Any thoughts on the McIntosh MC202?

A friend has his eye (and ears) on getting this amp and he asked me my opinion on it. I really do not know what to say rather than "a Mac, sounds good to me but I know nada." He's seen it going for around $2,000 used. He has a rogue preamp, AP Virgo speakers (pretty efficent). Any yeas or nays on this amp or is there something better to recommend (he's not into tubes sadly).



Todd

 

Hi Todd,

Isn't the Rogue pre tubes?

-Jeffrey

 

Re: Re: Any thoughts on the McIntosh MC202?

I should have been more specific. He's not into tube amps.

 

I'm happy with mine - dependable, as "tube-like" as you're likely to find for SS equipment, lots of clean power, and nice-looking to boot. No complaints here.

 

Hey I owned this beauty. In fact, forum member Geoman should be coming 'round here soon to comment on it as he is the current owner of my amp.

I'll let him elaborate, but my quick thoughts are:

Great SS amp. Has a nice round "almost tube" sound. Built like a tank with many great Mac amp features. Heavy. Lots and lots and lots of power. Your friend will have a hard time overdriving this one. Mr. Steve Hoffman recently described this amp as "the last solid-state amp you'll ever need." Good words from a wise man

I liked it so much, I bought the MC202s bigger brother--the MC402. I'm in heaven! And yes, it's really the last SS amp I'll ever own! At least that's what I convinced the GF

 

Re: Re: Re: Any thoughts on the McIntosh MC202?

Hi Todd,

Why is your buddy willing to go w/ a tube pre but not a tube amp?

Just curious,
Jeffrey

 

Thanks everyone for the comments. I'll pass them along.

He feels that a tube amp in his budget would be prettty flabby in the bass department. He thinks mating a tube preamp with a good SS amp will give him a bit of the best of both worlds. To each his own I guess.....

Todd

 

I have this amp, and I love it. I use it to drive my B&W N802s, which are thought to be very power hungry. The MC202 has more than enough power for them. It is (as everyone lese here has described) very tubelike, very warm (though detailed). I just think it is a very, very musical amp. The build quality is amazing, and it looks great.

 

The MC202 was my first piece of High End equipment (thanks SamS), so I don't have another amp to compare it to, but I absolutely love it. It's warm, powerful, and looks great! When I start to consider upgrades (a long time from now, I think), the MC202 will be the last thing I consider upgrading. Even if I do, I'll probably never sell it.

It's a definite amp for life!

 

I helped hook up my friends MC-202 last night (which I helped get him through Audiogon) and it sounds amazing. I'm actually considering this same model and saying good-night to my Dynaco ST-70.

Todd

 

Is it really that good Todd? More description please. I'm mean seriously, better than a tube amp?

 

I'll try and explain. I hooked up this amp briefly to my system and I was very, very impressed. Rock solid imaging, very nice, tight bass, and lots of depth, width, height, etc. This is indeed a solid state amp but I feel my tube preamp (the Y&S Thingie with Telefunkens) keeps the life there (no harshness). I've enjoyed my Dynaco ST-70 for the last couple of years but this was very refreshing. Obviously the higher wattage took some strain off of the music. More of a feeling of notes floating and relaxed decays, etc. I am very tempted to investigate getting the MC-202 for my system. After we brought the amp over to my friends house and hooked everything up (different system) it still sounded magnificent. I'm going to do some more listening on his system, etc. I'm trying to keep an open mind about all this....

Todd

 

Gary, do you remember what happened when I suggested that I was going to do that!!!! Supposedly the 240 has a loss of midrange magic by doing so. BUMMER!

 

Gary, its kinda like when I was biamping with the 240 on top. I then said I'd just go get another 240 and go mono.......but its a no no! I still think the biamp didn't sound bad at all, but running full range is a bit more cohesive, although the bass was great with 315 watts per channel!!

 

Better than a tube amp? Well the MC202/402/602/501/1201 models do have lotsa things going for them. That would include autoformers which react to the speaker load placed upon them (much like tubes) to deliver their full power at 2/4/8 Ohms. The also have huge transformers potted in tar to eliminate resonance and transformer buzzing. They also use "Power Guard" which compares the input signal to the output signal and when distortion is detected, it lowers output volume.

Try this with any other solid state amp: start playing music at a moderately loud volume, disconnect one side from the speaker. Touch the +/- speaker wire leads together...watch your amp blow up! Not with one of these McIntosh amps!

I've heard lots of Mac tube amps and they all have nice sound. Certainly they have appeal and will continue to do so for many, many years. Look into these solid-state models if you want a smooth, warm midrange (maybe not as fuzzy as tubes), with outstanding bass and a great treble that is never fatiguing.

The only reason I got rid of my MC-202 was becuase I couldn't pass up they new MC-402 with it's new design and more oomph for my big B&Ws. I miss it for sure, but I'm glad another forum member was "converted" to the McIntosh family!!

 

Thanks for your thoughts, Sam. I was very, very impressed with it's build quality as well. Not only does it sound wonderful it also looks wonderful. I've saved up a bit of money and I think I'm going to take the plunge. My friend absolutely loves his and I'm going over to his place to do some more listening. Again, I've loved the Dynaco but I feel it's time for a change.

Todd

 

Cool, Todd

Before you take the plunge on the MC-202, you may want to look at the new MC-252. The MC-202 is about to be (or already is) discontinued. The new MC-252 has 250watts X 2, a new "open" chassis design with lotsa chrome . It also uses the just-released all fiber-optic front panel illumination for the logo and front meters. Very bright, very green and designed to last 100,000 hours of use. Almost same stats as my MC-402 (also the newer design).

See www.mcintoshlabs.com

 

Actually Sam I did this very thing by accident with my Classe when swapping IC's doing some listening tests. Scared the crap out of me! It started to get a loud wobble-type sound so I killed the power immediately as my audio life flashed before my eyes.

The Classe is doing fine and mine is very similar in design to what you describe with the transformer in the Mac. HUGE and some kind of tar covering.

 

Sam, how much does a used (not many I'm sure) MC-252 go for? I tracked down the MC-202 for $1,700 for my friend. Also, besied the 50 watts more power and newer chasis design what are some more pf the benefits of this newer model?

Todd

 

Ouch! Let's all be careful out there. This reminds me of when I almost electrocuted myself during a gig....

 

Oooh, watch it Dave! You were definitely lucky!

Todd,

The price for a used MC202 seems pretty fair if its in good condition. You may want to check your local Mac dealer to see if the MC252 is even out yet. I think it would be impossible to find a used one. I'm sure the differences are almost purely cosmetic. You should go look at the MC402/MC252 before you pull the trigger on a MC202. Remember, you are gonna have this one a loooong time, make sure the new design doesn't grab hold of you (like it did me )

 

Sam, I'll do some snopping at some of the local shops. I like the way the MC-202 looks (and especially sounds). If it's only cosmetic differences and 50 additional watts per channel then I may go for a used MC-202 at a much lower price than a new MC252 (I'm sure it'll be over a thousand dollar difference). I'll keep you posted.

Todd

 

Please do. I don't know pricing on the MC252, but I would figure it would be around $3500. So, a used MC202 could be had for 1/2. I imagine the sound will be fairly close. Do you have a local McIntosh dealer? EDIT: I see you live in NYC. Your choices of Mac dealers should be plenty!