I understand McInotsh amps have a certain following, but Undertow, what you're saying makes little or no sense. Other amps sound constipated? Wow. That totally contradicts my observation, which is McIntosh amps sound fine with an easy load speakers. When you pair their amps with a difficult to drive speakers that have some impedance curves, or what have you, smaller McIntosh amps sound constipated. Actually any Mac amp up to MC501 monoblocks can not really be paired with any challenging load. You need to at least start with MC501 monoblocks for such task. And the fact that McIntosh amps don't double down doesn't help either. For example, with B&W 803D or even N803, MC402 sounds OK on lower levels, but the louder you get, the more obvious the dynamic restrictions seem.
I mean I do understand if you like McIntosh sound. That is totally up to you. But deeming McIntosh amps as above anything else is a bit of an overstatement, to say the least.
I mean I do understand if you like McIntosh sound. That is totally up to you. But deeming McIntosh amps as above anything else is a bit of an overstatement, to say the least.