McIntosh MC462 Stereo Amplifier Review (by ErinsAudioCorner.com)

[TonyJZX]

does anyone truly believe that though?

i mean i want to... but...

 

[egellings]

does anyone truly believe that though?

i mean i want to... but...

I'd prefer the Mac over the switcher, but my budget precludes my ever owning Mac. So what did I do?" Homebrew, both with BJT and tubes.

 

[wje]

at 120lbs the shipping cost and risk of damage is too high

Which is why shipping the amplifier - in the McIntosh provided boxes and strapped to a palet and via a freight carrier is the preferred method of shipping.

 

[Myaudio]

Using two Mc462's in my setup but I am considering 3 Mc611's for my LCR's. Any measurements out there for the Mc611?

 

[BeepPeep_61]

Using two Mc462's in my setup but I am considering 3 Mc611's for my LCR's. Any measurements out there for the Mc611?

 

[tetragrammaton]

Now I am curious what other high end amps deliver in such droves on the performance end!

 

[73hadd]

It's probably in the technical data here, but can someone explain how the McIntosh MC462 listed "Damping Factor >40 Wideband" compares to the Benchmark recommended "System Damping Factor" of at least 150 to maintain .15db error? https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-damping-factor-isnt-much-of-a-factor

Thanks!

 

[radix]

It's probably in the technical data here, but can someone explain how the McIntosh MC462 listed "Damping Factor >40 Wideband" compares to the Benchmark recommended "System Damping Factor" of at least 150 to maintain .15db error? https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-damping-factor-isnt-much-of-a-factor

Thanks!

I don't have a technical answer for you, just some points that seem relevant.

McIntosh is usually conservative with their specs, so the real damping factor might be much higher, especially in the 20-20k range. They also have different ways to drive difficult loads. For example, the 2-4-8 output terminals lets you pick the output that best suits your speakers. I've seen recommendations to try all 3, regardless of whatever your speakers are rated at. They also have a lot of stored energy in those giant caps that can smooth things over. Finally, they are not claiming such tight bounds, but "+0, -0.25dB from 20Hz to 20kHz."

As we don't know the meaning of ">" or the meaning of "wideband" (I'm assuming this is for their 10-100k spec of "+0, -3.0dB from 10Hz to 100kHz"), i'd focus on the frequency response spec of "+0, -0.25" rather than the damping factor, and then decide how that compares to the AHB2.

BTW, if. you look at the specs for the AHB2, it's not >= 150 over the whole 20-20k range, though the FR at 8 ohms does look to be at most 0.16 dB. In Amir's review, he saw a 0.3 dB drop in FR in the 20-20k range.

 

[Sokel]

It's probably in the technical data here, but can someone explain how the McIntosh MC462 listed "Damping Factor >40 Wideband" compares to the Benchmark recommended "System Damping Factor" of at least 150 to maintain .15db error? https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-damping-factor-isnt-much-of-a-factor

Thanks!

You can't compare Mc straight with the rest of the amps on this because of its autoformers which raise the amp's output impedance.
It's Mc's way all these years coming from their tube amps.Strange choice but it's how it is.
Rest of the measurements thought are top-notch.

 

[73hadd]

Erin did not measure with a simulated speaker, but it looks like Stereophile did:

McIntosh Laboratory MC462 power amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 4: Measurements

www.stereophile.com

I wonder if that same FR wiggle would be there on a Benchmark or other amps. Looks to be within a +/- .2db swing, which if correlated to the Benchmark calculator of .4db error, puts the effective damping factor of about 50, which would meet the >40 listed by McIntosh.

 

[Sokel]

Erin did not measure with a simulated speaker, but it looks like Stereophile did:

McIntosh Laboratory MC462 power amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 4: Measurements

www.stereophile.com

I wonder if that same FR wiggle would be there on a Benchmark or other amp.

It's even more of them at the same measurement:

Benchmark Media Systems AHB2 power amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

www.stereophile.com

Edit:Scale is different so comparable,one is within 0.2dB and the other within 0.1dB.
The difference is a the top octaves where Benchmark slopes very early as impedance goes lower.

 

[73hadd]

For the simulated speaker at 20k, the MC462 looks maybe +.1 and AHB2 -.15 The scale difference makes it hard to compare visually.

Looking at the green line, the Benchmark is flatter by a small amount, yes?

Benchmark AHB2
-.575 at 10k
-.8 at 20k
-1.75 at 50k
-3.5 at 100k

McIntosh MC462
-.6 at 10k
-.8 at 20k
-3 at 50k
-7.5 at 100k

 

[Willem]

In essence, they are both very good.