McIntosh MC252 with Totem Mani2 / Sig's

Check the power rating for the Mani-2s. Its power rating is 50-200W. Look at the MC-252's power meter and you will see it is pegged at 500W--, and its there for a reason. The Mac amps have very good headroom and can exceed their power ratings for brief periods as can most amps. You will likely during normal listening levels not exceed 50W 90% of the time, probably 12W is not often exceeded. Read also Sam Tellig's review of the Mani-2 whilst driven by a pair of Cary CAD-300SEs. Put it all together, and anything over the MC-252 will be beautiful to look at, a joy to own, and you will kow you have the best for the rest of your life, but a lot of machinary sitting there and lookin' great and most of the capability unused. But this hobby of ours is way more than just economics!

Skuras,
It seems you are set on getting a mac amp. If that is the case then having the flexibility of a larger amp {402} will allow you not to have to change your amp if you go with a speaker with a heavier load in the future.

ladies and gentlemen...

i just bought my brand new McIntosh C2200 vacuum tube pre-amp and MC252 power amp. i'm very comfortable with my choice, as i have done a lot of auditioning in the last week or so, and i am not convinced that i need all the power that the 402 provides. the other deciding factor was simply the size of the 402, which would have forced me to get a new equipment rack. along with the $1200 or so price difference between the two amps, i would have been looking at another $700 or so in costs associated with having to reposition my whole system.

i love my totem mani2 sig's, and i love my musical fidelity tri vista SACD player. i would never part with either of them. now i believe that i have a pre-amp and power amp that i can also live with for the long haul.

thanks for all your input - it is much appreciated!

Congratulations! I wish I could say the same as you. What were your thoughts on the sound comparison between the 252 and 402? I guess you felt the 252 was good enough but i wonder to what degree. Thanks.

i did all my auditioning at two different stores - one store had the 402 out on the floor with the 2200, and the other had the 252 with the 2200. i never got to do a direct comparison, but i'm not sure that i could even tell the difference between the two. both systems sounded great to me - tight controlled bass, liquid mids and smooth treble. it did seem that the 402 produced more powerful bass, but i don't know if that would really be an advantage considering my moderate size listening space, and the fact that my mani2's already put out some serious low end.

i suppose that part of my desire to get the 402 was its elite status and very favorable reviews - especially in TAS. but when push came to shove, i don't think that i found enough difference between the two to justify all the additional expense of the 402. i suppose that if $ were not an issue, i would have stepped up to the plate and bought the 402, but as things stand i am very pleased with my choice.