McIntosh MC152 vs MC162

The 162 is pretty old, I would say 20 years since it was made. It goes back to the days when Clarion owned McIntosh and they offered a number of products that were a step back from the front line. The one way that they kept 5he cost down was not using the autoformer output stage and not dual balanced circuitry. The 152 is a current product and does employ both dual balanced circuitry and autoformer output stage. I don’t recall the specs of the 162 but one tell tale spec is the weight. The new 152 weighs in at 75 pounds which is heavy for a small amp. This weight is attributed to the hundreds of feet of copper in the autoformers. The new 152 will sound much better than the 162 for a number of reasons, but the two listed are primary contributors.

Thanx, Theo, for the detailed answer. I wonder if you can suggest a better power amp then MC152 for my 3.5K budget? I use Mac C22 pre.

   As a long-time owner of many McIntosh components, I concur with theo. What power amp can you get for $3,500? You could look for an older but in very good condition Mac amp with autoformers. I use a MC2205 in a Martin Logan system. I am using the C2300 preamp.  I also have a MC2255. Don't be put off by their ages...if they have been upgraded, you won't be unhappy.