This new McIntosh integrated looks like a winner

I own a MA252 and I love it. Best purchase I've made in a long time. Even my wife who typically doesn't care for this stuff comments how much better everything songs.

For me, I want high-end sound, but I also want simplicity. I don't want a huge rack of 10 components and cables (interconnects?) going everywhere. I'm not fortunate enough to have a listening room where I can have an amp sitting on the floor with crazy foam panels on the wall. I just like having my turntable for analog and my BlueNode for digital. It's simple and sounds great.

However, I do feel McIntosh is coming out with too many products. This MA352, the proportions just look weird. It looks too wide, perhaps I'm just used to my MA252 though. But it seems they're rolling out some new variation every week. That MTI100 turntable/streamer/integrated amp is a Frankenstein disaster. I'm sure it sounds good but it's like they're just throwing McIntosh design components together to form new products. The same with this MA352, throw in the blue meters, the solid state amp, and some McIntosh tubes in some new configuration and let's call it something new. It's kinda like how Taco Bell only has 5 ingredients and they keep rearranging them to get new items.

I heard the same design team is considering bringing back Sonus Faber integrated amps.

I prefer the motto of Keep It Simple Stupid. I hope McIntosh Group doesn't try to over-expand and find themselves in a financial crunch.

The MA 352 has an overall gain of 44db. If I’m not mistaken the gain on the 252 is 40db. The 352 is a bit too high for my efficient speakers. I would be cutting it close with the 252. 

Since I already have a tube pre ( gain of 10db), I could do the MC152 and have a total gain of around 39db.

+1 for Manishe! Too many products!

Wow, not much love for Mac here. I'm a relative newcomer to home audio...since the late '70s anyway. I remember Mac back then was considered among the elite. Since I've been out of home audio for 40+ years I'm trying to get up to speed regarding all the brands of components. I've always thought of McIntosh as some of the finest audio gear money can buy. But they seem to have a lot of detractors these days. As far as I can tell they still produce some top notch stuff although I've only auditioned one Mac amp in the last 6 months. I thought it sounded good. But they sure seem to take a lot of hits on the forums.

@audiofound- welcome back! Yeah, Macs are a polarizing brand like Vandersteen, Magnepan, B&W, Pass, et al...
Love em or hate em for some reason. 
Beats me.
Fwiw, I like em.
Tom