McIntosh MC275 vs Bat VK-60: Anyone compared?

a battle of 'best buys'...both are balanced and powerful....go with the legend.

I've had the VK-60 monos. Very powerful, clean, wonderful sound. BUT... costly, finicky and will roast you in the summertime in a small room. Better hope you don't need to send these big, heavy monsters to BAT if they act up. Could get really expensive very quickly.
I now use the Primaluna 7 monos. Great, reliable, dependable amps. Almost a sin at the price. I purchased these used (there are some 6s and 7s on the 'gon right now) and never regretted it. They are 70w per. I love them. RECOMMENDED!

Good luck.

Maybe you could elaborate on what you mean by finicky? By costly, do you just mean that it is expensive to re tube them?

The BATs made a few trips from the West coast to the East coast and back (costly). Each time BAT "solved" the problem*, each time I had to remove the cover to correct something which was not addressed properly, etc, etc, etc. It did not feel good to pay hundreds of $ every time they had it in their hands, and I did not feel that much care was taken to solve the problems.
Problems: loud pops from the amps (not the speakers), loud hissing from the speakers. It was frightening to turn the damn things on.
I finally sent them one last time to BAT, and sold them from their.
A friend of mine has had a pair for years. He has not had the same experience, but he does not use his system often.
This is my experience. I hope you have better luck.
P.S All the above AND retubing per BATs recommendation.

I have a MC240 that was used for about 30 years on a routine basis. It never even went to the Mc Clinics and still was running without a hitch. Then it sat for 10 years before I got it. I powered it up with a variac and used it for 3 months without ever doing anything to it! Then I gave it a full rebuild but only because it is now 40 years old! I'd say you could expect the same of a MC275 - and it sounds fantastic IMO. The 275 runs warm but not hot (better for durability). As Jaybo says, it is a legend and there are very good reasons why that's the case.

I had a BAT VK-3i that I liked quite a bit sound-wise but it had issues too. The volume control would send a clicking sound through the speakers when rotating it. Faint but there. Also, there was crosstalk if the unused RCA inputs weren't shorted. I contacted BAT about it but was basically told these things were normal!? I sold it soon thereafter. My McIntosh C42 replaced it, which has been a blessing in all aspects - no wierd noises, zero crosstalk, and the best sound I have had from a preamp (and I've had many).

Arthur