Speakers to mate with Mac MC402 under $5k

Klipsch Heritage models sound great with McIntosh.

Great choice of amp. My suggestion would be to get an active preamp for it - Mc amps don't do well with passive pres in my experience (input sensitivity is a high 2.5V). McIntosh amps are magical when mated to a McIntosh preamp. The C2200 and C46 are both excellent.

For speakers, I find McIntosh to have special synergy with JM Lab speakers. For $5000 (I assume used), the Mezzo Utopia, 937 Be, or the Diva Utopia Be (provided your room is large) would all be excellent choices. McIntoshes can handle analytical and detail-oriented speakers very well - but do poorly with "soft" speakers, IMHO.

I have auditioned McIntosh with Naim sources before and really like the combo. I have thought about getting a Naim cdp for my Mcs in the past. Arthur

made-in-heaven would be your system with a mac2200 tube pre....check out the gradient revolutions/castle howards/totem forests.....all well under 5k...all great with mac from top to bottom

I currently have a mac 202 which works very with Tyler Acoustics Linbrook sig moniters, I would suggest his linbrook sig system for your room.

Aball is right - get a good active pre for the Mac. Yes, great choice for an amp as the Mac 402 is the finest amp I have ever heard/owned.

I drove Dali Grand speakers and the sound was glorious! Go for Dali Hel 400's or 800's!

Bill

Thanks to everyone so far for the responses. This amp is a monster and is continuing to amaze me. I borrowed a Cary SLP98 from my local shop and it makes my Dynaudio Audience 80's sound like they have never sounded before ! No remote of HT bypass though, but it was good to see what this amp is capable of.

I've listenned to the MC2200 tubed pre and liked it better than the C46, but wasn't blown away. I heard the MC2200/MC501's and C46/MC501's on Aerial 8b's and then the C46/M1201 on the Aerial 9's. Maybe it's just the speakers. But the soundstage just wasn't there. I want the speakers to disapear.

Anyone heard Supratek with the Mac's? Maybe when my room is done I'll try to audition the mac2200.

Anyway the reason I posted was for speakers and you guys have given alot of good recomendations for me to look into. First of all I do want a full range speaker. I live in Massachusetts. I know of a JMlabs dealer so I could audition those. I think Spearit Audio in Boston has Dali so I can check those out also. The Tyler Linbrooks look interesting, but I've never seen/heard them locally.
Seems like every dealer around here carries B&W....

Thanks for the responses ! Anyone else?

Might take some heat here but Ive never liked any mac preamps...always sound veiled to me and the C2200 was no exception. Ive owned the MC402 and tried the Supratek, Cary slp90,94, 98, a CJ 18ls, bat vk50se and an Audio Research LS25 mk1. The Ls25 was my preference, the Supratek Syrah sounded good but was a little too bloomy and always buzzed when my cell was about to recive a call ( Sure it was just a tube issue )... I prefered the black background, imaging and refinement of the Arc. Good luck

mac is also compatible with accuphase pre's...

I am also looking for a pre to match with my Mac 602 and Eggleston Rosa's. I'm running everything through a modified Denon AV receiver with excellent results. I'm pretty happy for now but a good tube pre would really take it to the next level. Because of their dynamic and detailed nature I would think, a CAT or First Sound Pre would be perfect matches, but, like you, I want AV pass through and a remote. On paper I have narrowed it down to VTL 5.5 (used $2,000), Aesthetix Janus (used $3,500), Supratek Chardonnay new ($3,800), and the Mac 200 (used $3,800). I'm also very interested in the VTL 6.5 that's supposed to be coming out this year. If the VTL 6.5 is even close to their 7.5, I think it should be a real winner.
The Mac 2200 was, to me, a little "polite" for my system. I am looking for a tube amp that has little more "bite and resolution" to counterbalance the 602's and Eggy's smoothness.
I am moving in a couple of months, and, therefore, won't be doing any auditioning until I get settled into my new listening room so for now it's all theoretical.

A couple years ago, I used a Mac 6500 integrated with my Usher 8871 (Mk I) floorstanders. The sound was sublime; I sold the amp due to its lack of ultimate power with large-scale classical in my large room. If not for that I would still be enjoying that amp. However an MC402 would be more than enough on this speaker as I felt the 6500 missed just the last 10% or so of power.

I am now selling the Ushers to move into hi-eff speakers, just part of the audio journey. Email me if you would like to look into these excellent and gorgeous near-full-range (28 Hz) speakers and save $$ from your budget.

I'm visiting my folks in Ft Lauderdale, Fl this weekend and part of next week. Can anyone recommend any audio shops to go to listen to some speakers...preferably a dealer stocking some speakers not listed above by my local dealers.

Thx!!