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Amp/Preamp Asylum: REVIEW: McIntosh MC 501 Amplifier (SS) by Know_Talent

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REVIEW: McIntosh MC 501 Amplifier (SS)

12.106.50.250


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Model: MC 501
Category: Amplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price: unknown
Description: 500 w @ 8 ohms, 1000w @ 4 ohms. monoblock amp.
Manufacturer URL: McIntosh

Review by Know_Talent on August 01, 2008 at 08:54:51
IP Address: 12.106.50.250
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for the MC 501


Time for a Big Mac Attack...Monoblock style!!!

Since the best audio system I've EVER heard was powered by McIntosh amplification I have always been biased toward their product line.
This system was at a local dealer and consisted of a Proceed DVD/CDP source single-ended cabled direct into a old school MC2600 with seperate channel gain adjustments, powering the then new B&W Nautilus Signature 800s. The soundstage this system recreated was HUGE and more dimensionally holographic regarding performers/instruments then anything I'd ever heard and I've still yet to find a system that duplicates it. (...but I'm trying)

I know the speakers had a great influence on this system but you have to have adequate amplification to drive demanding speakers and Mac has forever since been my choice in amplification.

I had been powering my B&W Nautilus 803s with the big boy Rotel 1090 which did a great job but could not approach the soundstage of the previously mentioned system so I traded in the Rotel towards the MA6900 200wpc Integrated Amp. The 6900 had more of that tube-like midrange vs. the Rotel but did not have enough juice to properly drive the 803s at anything past moderate listening levels...the soundstage would begin to compress and the normally smooth midrange and treble would harden.

I lived with this combo for a few years as I moved into a smaller listening room and had no need for the extra volume do too room acoustics.
I recently moved into a larger listening room (13' x 24' x 9')and found myself again wanting more oomph to drive the speakers to fill the room.

As luck would have it, I came across a dealer demo pair of MC501s and snapped them up.

The MC501 has been tested by both Stereophiles JA and HiFiNews paul miller and easily exceeds its 500 wpc rating... tesing closer to 725 wpc....so I knew they would produce all the power the B&W's could draw without flinching.

First off, at 95 lbs each, these suckers are HEAVY! I know there's Krell, Pass, Rowland, etc... that surpass this but still this is not a piece of gear you're going to want to be moving around alot. They fit great in the lower shelf of my custom made Billy Bags rack and that's where they'll stay...forever(?) Both are fed from a Furman IT Reference 15i PF outlets, with the Furman fed from a dedicated 20A line.
(*** I use Parasound 12 gauge power cords throughout my whole system)

Out back there are three sets of heavy duty brass binding posts for 8, 4 and 2 ohm loads. Mac also includes plastic boxes that are designed to be fixed over the binding posts but I find the slots to pass the speaker cable thru are not going to work with anything past something the size of Kimber 4TCs. Also, the binding posts are fairly burly and close together so it's hard to get them tight (and I don't have hands/fingers the size of a Hungarian proctologist)...getting the T1 spades on my AP Oval 9s tight was a chore.

Break in was short and pretty much sonically uneventful!!

Like other McAmplification, the MC501 delivers weighty bass with a ever-so slightly rounded leading edge followed by all the body and decay you can hope for, tube-like buttah smooth midrange and smooth airy treble with (maybe?) slightly less extension than what I've heard from more expensive IN YOUR FACE megabuck SS amps. (though I'm suspicious my source and pre are major contributors to this?)

Resolution wise, I hear all the recording venue ambience on the Buena Vista Social Club CD and audience chatter and such on well recorded intimate live acoustic jazz outtings. I have both the first and second volumes of "Live at the Baked Potato", a jazz fusion jam effort, and there is a track called "Leap of Faith" where guitarist Jeff Richman goes into to this wild chorus-reverb-tremolo drenched solo that really blows me away!
It not only sounds like he's in the room with you but also the trem makes it sound like he's blinking in and out and all around your listening chair!
It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end!!! MEGACOOL

The MC501 is voiced fairly neutral vs. the new MC kw1.2 which to me sounds too dark and gives me the impression of being "slow". I would say the MC501 is slighty "wetter" than a PASS X600.5...maybe "moist" would be a better description as it gives the music more body, perhaps in exchange for slighty less resolution?

The PRaT is engaging, not giving me the impression of "slowness" the KW1.2 gave me. I agree with what JA said in the Stereophile review that the bass reproduction is more realistic than some other amps who tend to be to aggressive with the leading attack.

Summing it up...Great amp, great price, great sound! Five Stars IMO












Product Weakness: none at this price point vs. competition IMO
Product Strengths: Realistic Bass leading attack, smooth tube-like midrange, excellent PRaT. Maybe slighty less resolving than others BUT this allows for poorly recorded music to be listenable.


Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: MC501s
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): BAT VK-20
Sources (CDP/Turntable): BAT VK-D5SE 24bit w/ Super Pak
Speakers: B&W Nautilus 803
Cables/Interconnects: Kimber Hero, AP Oval 9
Music Used (Genre/Selections): jazz, fusion
Room Size (LxWxH): 24 x 13 x 9
Room Comments/Treatments: heavy carpet, leather furniture, lots o pillows
Time Period/Length of Audition: 3 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Furman IT Reference 15i
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: McIntosh MC 501 Amplifier (SS) - Know_Talent 08:54:51 08/1/08 ( 2)