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McIntosh amp dilemna

Hello all. I am looking to move to a McIntosh amp to pair with my upgraded B&W N802’s. I’ve narrowed the list to an MC402, MC302 and MC7270(assume all are serviced and up to date). The wild card is a Coda #8 V1. Does anyone have experience with any of these pairings or have solid advice to give? I don’t want to get flamed but am currently running a restored Sansui CA 3000 preamp that will be moved to a secondary system in near future. Thanks community and have been following and learning for many years. 

RW

rwmiler
rwmiler's avatar
rwmiler OP
12 posts
 

Love the info folks, thank you all!

jfrost27
97 posts
 

I’m a McIntosh guy since the 70’s. They sound great, look great, keep their value better than most, and are bulletproof. 
 

I currently have a MC402 in my system. It powers the surround speakers. I’ve owned it since 2009. Still sounds, and looks like new. Can’t comment on how it would pair with B&W’s though as I have never tried that. But the combination of gear that sounds great to you is all that really matters. 

avanti1960
1,740 posts
 

@rwmiler 

The Coda is an awesome sounding amplifier but may be a bit too brightly voiced for the modern B&W diamonds which pair perfectly with the Mac amps. Mac and Diamonds are a certified dynamite match.  

If your vintage of the speakers are not as bright as the modern versions then you might be better off to go with the Coda. 

PS is your pre’s output impedance really 47K ohms?  That means that the power amp needs 470Kohms to sound balanced following the 10 to 1 rule, something may be off here with their spec because neither the Mac nor Coda would be good matches electrically. 

I would get that sorted and understood before buying any new amp. 

rwmiler's avatar
rwmiler OP
12 posts
 

avanti- that is very interesting and something I hadn’t really even considered.  Preamp will be next component change and maybe sooner than later. 

jfrost- yes that is a compelling reason to own

robshaw
345 posts
 

I have never heard the McIntosh, I'm sure it's top shelf. They are certainly very nice looking. I currently own a Coda 8 v1, and it is used in a strictly Rock and Roll music venue, with efficient large ( Tekton special Encore speakers)  that really love CURRENT! I believe the Coda 8 has 75 amps of current available, which for my R&R is GRREAT!  Not sure what the stat is for the MAC?   If you buy chance,  are a Rock fan, you may want to consider that STAT?  Good luck. Robert TN

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