Bel Canto vs Mcintosh

Tough to compare.

I've heard Totem Mani 2 powered by a current TOTL Mac SS amp. I can compare to BC ref1000mkII in my system running Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkII.

The Mac/Totem comb was very good, except I found it a bit too hot on the top end and thought that might become a bit fatiguing over time.

The sound of the BC/Dynaudio combo (in a somewhat smaller 12X12 room) is very similar overall I would say minus the hot top end. The Dyns can be that way with some amps but with teh BC they are most clean and detailed with fantastic attack and impact and virtually no fatigue. Hard to fault....

I love my BC Ref 1000 mk2. I love the effortless power and drive, cool temps, smooth sound, clean uncolored mids, great soundstaging and delineation of detail without sounding analytical. Lots of threads here if you search archives. Not so sure about comparisons to Macs--they are very different in design philosophy. I think in general it is safe to say that BC is much less colored (more neutral), more transparent, and faster. I say this after owning an older McIntosh 4100 receiver.