McIntosh MC402 or MC501's for Totem Mani-2

Wireless,

Thats the same thing totem stated. They said there would be very little sound difference if any between the 402 vs. the 501's, they just said that McIntosh perfered them to use the 501's for aesthetic purposes in demos. I definelty agree about the 402, its a beast! Plus by going to with the 402 thats one less power cord to buy and one less amp stand! Thanks for your reply.

Ltecyclist,
if you go over to the McIntosh-forum of audiokarma.org and search the forum, you will find that all those who have upgraded from a 402 to the 501s do find the improvement to be considerable, especially where better soundstaging etc. are concerned. There is not a single owner who describes the differences as being small.
Regards, Florian Hassel

Actually most posts in the audiokarma Mc forum I've read say the difference is nil to slightly noticeable.

Wireless200,
you better read more thuroughly, then.

audiokarma member jem666:

"Taking into account the specs on paper, I am still, be it pleasantly, amazed at the difference between the 501 and 402. As I said before the 402 is an excellent amp...but nothing could prepare me for that goosebump, "bring tears to your eyes" emotionally overwhelming experience when the first notes played on the 501's...from that moment on, there was no going back."

Member Indy:
"The 501's have more top end air to them and the bass is more natural. Don't get me wrong the bass is fantastic on the 402's- it's heavy."

gb1: "I had the same choice to make and after critical listening I found out that MC501 will always edge MC402."

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=78258&highlight=501&page=2

and lots of other threads
Regards,
Florian Hassel

You have to look at the mentality of the guys on there. A lot of them are running several Mc Amps in a HT system. I mean who puts together a system with 3 Mc501s on the front channels and more Mc Amps on the rears. These are not exactly audiogon types. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not exactly your audiophile crowd. Read the threads and you'll see what I mean. Of course there's some diehard McIntosh mostly 2-channel tube types but...

Of course the 1.2KW guys say the exact same thing after "upgrading" from 501s. Come on do you really think the 1.2KW's are going to be better from an audiophile standpoint? But you'll find everyone saying so who's dropped the coin on them. At some point with all that power you begin to lose nuance. Where you draw the line is up to you.

In any case I'd recommend listening to both at your local Mc dealer if that's possible. Mine advised that the mc402 had better synergy with Focals than the mc501s. I thought the 501s sounded good but so does the mc402. Either one will have good resale.