McIntosh MA6500 Integrated amp

There is no better amp in this price range. I auditioned many for over a year before I made my decision. I have mine tied to a pair of JM Lab Electra 915.5's which are biwired with double runs of Tara Labs RSC Prime 500. The sound is really undescribable. All I can say is you won't be disappointed with this amp if paired with the right speakers. One bit of advice. Buy it new from a dealer with warranty if you have the funds. As well built as McIntosh gear is, they can still break and are very expensive to get fixed. Mine lost an output meter at six months old. The company takes excellent care of their customers and needless to say, mine is back and good as new again. Enjoy!

I had the MA6500 and traded up for the MA6900. The MA6900 is the version with the autoformers. They both sound wonderful, but ultimately the MA6900 sounded that much better to me, particularly with acoustic music and voice. They just make good music. Last night I was playing some Keb Mo pretty loud and the amp handled it smoothly. I have the amp paired with Tannoy speakers. I don't normally play music loud and I find the McIntosh amps are very good at low volume as well. They also have some nice features that are hard to find these days, like tone controls, loudness compensation and a headphone jack. And they're beautiful to loook at too. I plan to keep this amp for a very long time.

I sold my MA6450 (also a fine unit) and upgraded to the MA6500. Holy Smokes! What a great amp. I love the power, build, sonic qualities, and seductive looks.

I have had some very well regarded separates and integrateds, but this wipes out everything I have ever owned. Expensive and worth every penny!

Best Regards and Happy Listening
hififile

If you do a search in the Audiogon forum section for "mcintosh" you will find a thread that appeared a few months ago that asks: "has anyone compared the two mcintosh integrateds". In that thread there is personal responses about both of them.

I have made some comments in that thread from when I demo'd both of them side by side at my dealer. Read the longer version there but I think both are fantastic and believe one could legitimately be preferred over another depending on what speakers and room acoustics one has.

I own the 6900 and beleive I will have it for a long time. Good Luck,

I have a MA6800 which I absolutely love and I just purchased a MA6500 for my other system. The MA6500 is paired with my MAC speakers and it is nothing short of awesome. Performance wise I can hear very little difference, maybe the MA6800 is a little softer but very little difference. I like the fact that the MA6500 without the autotransformers is only about half the weight. These MAC amps in my estimation are the best value for the dollar in the market. You won`t go wrong no matter which model you purchase.