If you change out the stock tunes to pvane horizon, the mac 352 will sound significantly better. As far as pass coloring sound, my pass 250 does not color the sound anymore than my Mac, Accuphase, Hegal. They all have a slightly different presentation. During my amp, rotation there are times when I feel my other amps sound just as nice as my pass until I put my pass back in rotation. The Pass does, it the best. The pass 60 is darker sounding than the 250.
Mac MA 352 vs Pass INT-60
I've had an order in for the Mac MA 352 for 3 months and supposedly it's coming shortly. I wanted the tube front end but now I've got an option since I no longer think I need a balance control and I just found a really good deal for a new Pass INT-60. I'm running these, hopefully, into KEF R7 Metas at 88 dB. I figure the Pass is adequate into those 4 ohm speakers in my 25x14 space. I also figure the Pass has as much tube-like quality with likely a better high end than the Mac. If price is not a factor, what do you think? The Pass is a beast, but I can deal with that, and my first real amp was a Threshold 400A. I have some worry about current delays in Mac serviceability also. :)
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@howardlee I’m jealous of the price you paid for a new INT-60
I’ve been toying with the idea of replacing my McIntosh MA-252 with an INT-60. I was worried about going down in power as my speakers are power hungry ATC SCM19v2. It doesn’t seem like this should be something I worry about based on what I'm reading in this thread.
Why I’m reviving this thread is to hear how the soundstage is with the INT-60. When I "simplified" my system and moved away from some Merrill amps I had and went to the MA-252, the soundstage width definitely shrunk. Depth seemed to be the same or slightly better but the width came in quite a bit with no other changes to my system. I’m curious what you are experiencing (or other forum members such as @dwest1023 and others). |
@howardlee You will have many fanboy biases for either brand. IMO you would be better off upgrading to a MAC MA 12000 and not have any concerns regarding power or dynamic headroom. |
Interesting to hear from you regarding this older thread. I actually called Pass at the time to find a dealer (unbelievably,, there was no one in Houston) and they were very helpful and recommended usatubeaudio.com in, I think, Arizona. The guy I dealt with was named Paul. They had a new unit for about $2K below list, although the catch was you didn't get the 60 day or whatever it was return. I don't remember the real specifics, but they were good to deal with. That amp weighs almost 100 pounds so is a serious item. The upside is that it is probably the heartbeat of my system. It is built like a tank, is very neutral with my KEF speakers ( what I wanted), but also closer to a tube sound than most solid state stuff. I wouldn't call it warm, however. I had all BAT tube electronics and a 2A3 self-built amp with open baffle speakers in my past life and as much as I miss that stuff would have to say that this sounds better. All my other equipment here is solid state. I like the integrated amp concept and see little reason for separates as good as this thing is. The soundstage and everything else is exceptional. I would say to make sure your speaker requirement is within the 60 watt range. My KEF's are 4 ohm and go down near 3 so power not a problem here, but I've been known to crank the INT-60 all the way up, although usually 2/3 or so gets me into the 80-90 dB range. If that doesn't cut it there is the AMP-250, only about 10 lb heavier. Some people like the INT-60 a bit better but it's hard to imagine the topology being much different. I would suggest a call to Pass and seeing what they say. Good luck to you!! |
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