McIntosh MA6600 Integrated Amplifier

Andre Marc has posted a review of the McIntosh MA6600 Integrated Amplifier ($6,000) at Audio Video Revolution. His conclusion:

I liked everything about the McIntosh MA6600. The famous McIntosh glass face plate, blue lit power meters, general and build quality were an absolute treat. The luxurious, ridged volume and input knobs were very precise, and gave the unit a classic, golden era feel. But nostalgia aside, the MA6600 is beautifully engineered, with tons of features, flexibility and superb sound quality. At 200 wpc and the MA6600 will have no trouble driving any speaker. It will do so without breaking a sweat, and will even protect loudspeakers from damage with proprietary technology, if you should have any doubts. McIntosh also provides a three year warranty, about average for a high end integrated amp.

For about a month I was very happy to walk into my listening room to find the McIntosh MA6600 on my stereo rack, waiting to please me with its excellent sonic performance, and flawless operation. As I have written before, the benefits of a high quality integrated amp over separates are plentiful. One less interconnect, shorter signal paths, ease of operation, and one less power supply all simplify the experience and allow you to concentrate on the music. With an integrated amp this good, that is an easy task.

While not cheap at $6000, MA6600 easily competed with much more expensive units, and even higher priced separates. A solid pre and power combination from a multitude of well know high end manufacturers will cost you as much or more, and will be have very few or any of the features of the MA6600. When McIntosh says they did not compromise on the design of their integrated amps, I believe them and the proof was in the pudding; highly recommended for those searching for a top notch integrated amp in the $5000-$7000 range. I hope McIntosh is not in a hurry to get the review sample back, as I will be incredibly sad to see it go.

You can read the full review here.