Is my new amp TOO GOOD?

When I was considering a move to the McIntosh MC462, my dealer, who is virtually around the corner from the factory and has been doing this a long time, cautioned me that the MC462 is a departure from older Mac amps.  Although not quite as warm sounding as its predecessors, it provides detail and layers that the previous iterations don't offer.  Break-in for that amp is very real and requires patience, and it is a very good match with my Sonus Faber speakers. 

I had a Mac C53 preamp for a while and it was a disappointment.  There are many excellent suggestions here for getting you where you want to be with your equipment mix, and I imagine the C28 with different tubes, as suggested, is another good option.

Nice additions.  I definitely agree with the break in suggestions, speaker placement and recalibrating subs (after electronics are fully broken in), etc.  But @mapman hit on what I was thinking too. Are the more resolving amp and pre combo just highlighting issues with quality of your source gear (or source material)?  The beauty and problem of upgrading critical parts of a HiFi system is that you can now notice the value of other improvements, and the weaknesses in parts of the system you hadn’t noticed previously - what makes this hobby both interesting and a challenge.

kn

The key question is: what exactly did he find objectionable or lacking in terms of sound quality or tone in the MA 352 Hybrid? Only once we know this can we offer any recommendations. Furthermore, the person asking the question has not specified which other devices are part of his system.

“Is my new amp TOO GOOD?”
 

Nothing is too good……

Unless it is too good to believe.

I recently had the exact same problem with a new Micromega m 100. Certain female voices, I could hear what sounded like clipping. I did not notice this at first listen out of the box. I thought I had a bad tweeter, so I switch speakers and experienced the same static. To eliminate my sources, I plugged in a set headphones and again experienced static with seemingly high pitched female vocalists . I changed out the amp to my Electrocompaniet and perfect sound returned. My solution was to retuned the Micromega and my dealer is going to test a new one and ship me another amp. Never experienced anything like this before, and I have 7 recently purchased amps.