, when my son would pry it out of my cold dead hands so he could finally get it in his house.

 

[Galliardist]

Let’s be real here.
The people buying $10k amplifiers have more money than sense.
These amplifiers scream “status” and that’s precisely who their target audience is.

Hypex and Purifi amps are the sensible options, for normal people.

Careful.
My Hypex amp costs not a lot less than this (though I didn't pay retail), even if it is integrated and doesn't have the usual topology.

Generalisations about people and amplifiers don't always work.

 

[VintageFlanker]

can charge 20-30k minimum out of nowhere, with zero verifiable engineering claims? Like Karan, Vitus and Aavik to name a few.

Aavik... They don't feel ashamed to charge 20k€ for a simple ICEpower Pascal integration...

There's no engineering credits for that. Extraordinary claims, on the other hand...

 

[Sokel]

Aavik... They don't feel ashamed to charge 20k€ for a simple ICEpower integration...
View attachment 278978
There's no engineering credits for that. Extraordinary claims, on the other hand...

I could have sworn that my A/C unit uses the same relays as the integration board

 

[sarumbear]

Let’s be real here.
The people buying $10k amplifiers have more money than sense.
These amplifiers scream “status” and that’s precisely who their target audience is.

Hypex and Purifi amps are the sensible options, for normal people.

Let's get real, indeed!

Let us see how much "people" spend on an a top of the range Genelec or JBL system? We have seen ASR members posting systems using those units. (I hope you count members as people.)

A pair of JBL M2 with the required JBL amplification costs almost $30,000. A pair of Genelec 8351B & W371A costs almost $25,000. Instead of those units if you buy this "status symbol" Macintosh you will still have left $15,000 - $20,000 for a pair of speakers?

Was that real for you?

 

[sarumbear]

Aavik... They don't feel ashamed to charge 20k€ for a simple ICEpower Pascal integration...
View attachment 278978
There's no engineering credits for that. Extraordinary claims, on the other hand...

The copper is expensive though

 

[JktHifi]

I sold Mac in the 70’s 80’s in a city with 500k population and it sold well. I now live in a city with 75k and the Mac dealer does okay.

Good on the Mac. Hopefully I will be able to buy it someday

 

[Sokel]

Let's get real, indeed!

Let us see how much "people" spend on an a top of the range Genelec or JBL system? We have seen ASR members posting systems using those units. (I hope you count members as people.)

A pair of JBL M2 with the required JBL amplification costs almost $30,000. A pair of Genelec 8351B & W371A costs almost $25,000. In stead of those units if you buy this "status symbol" Macintosh you will still have left $15,000 - $20,000 for a pair of speakers?

Was that real for you?

Exactly that.
It's like saying normal people spend 400$ for a dac and the "others",3000$
What about if these normal people get 5 or more of them -as we see trending- at the same time the "others" hold on to the "expensive" one for years?
Overall cost through time is the only cost that matters.

 

[Galliardist]

I'm having a hard time understanding this speech. I believed that at ASR, we railed against snake oil, not high-end super high quality products.
Compared to the purifi it delivers double the power, it has a name that is a guarantee of quality and durability over the decades, it is a product that in ten years time will still have a very high market value. on a technical level it offers SOTA amplification performance.
How much is all of this worth?
This added value does not change even if the audio performances were indistinguishable. But then again, it has twice the power.

All good, but a "lesser" amp leaves you with more money for the things that count more, particularly speakers: and won't sound worse, unless you need the extra power.

I'm certainly not going to "rail" against this amp, but I'd only have it on a recommended list in limited circumstances. Same as my own Marantz electronics, in fact. That doesn't make it a bad thing to own, though.

 

[delta76]

Remind me of this photo

I guess not the exact same model, but still.

 

[JktHifi]

Remind me of this photo

I guess not the exact same model, but still.

How much does this cost?

 

[Jukebox]

At 5W/4 ohms more like 0.0014%, isn't it? This is SINAD 97 excellent.

BTW this is right next to the NC502MP amps in SINAD, also with 600W power, but starting at 635 USD from Nord...

So the SINAD is 97, or 106 as measured by Stereophile? It's quite a big difference
They are both in your spreadsheets, line 22 and 58

 

[delta76]

How much does this cost?

Probably a fortune. I still can't understand how people can spend more on an amp than on a decent car. Let alone almost ten of them. But well, the riches think differently I suppose

 

[Dj7675]

I find the automatic bias against anything expensive a bit puzzling sometimes. Here you have a U.S. built near SOTA amplifier with tons of power, capable of driving any speaker. They have a history of durability, being repairable, excellent support, and unmatched resale value. You could buy a used one for around $7k, use it 10 years and likely sell it for what you paid for it or in many cases more than you paid for it. There just aren’t many amps you can say that about IMO. It is expensive, but IMO, in this case you are actually getting a good value in the long run.

 

[Galliardist]

Probably a fortune. I still can't understand how people can spend more on an amp than on a decent car. Let alone almost ten of them. But well, the riches think differently I suppose

Well, I could afford my - much more modest setup - mainly because I can't drive, so no car. But I can't afford the room to put something like that in!

 

[sarumbear]

Remind me of this photo

I guess not the exact same model, but still.

What are those slippers on small rug?

 

[Galliardist]

What are those slippers on small rug?

Don't know, but I probably can't afford them either...

 

[sarumbear]

Probably a fortune. I still can't understand how people can spend more on an amp than on a decent car. Let alone almost ten of them. But well, the riches think differently I suppose

I can also be said as the poor think different